Phall is the hottest curry in the world, originating from Indian restaurants in the Birmingham, England. It is based on lamb or chicken meat, with the addition of tomatoes, ginger, and a combination of numerous fresh and dried hot peppers. Many people say that it is painfully spicy, which isn't surprising considering that one of the peppers used in phall has a Scoville rating of 1,000,000.
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Faggots are old-fashioned, traditional offal-based meatballs characterized by their large size. They are especially popular in Wales and the Midlands region of England, made from pork offal and cheap cuts of meat that are mixed with spices and fresh herbs, making it an inexpensive, yet extremely nutritious dish.
What makes faggots unique is the addition of caul fat (stomach membrane) on the external layer, helping to hold the meat in place. Traditionally, the dish is served with mushy peas, mashed potatoes, and onion gravy. The dish gained popularity during World War II, when meat was scarce, and people found a way to use all of the leftover meat in the preparation of this hearty delicacy.
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Scouse is a hearty meat and vegetable stew that is traditionally served with bread on the side, typically used to mop up all of the flavorful juices. Although it is a comfort food staple in Liverpool, many people believe that it is either based on Irish stew or on a Norwegian dish called lapskaus.
Regardless of the origins, scouse became a favorite of local sailors in Liverpool, and today it can be found in numerous pubs and cafés throughout the city.
Game pie is a traditional dish consisting of a pastry shell filled with rich gravy and slowly cooked game meat such as venison, rabbit, and pheasant. The dish is typically prepared during the colder months, since the British game season usually runs through autumn and winter.
It is believed that game pie became popular during the 16th century in Britain, when it was prepared with whatever meat could be found, such as pigeons and blackbirds. Today, the availability of game makes it easier to prepare even the more elaborate pies that are often heavily decorated or engraved in order to impress the consumers.
MOST ICONIC Game pie
View moreThe satisfying and comforting steak and kidney pie is a classic British dish which incorporates beef steak and kidneys that are cooked inside a flaky, buttery pastry shell. This dish first appeared in written form in 1861, when it was added to Isabella Beeton’s The Book of Household Management by an unknown Sussex local.
Originally prepared with a suet pastry, today it is usually made with butter and employs beef, lamb, or pork kidneys. The combination of tender beef meat, earthy-flavored kidneys, and flavorful gravy inside the pastry make this pie one of the favorite traditional British delicacies that is still found in numerous pubs throughout the country.
MOST ICONIC Steak and kidney pie
View moreCoronation chicken is an Indian-style poultry-based dish originating from England. It's usually made with a combination of cooked chicken cut into pieces, mayonnaise, tomato paste, curry powder, onions, chicken stock, lemon juice, yogurt, dried apricots, and oil, although the list of ingredients may vary.
The ingredients are cooked or stir-fried, then combined with the chicken pieces. Before serving, the dish should be refrigerated for at least one hour. It was created in 1953 by Constance Spry and Rosemary Hume to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II's coronation.
MOST ICONIC Coronation chicken
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A multiple winner of the annual British Pie Awards, the world-famous Melton Mowbray pork pie is filled with the finest fresh pork meat which is chopped and seasoned with salt and pepper. When baked, the meat filling turns grey in color, just like roast pork, and it is particularly succulent.
Melton Mowbray pies are traditionally baked free-standing, without a hoop, which gives the golden-brown pastry case its typical shape.
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This classic British dish consists of a suet pastry filled with diced beef, gravy, and chunks of beef kidneys. The pudding is traditionally steamed for a long time before serving. It can be accompanied by mashed potatoes and a variety of vegetables on the side.
The first recipe for this traditional dish comes from 1861, so it has surely passed the test of time.
MOST ICONIC Steak and kidney pudding
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Meat and potato pie is a comforting English staple that's perfect for a family meal. The pie shell is made from flour, beef suet, and cold water, while the filling is usually a combination of onions, beef (or sometimes lamb) chunks, and potatoes, whether waxy, floury, or both.
This meat pie is baked until it becomes golden bown, and before serving it's left to stan for a short while. The filling can optionally be enriched with carrots. Meat and potato pie is usually made at home and it's often accompanied by red cabbage on the side.
MOST ICONIC Meat and potato pie
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Pie and mash is a traditional dish consisting of a pie filled with either chunks of beef or ground beef, and a side of mashed potatoes. Although the pies are nowadays filled with ground beef, in the past they were filled with eels from the Thames, which is the reason behind numerous Pie, Mash, and Eel shops in London.
Inexpensive, yet filling, pie and mash is still a staple dish of London's working class.
MOST ICONIC Pie and mash
View moreTasteAtlas food rankings are based on the ratings of the TasteAtlas audience, with a series of mechanisms that recognize real users and that ignore bot, nationalist or local patriotic ratings, and give additional value to the ratings of users that the system recognizes as knowledgeable. For the “13 Worst Rated English Meat Dishes” list until April 19, 2025, 1,646 ratings were recorded, of which 1,446 were recognized by the system as legitimate. TasteAtlas Rankings should not be seen as the final global conclusion about food. Their purpose is to promote excellent local foods, instill pride in traditional dishes, and arouse curiosity about dishes you haven’t tried.