Classic Aussie fare - a meat pie with a beef filling that's been braised until tender. Great food for parties that freezes extremely well! The great thing about mini pies is that you can make them in pie tins, muffin tins or even cupcake trays! Just make sure to cut the rounds so they fit the tin that you use.
Prep Time25 minutesmins
Cook Time25 minutesmins
Total Time50 minutesmins
Course: Baking, Party Food
Cuisine: Australian
Servings: 16
Calories: 482cal
Author: Nagi | RecipeTin Eats
Ingredients
Filling
3tbspolive oil
3 lb / 1.5kg chuck steak, cut into 1cm / 2/5" cubes (or other beef cut suitable for slow cooking)
2onions, peeled and diced (brown, yellow or white)
3garlic cloves, minced
2tbsptomato paste
4 cups / 1 litre / 1 quart beef stock/broth
1cupred wine(anything dry and dark, not light like pinot noir)
2dried bay leaves(or 3 fresh)
1 1/2tspsalt, plus more to taste
2tspblack pepper
3tbspcornstarch(cornflour)
4tbspwater
Pastry
1egg yolk, lightly beaten (or 1 whole egg, for a slightly less dark golden finish)
4sheetsfrozen shortcrust pastry(25cm x 25cm / 10" x 10"), thawed
3 - 4sheetsfrozen puff pastry(25cm x 25cm / 10" x 10"), thawed (Note 1)
To Serve
Tomato Sauce / Tomato Ketchup
Instructions
Place 1 tbsp of oil in a large heavy based pot over high heat. Add half the beef and sear until the outside is lightly browned. Remove from the pot into a bowl and repeat with remaining beef.
Lower the heat to medium high and add the remaining olive oil. Add the onion and garlic and sauté until the onion is translucent - around 5 minutes.
Return the beef to the pot along with all other Filling ingredients other than the cornstarch / cornflour and water. Mix to combine. The liquid should be just enough to cover most of the beef but there should be a bit protruding through the surface.
Bring to a simmer, then lower the heat to low / medium low so it is bubbling very gently. Leave to cook for 50 minutes to 1 hour, stirring occasionally, or until the beef is very tender. Because the beef is cut so small, it shouldn't take much longer than 1 hour. If the liquid evaporates too quickly, just add a bit more water.
When the beef is ready (or almost ready), mix the cornstarch / cornflour and water together then pour it into the pot. Mix through and allow to cook for 5 minutes to thicken the sauce. Adjust salt to taste.
Remove pot from the stove and set aside to cool. The sauce will thicken more when it cools.
Assemble the Pies
Preheat oven to 180C/350F.
Spray 16 holes of Texas muffin tins or pie tins (8cm / 3.2" diameter across top). I made half in muffin tins and half in pie tins.
Cut the pastry base out of the shortcrust pastry using a 10 cm/ 4" round cutter (I use an empty 800g/14oz canned tomato tin - perfect size). This fits both the pie and muffin tins.
Press the rounds into the tins and fill to the brim with the Filling.
Cut the pie tops out of the puff pastry using a 8 cm / 3.2" round cutter (a scone cutter is the perfect size).
Place the lids on top of the filling, gently pressing to try to join the top with the casing.
Pearce the lids 3 or 4 times with a small knife. Brush with egg wash. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until dark golden brown (or deep golden brown if you used a whole egg for the wash).
Allow to rest for a few minutes before turning out onto a wire rack. Serve very warm with tomato sauce (tomato ketchup).
Notes
1. You can just about get all the lids that you need from 3 sheets of puff pastry (because the lid rounds are smaller than the shell). But just in case, have a 4th on hand otherwise you might end up with one pie without a lid, which would be very sad!2. These freeze well after baking. You can reheat them from frozen, or thaw them first.3. I have estimated the pastry that is discarded when the rounds are cut out in determining the nutrition analysis.