Favorite Seasonings for Meat Pies

[All-Rounder]

I couldn't resist, another Aussie here and pies are my favourite food. Here if you ask for a pie with no other adjective what you'll get is ground beef. It's a very common fast food here, especially for people working in industrial situations. You can eat a pie one handed while still working. One quick snack gives 1000 calories and a hefty dose of protein.

With herbs and spices it's best to keep it simple, some mixed herbs and black pepper is usually enough. Cook the meat in it's own gravy first, this lets you have more control over how thick or runny the contents of your pie will be. You don't want it too dry but you don't want boiling gravy dripping on you when you try to eat either.

I haven't done it for a while now but I like making pies. I make my own stiff shortcrust pastry for the bottom of the pie and use bought puff pastry for the top. Shortcrust pastry is easy:

2 cups of flour
2 oz of butter (preferably real butter from a moo cow)
2/3 cup of water.

Rub the butter and flour together first. Literally get you fingers in there and rub them together, keep going until there's no more lumps, doesn't take long. Then add the water, I use a kitchen fork to mix until it starts getting too thick then I get my hands in there again. You want the consistency of plasticine or play dough, so if it's too dry add a little more water or if it's too wet add a little more flour.

Once you're happy with the consistency dust a little flour on the kitchen bench top and plop you dough on there. Knead the dough by picking up the edges of it and pushing them in to the middle repeatedly. What you're doing here is stretching the flour particles out in to long strands to give your pastry a chewier texture, and at the same time you're trapping lots of little air bubbles inside the dough so that it rises and becomes lighter and fluffier. When the texture of the outside of the dough starts to look pebbly or lumpy and you notice that it's air bubbles near the surface then you're done.

I use a wine bottle as a rolling pin. In tropical climates a lot of people keep a wine bottle full of water in the freezer for this purpose, keeping your pastry cold until it's time to cook it gives better results. Just roll your pastry out a little bit at first, then dust the top with a little flour, flip it over and dust that side too, then roll it out some more. Keep repeating until it's stretched out enough to cover your pie dish with plenty of room to spare, it will shrink a little again when you pick it up to put it in the dish.

Shortcrust pastry in the bottom of the dish, tip the meat and gravy mix in to it. Put a sheet of bought puff pastry over the top and use a butter knife to trim all the excess pastry from the sides of the dish. Use a kitchen fork to press a pattern in to the edges of the pastry, this is to make the two pastries weld together as one piece. Poke a few holes in the top to let steam out then put it in a hot oven for 35 to 45 minutes, when the pastry on top looks good it's done.

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When I was growing up all the commercially available pies were made with proper French puff pastry and they were really nice, these days they're not easy to find. I'm lucky enough to live in a city that has one such bakery:

https://www.vilis.com/

Another AussiePie (aspie)!

I know beef is very common in Aus, even the well-known type with fat grown through the meat that the Asians go crazy about. The Angus.

 

[All-Rounder]

Here a pie looks like this:

View attachment 105881

Usually around 180 to 200 grams in weight - a bit less than half a pound. A quick meal that can be eaten one handed.

Looks good!
Those aren't the traditional American pies, we have them here more commonly. They have another name with C in English.

 

[Outdated]

I know beef is very common in Aus, even the well-known type with fat grown through the meat that the Asians go crazy about. The Angus.

That flooded our markets about 20 years ago, it was worth good money overseas and so that's what every farmer and his dog started producing. Most Aussies hate it, all that fat, we like nice lean steak.

Now you'll see two different tags in butcher shops: Grain Fed and Grass Fed. Grain fed is the rubbish with all the fat in it that we sell to Japan. Grass fed looks like this:

 

[All-Rounder]

Behail the Clanger, the Sausage Roll and the Meat and Potato Pie

 

[Outdated]

Those aren't the traditional American pies, we have them here more commonly. They have another name with C in English.

I'm curious here, what I'm used to seeing called a Pie in American TV shows is what we call a Tart. Sweet instead of savoury and no pastry over the top.

 

[Forest Cat]

I played a video game where you murder people, grind up their bodies, then serve the bodies as the main ingredient in your pies. Not a suggestion.

Sweet baby Jesus in the morning, why would anyone make a video game like that?

 

[Outdated]

Behail the Clanger, the Sausage Roll and the Meat and Potato Pie

You answered my question while I was still asking it. I've never heard of a clanger before.
And to us a beef and potato pie is just a normal beef pie except it has mashed potato for a top instead of pastry.

 

[All-Rounder]

That flooded our markets about 20 years ago, it was worth good money overseas and so that's what every farmer and his dog started producing. Most Aussies hate it, all that fat, we like nice lean steak.

Now you'll see two different tags in butcher shops: Grain Fed and Grass Fed. Grain fed is the rubbish with all the fat in it that we sell to Japan. Grass fed looks like this:

View attachment 106043

Interesting. Yes, I though beef is by nature one fatty meat, so it would be good by nature, without the Angus stripes. I can understand why the beef would be juicier and saucier in pies or grilled. Beef cooks so much harder on a grill, these kids were trying it for the first time, it ended up being undone.

 

[Outdated]

Behail the Clanger, the Sausage Roll and the Meat and Potato Pie

And I forgot to mention, yes, sausage rolls are popular here too. Easy to make yourself too and making them lets you use up leftovers from in the fridge. I wonder if I can attach a pdf here?

Apparently not. I'll add my recipe for you.

 

[Outdated]

Sausage Rolls

Just because we call them that doesn't mean you have to use sausage meat, it's a great way to use up leftovers from your fridge. Any thing as long as it's not too wet and sloppy, dice it finely, roll it up in pastry and chuck it in the oven. Good food fast and cheap.

