From all the different meat pie recipes out there, Australian Meat Pies are one of my favorites! No matter what you've read, this is an easy meat pie recipe to make, full of flavor. Caramelized beef in a red wine gravy with fresh rosemary, will keep you asking for more! Enjoyed as individual pies or family size. This is the National Dish of Australia.
What is an Australian Meat Pie?
If you've ever had the privilege of travelling to Australia, you would most likely have had the pleasure of eating delicious Australian Meat Pies. It's a small hand pie, stuffed with ground beef, or chunks of steak, onions, sometimes mushrooms or cheese. Made with a puff pastry crust, and a short crust pastry base. It's Aussie fast food, and very delicious with many variations.
Where to buy Australian Meat Pies?
You don't! You make it at home! Well, if you look hard enough, you could find places that sell Australian Meat Pies from San Fransisco to to NYC. However, it's easy to make this classic meat pie at home! When in Australia, they are found at every gas station, corner store, school cafeteria, take aways, stadiums, events and more! Basically everywhere in Australia, but a homemade meat pie taste so much better (especially with red wine and fresh rosemary)!
What Meat is Best for Meat Pies?
You wouldn't believe it, but the commonly used meat for an Australian Meat Pie is a beef Skirt Steak. This is a very flavorful cut of beef, and most commonly used when making Fajitas and Stir Fries. You can use Chuck Steak as well. It doesn't have to be made from beef, commonly chicken or lamb is used. An even cheaper version is ground beef meat pies. For this recipe, we will be using a Skirt Steak.
How to make Meat Pies
Some recipes are unnecessarily difficult, asking you to make the short cut pastry or puff pastry from scratch. That's completely unnecessary! Just go to the supermarket and buy frozen puff pastry and short crust pastry, it's already rolled out into sheets! Prepare the meat and you're ready to go!
- fry the onions, garlic and cubed beef
- add tomato paste, rosemary, beef stock, red wine, Worcestershire sauce and simmer for an hour
- thicken with a cornstarch slurry, and season with salt and pepper. cool in fridge
- place cooled meat into a pie pan with a short crust pastry base, brush edges with egg wash
- fill with beef chunks and cover with puff pastry, using a fork to seal edges
- brush with egg wash and bake for 30 minutes at 350°F (180°C)
Do I Need to Blind Bake Meat Pie Crust?
When I use this recipe to make a single family size pie, I will always blind bake the short crust pastry. However, when I made the 4 individual meat pies in this recipe, I didn't blind bake them. If the pie pan is a thicker heavier ceramic pie pan, then you need to blind bake regardless of the size. I have small aluminium pie pans, and when in a hurry, I don't always blind bake them! 😱 This means the base isn't as crispy when comparing to a blind baked crust.
Nonetheless, if you want a perfect crispy crusty base, then blind bake before you place the meat pie filling inside. When blind baking, line each pie pan with parchment paper over the short crust pastry. Fill with baking weights and bake for 20 minutes at 350°F (180°C). Remove the parchment paper and weights and bake for a final 5 minutes until it's lightly golden. This will ensure you have that nice crispy meat pie base that holds it's shape while you eat it!
Meat Pie Recipe Tips
- if you can't find Aussie Pie Pans, substitute with large Texas Muffin tins. Any extra pie filling can be stuffed inside puff pastry triangles and baked in oven (waste not want not!)
- make a large family pie with the same recipe (8" pie pan)
- add Oregano alongside the Rosemary in the meat
- use this recipe to make a Cottage Pie - instead of a Puff Pastry top, cover with mashed potato instead!
- try ground beef (beef mince) instead of cut steak
- add extra vegetables to the mix, like carrots, corn or celery
- use puff pastry for the base and the pie lid. No need to blind bake, but it will not hold it's shape, so you will need to eat it with a knife, fork and plate 🙂
You'll Love These Australian Recipes
- Honey Joys
- Easy Pavlova Trifle
- 3 Ingredient 7-Up Scones
- Cheesymite Scrolls
- Oysters Kilpatrick
- Grilling Rock Lobsters
There are so many Meat Pie Recipes around the world, and the Aussie Steak Pie is one of my favorites! A beef meat pie with chunks of steak braised in a red wine gravy with fresh rosemary. So simple to make! Bon Appetit! Приятного аппетита!
Equipment
- 4 individual size pie pans
- baking weights
Ingredients
Pie Base
- 2 sheets frozen short crust pastry
Pie Lid
- 2 sheets frozen puff pastry
Pie Filling
- 1½ lbs /750g steak cubed in small pieces
- oil for frying
- 1 onion diced
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary chopped
- 1½ cups beef stock
- ½ cup red wine
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon water for slurry
- salt and pepper
- 1 egg beaten
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C).
Meat Pie Filling
- Heat oil in a saucepan and fry the onions and garlic for a few minutes until they are translucent. Add the cubed beef pieces and cook for about 5 minutes until browned.
- Add the tomato paste, rosemary, beef stock, red wine, Worcestershire sauce and simmer for an hour.
- When the meat is tender, make a slurry with the cornstarch and water and add to the meat. Cook for a few minutes to thicken. Salt and pepper to taste, allow to cool (in the fridge) before proceeding.
Meat Pie Short Crust Pastry
- Lay the short crust pastry on the countertop. Place the pie bases upside down on the pastry Use the pie bases as a guide to cut out the shape of the pie. Cut the pastry slightly larger than the pie base.
Blind Baking Instructions
- Place the short crust pastry inside the greased pie dishes. Cover with parchment paper, with the edges of the paper overhanging the pie dish. Fill with baking weights and bake for 20 minutes at 350°F (180°C).
- Remove the weights and parchment paper, and bake for another 5 minutes until golden brown.
Meat Pie Puff Pastry Lid
- Lay the puff pastry on the countertop. Using the same method, cut the puff pastry the same size as the pie base. This will be the top of your pie.
Meat Pie Assembly
- Fill the pie with the cooled beef chunks. Brush edges of the pie crust and lid with egg wash to help sealing. Cover with the puff pastry top. Using a fork, press the edges to seal. Trim excess dough. Brush the top of the puff pastry with egg wash.
- Bake for 30 minutes until golden brown. Serve with Ketchup.
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