There are many slight variations on this recipe, I assure you this one is as authentic as you will find.
2 medium finely diced onions
2lb ground beef
3 beef stock cubes
1 cup tomato sauce (ketchup)
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/8 tsp course black pepper
1/8 tsp of nutmeg
3-4 tbsp plain flour or cornstarch, either is fine.
1 pk frozen puff pastry sheets
1 beaten egg white to glaze
-If you don’t care for Worcestershire sauce you can replace with soy sauce, but use only half the amount as it is saltier.
-Nutmeg can be omitted.
Method:
Before beginning with your pie filling, lay your puff pastry sheets across your pans so they sag into each hole as they thaw. This will make filling your pie tray much easier later.
-Preheat your oven to 300 degrees
-Pan fry the beef, and onions together until beef is thoroughly cooked.
-Drain.
-Crumble the stock cubes and add to pan, along with nutmeg, pepper and Worcestershire sauce. Cook for a further 3-4 minutes having mixed all ingredients well.
-Raising the heat slightly, add the flour and mix throughly. Continue to stir in order to cook the flour well. Flour can have a very bland taste if not fried off sufficiently before adding liquid.
-Begin adding water a little at a time, beginning with 1 cupful. Also add ketchup.
-Stir through and bring back to a simmer, adding another 1 to 2 cups of water, but leaving the mixture so it is thick, not watery.
-Spoon an amount for each pie to just below water level, into your waiting pastry lined pie pan. The easiest way to cover each pie with it’s ‘lid’ is to simply lay a whole sheet of puff pastry across the tops, and another…until all are covered. Be sure the sheets don’t overlap or they will not cook to a puffy finish.
-Trim all excess pastry. Don’t be so particular that you take the fun away from this recipe. Having perfectly round tops is not necessary, nor is a fancy pinching around each one. You will need to press gently around them to seal though, or use a coffee mug to press and cut out the circles, removing the excess.
-Brush the tops of the pies with egg wash (egg whites and water) and bake at 300 degrees until tops are puffy, flaky and a beautiful golden brown.
-Allow to cool before attempting to remove them from the pan, or cover with a clean cloth and carefully invert the pan to remove them for immediate serving.
Serve your pies alone with a dash of ketchup on top or squirted into the inside of the lid.
If serving as a complete meal, mashed potatoes and green peas are traditional.
Sneaky Shepard’s Pie:
As children, we always looked forward to Shepard’s Pie night. Some use pastry tops for this recipe, but we always had mashed potato tops and it was put under the griller (broiler).
-Using an already hot, homemade meat pie; flip the lid off, load with buttery mashed potato and place under the broiler or into the oven until potato begins to brown.
-This may also be done with grated cheese on top. As soon as the cheese bubbles, replace the lid and press down slightly, add some ketchup and serve.
Extra Pie Filling:
The overall amounts of each ingredient may be adjusted according to the size of your pie pan, how many guests you are having, or whether or not you want to cook extra and freeze for later use. Extra filling is always handy in the event you have unexpected guests.
Kids Party Pies:
A large muffin pan can be used rather than buying a new pie pan. A small cupcake sized pie is called a Party Pie in Australia and are served at children’s birthday parties with a small bowl of ketchup for dipping. These are a huge hit with hungry little guests. As a matter of fact, Daddy sized guests also love these when friends are over for football or poker night.
Try some Aussie Meat Pies this weekend!