In the example below I used Beef Bolognaise sausages, very nice. A popular one with the ladies is Chicken sausage meat with Cheese and Spinach. I also like Pork sausage meat with Cheese and Onion.

Being single I freeze sausages in pairs, two real sausages contain enough meat for four sausage rolls. One sheet of frozen puff pastry cut into quarters makes four sausage rolls. Handy that.

2 nice sausages
1 sheet frozen puff pastry
1 egg
salt, herbs and spices to taste

Peel the skins off of the sausages and put the meat in a bowl.

Crack an egg in there as well.

Add whatever salt herbs and spices you like.

Mix it all well, until the egg starts to thicken the mixture.

Lay your sheet of pastry flat on the bench, it should be thawed out by now. Use a butter knife to cut it into quarters, you don't need a sharp knife for that.

Put about a quarter of your meat mix on a quarter of the pastry and roll it up.

Best to use a ceramic baking dish rather than a metal one, it's easier to burn them on the bottom if you use a metal dish.

Chuck them in a moderate to hot oven, 200° C, for about 35 mins. Until golden brown.

Turn the TV on, can of beer, bottle of sauce, can't go wrong.

Cheers,

Andrew.

 

[All-Rounder]

"Salt Fish & Chips".
Sweet pastry, I shall not speak of the "F" word.

 

[All-Rounder]

G'day, me china plate.

When I was a kid at school, ALL the pies I came across had a lot of gravy that would burn your mouth and fingers.
I could have waited for the pie to cool off, but where is the fun in that?

I also preferred the pastry that was soft and moist on the base.
Still do.

Every woman and her dog, refers to YOU.
Australian expressions are fun.

 

[All-Rounder]

Here in Australia, we usually call it "minced".

That word has the sound of a spoon against meat. Why...

 

[All-Rounder]

Just for those who might not know, and for @All-Rounder who might want to have a crack at making them:

Pasties were the traditional food of English coal miners. It was what their wives made them for lunch, meat and vegetables wrapped in a pastry container, They could crack it open and eat the clean meat and vegetables inside and discard the pastry casing because by the time they got to eat it would be covered in coal dust.

View attachment 105883

What a waste of evil delicious carbs.

The inside of it looks tasty enough, though. Carrots, onion, etc.

 

[Outdated]

That word has the sound of a spoon against meat. Why...

 

[All-Rounder]

Sweet baby Jesus in the morning, why would anyone make a video game like that?

I don't know, but a prok head is popular with some games, supposedly horror, although Watch Dogs 3 isn't supposed to be horror.

 

[All-Rounder]

Sausage Rolls

Just because we call them that doesn't mean you have to use sausage meat, it's a great way to use up leftovers from your fridge. Any thing as long as it's not too wet and sloppy, dice it finely, roll it up in pastry and chuck it in the oven. Good food fast and cheap.

In the example below I used Beef Bolognaise sausages, very nice. A popular one with the ladies is Chicken sausage meat with Cheese and Spinach. I also like Pork sausage meat with Cheese and Onion.

Being single I freeze sausages in pairs, two real sausages contain enough meat for four sausage rolls. One sheet of frozen puff pastry cut into quarters makes four sausage rolls. Handy that.

2 nice sausages
1 sheet frozen puff pastry
1 egg
salt, herbs and spices to taste
View attachment 106058

Peel the skins off of the sausages and put the meat in a bowl.

Crack an egg in there as well.

Add whatever salt herbs and spices you like.

View attachment 106061

Mix it all well, until the egg starts to thicken the mixture.

Lay your sheet of pastry flat on the bench, it should be thawed out by now. Use a butter knife to cut it into quarters, you don't need a sharp knife for that.

View attachment 106064

Put about a quarter of your meat mix on a quarter of the pastry and roll it up.

View attachment 106068

Best to use a ceramic baking dish rather than a metal one, it's easier to burn them on the bottom if you use a metal dish.

Chuck them in a moderate to hot oven, 200° C, for about 35 mins. Until golden brown.

View attachment 106070

Turn the TV on, can of beer, bottle of sauce, can't go wrong.

Cheers,

Andrew.

They look just like the Cantelloni I had, smaller and open.

I have leftovers of my meat rolls, I add milk on them and microwave them, it makes them soft and tasty again. Microwave - softens; Electric oven - crisps

 

[Forest Cat]

I have a theory that at some point there was a typo in a cookbook, or a page was missing, so pie and meat was accidentally put together. I have never tried it, it's not something you usually see around here, I have never seen it actually, but maybe it's good. It just sounds odd. Meat. Pie. Meatpie. Apple pie, yes, blueberry pie, yum, strawberry pie, makes sense, meat pie... makes less sense.

 

[Outdated]

I have never tried it, it's not something you usually see around here, I have never seen it actually, but maybe it's good. It just sounds odd. Meat. Pie. Meatpie.

You've been ripped off regarding life experiences. Life without meat pies isn't really any sort of life.

Of course there's annoying bloody Aussies in every corner of the world trying to help improve your quality of life, even where you live. Meat Pies in Norway | Facebook

 

[Forest Cat]

You've been ripped off regarding life experiences. Life without meat pies isn't really any sort of life.

Of course there's annoying bloody Aussies in every corner of the world trying to help improve your quality of life, even where you live. Meat Pies in Norway | Facebook

And that group has 232 members! Does this mean 232 Aussies snuck into Norway and are now spreading meat pies here...? Excuse me for a moment, I have to go make some phone calls.