Ruqayyah Snyder
Australian meat pies are a popular snack in Australia, often served at gas stations, stadiums, and schools. They are typically handheld pies with a shortcrust pastry base and puff pastry top, filled with beef, onion, and tomato sauce. They are easy to make at home, and there are many variations to try, including adding mushrooms, cheese, or gravy.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Type of pastry | Puff pastry, short crust pastry, or sour cream pastry |
| Filling | Beef (minced, cubed, or ground), chicken, lamb, or vegan alternative |
| Additional ingredients | Onions, mushrooms, cheese, carrots, potatoes, garlic, rosemary, cornstarch, beef stock, red wine, Worcestershire sauce, tomato paste, bouillon cubes, oregano, nutmeg, and ketchup |
| Baking instructions | Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Blind bake the short crust pastry for a crispy base. Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce temperature to 350°F (180°C) and bake for another 10 minutes or until golden brown. Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes before serving. |
| Serving suggestions | Ketchup, salad, roasted vegetables, fries, mashed potatoes, gravy, and mushy peas |
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What You'll Learn
- Filling: beef, chicken, lamb, or a vegan alternative with veggies
- Sauce: red wine gravy, tomato sauce, or Aussie tomato sauce (ketchup)
- Spices: rosemary, garlic, pepper, oregano, and nutmeg
- Pastry: puff pastry, short crust pastry, or sour cream pastry
- Baking: blind bake, then bake at 180°C for 10-40 minutes
Filling: beef, chicken, lamb, or a vegan alternative with veggies
For the filling, you can choose between beef, chicken, lamb, or a vegan alternative.
If you're going for the traditional beef filling, you'll need to use chunky pieces of beef rather than mince for the best flavour. Slow cook the beef until it's fall-apart tender, then smother it in a rich, dark gravy. You can add cloves to the filling for extra flavour.
For a chicken filling, you can use a similar method, slow-cooking chunky pieces of chicken and smothering them in gravy.
If you prefer lamb, you can use leftover slow-cooked lamb for your filling.
For a vegan alternative, mushrooms and green lentils are a great option for creating a delicious, hearty filling. You can also add marmite and Worcestershire sauce for a rich umami flavour. Vegemite, a classic Australian condiment, can also be used to add a salty, umami kick to your vegan filling.
Remember to let the filling cool down before assembling the pie to ensure the pastry base doesn't go soggy.
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Sauce: red wine gravy, tomato sauce, or Aussie tomato sauce (ketchup)
Australian meat pies are often served with ketchup, and some people like to squeeze ketchup into the meat mixture. This condiment is known as "Aussie tomato sauce" and is a common addition to the pies.
If you want to make your own tomato sauce, you can follow this recipe:
Heat oil in a saucepan and fry onions and garlic for a few minutes until they are translucent. Add the meat of your choice (cubed beef, ground beef, or steak) and cook for about 5 minutes until browned. Next, add tomato paste, rosemary, beef stock, red wine, and Worcestershire sauce. Simmer the mixture for an hour. When the meat is tender, make a slurry with cornstarch and water and add it to the meat. Cook for a few minutes to thicken. Finally, add salt and pepper to taste and allow the mixture to cool before filling the pies.
You can also add gravy to your meat pie. To make gravy, blend flour with water until it becomes a smooth paste, then add it to the meat mixture.
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Spices: rosemary, garlic, pepper, oregano, and nutmeg
Spices and herbs are key to a delicious Australian meat pie. The spices rosemary, garlic, pepper, oregano, and nutmeg all feature in various Australian meat pie recipes.
To make an Australian meat pie, you'll need to prepare the filling and the pastry. For the filling, you can use ground beef, beef chunks or steak, and add in vegetables like onion, carrot, and mushrooms. Some recipes also include cheese. To make the beef filling extra tasty, you can add spices like garlic and rosemary, frying them with the onions before adding the beef. You can also add in pepper, oregano, and nutmeg to the filling. Fry the spices with the beef and vegetables, and then add in a liquid like beef stock, red wine, or water. Thicken the mixture with a slurry made from cornstarch and water, and then allow it to cool.
For the pastry, you can use puff pastry or shortcrust pastry, or a combination of both. Some recipes suggest blind-baking the shortcrust pastry base to ensure it is crispy. You can also brush the top of the pastry with an egg wash to get a nice golden brown colour.
Once the filling has cooled, add it to the pastry-lined pie dish. Then, add the pastry top, sealing the edges with a fork. Make two slits in the top of the pastry to allow steam to escape, and then bake in the oven until golden brown.
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Pastry: puff pastry, short crust pastry, or sour cream pastry
Australian meat pies are typically made with puff pastry, short crust pastry, or sour cream pastry.
Puff pastry is a popular choice for the top of the pie, as it becomes golden and crispy when baked. However, using puff pastry for the entire pie can result in a greasy and limp crust. A typical pie crust, such as short crust pastry, is a better option for the base as it provides a sturdy and crunchy base, allowing the pie to be picked up and eaten with your hands.
Short crust pastry is commonly used as the base for Australian meat pies. It is recommended to blind bake the short crust pastry for a single family-size pie or larger pies. However, blind baking is not necessary for smaller individual pies. To blind bake, line a pie pan with parchment paper over the short crust pastry, fill with baking weights, and bake at 350°F (180°C) for 20 minutes. Remove the weights and parchment paper and bake for an additional 5 minutes until lightly golden.
Sour cream pastry is another option for the crust, adding a rich and savoury flavour to the pie.
When using puff pastry, it is important to brush the top with a glaze, such as milk or beaten egg, to help achieve a golden brown colour.
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Baking: blind bake, then bake at 180°C for 10-40 minutes
When you're ready to bake your Australian meat pie, start by blind-baking the shortcrust pastry. First, line your pie pan with parchment paper and place it over the pastry. Then, fill the pan with baking weights or dried beans and bake for 20 minutes at 180°C.
After blind-baking, remove the parchment paper and weights and bake for another 5 minutes at the same temperature until the pastry is lightly golden. This will ensure your pie has a perfect, crispy base.
Now, it's time to add your filling. Once the filling is added, brush the edges of the pastry with milk or a beaten egg, and cover with the pastry top. Press the edges together to seal the pie.
Finally, bake the assembled pie at 180°C for 10-20 minutes, or until the top is golden brown. Keep an eye on the pie to ensure the crust doesn't burn. The pie is ready when the top crust is a nice golden brown colour.
Allow the pie to cool for 5-10 minutes before serving, as the filling will be very hot.
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