Scottish Food Doesn't Get More Traditional Than With a Stovies Recipe (2024)

Elaine Lemm

Elaine Lemm is a renowned British food writer, classically trained chef, teacher, and author with over 25 years of experience writing about British food and cooking.

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Updated on 01/11/23

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Prep: 10 mins

Cook: 50 mins

Total: 60 mins

Servings: 6 servings

228 ratings

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If it is real Scottish food that you are looking for, then you won't find a better option than this stovies recipe. The word stovies refers to a Scottish dish made from potatoes and often leftover meat, and this stew-like recipe uses whatever you happen to have to hand on a Monday, the day after your bigSunday roast.

There are a lot of Scottish foods with meat and potatoes and stovies is one of them. Think of all those leftovers, with the main constituent being the bits of meat from the roast the day before. It will vary from week to week and from house to house: Ask100 Scots for the recipe, and you will get 100 different answers. (This is similar to the English bubble and squeak recipe in that regard.) Where you live in Scotland and what you traditionally eat for lunch on Sunday (often it's beef or lamb) will have an impact on the final recipe, too. Those other leftover bits often include carrots and potatoes and onions cooked with a little bit of dark beer such as stout for flavor, along with beef or lamb stock, too.

If you've got leftovers from your Sunday roast, this is a great way to use them up the next day and turn them into a totally new meal. If not, you've got the makings here for a delicious stovies meal. If you want, you can make up a batch of oatcakes while the stovies simmer in the oven.

Scottish Food Doesn't Get More Traditional Than With a Stovies Recipe (2)

Ingredients

1 tablespoon lard, or beef dripping
2 medium onions, or 1 large, roughly diced
4 tablespoons dark beer, or stout, optional
4 ounces cold roast beef, diced
1 1/2 pounds potatoes, peeled and quartered
Salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste
1 1/4 cups beef stock,or leftover gravy
Vegetables, any that you have leftover from the day before

Steps to Make It

Gather the ingredients.
See Also
Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon Recipe
Preheat the oven to375 F / 190 C / Gas 5. Place a Dutch oven or casserole dish on the stove over medium heat. Add the lard or drippings, and melt.
Add the onions and cook until soft, but not browned, about 5 to 8 minutes.
If using, add the beer or stout and turn the heat up and allow to boil for 2 minutes to burn the alcohol away.
Add the meat and stir well.
Add the potatoes in layers, seasoning each layer with salt and pepper as you go, before adding the next layer.
Pour over the stock or gravy (or both).
Cover with a lid and cook in the preheated oven for 45 to 50 minutes, checking from time to time to make sure the stock is not boiling dry. If it is, add a little extra.
Ten minutes before the end of cooking, add any leftover vegetables to suit. Stir well and check the seasoning.
Cover with the lid and cook for 10 minutes. The meat and vegetables will break up to create a thick, hearty stew-like consistency but still retain their shape. Be careful not to overboil.
Serve the stovies in a deep dish or bowl with rough oatcakes and brown sauce, if you like it. Enjoy!

Recipe Variations

Don't feel that you have to be restricted to the pickings from your Sunday lunch. Stovies can also be made using a tin of corned beef, some cooked minced beef, or sausages.

Corned Beef: Crumble the corned beef and stir through your potatoes 20 minutes before the end of cooking.
Cooked Minced Beef: Stir through the potatoes 20 minutes before the end of cooking.
Sausages:Cook the onions as above. Thickly slice one pound of sausage, layer it on the onions, followed by a layer of potatoes. Repeat the layers. Cook as above.

How to Store Stovies

Stovies will keep for several days, covered, in the refrigerator. Some people say it's best the day after you make it.
You can also freeze stovies in freezer-safe containers. Defrost in the refrigerator and reheat on the stove, or simply thaw and reheat in the microwave.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
214	Calories
4g	Fat
36g	Carbs
8g	Protein

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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 6
Amount per serving
Calories	214
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 4g	6%
Saturated Fat 1g	7%
Cholesterol 14mg	5%
Sodium 471mg	20%
Total Carbohydrate 36g	13%
Dietary Fiber 5g	18%
Total Sugars 4g
Protein 8g
Vitamin C 14mg	70%
Calcium 43mg	3%
Iron 2mg	12%
Potassium 884mg	19%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

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