AUSTRALIAN FOOD AND RECIPES

Meat Pie Recipe

The humble meat pie is as Aussie as it gets. While Americans love hamburgers, Australians love their meat pies and sausage rolls more.

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Aussie Food Charts for Cooking

We are the world's biggest consumer of meat pies with over 250,000,000 eaten each year.

The traditional Aussie meat pie is about 15cm (6 inches) in diameter, just large enough to hold in one hand and often tomato sauce is liberally poured on top

The bottom pastry is usually shortcrust (heavy enough so it doesn't fall apart in your hands) and the top is flaky puff pastry.

The filling is beef or chicken with enough thick gravy inside to stick it all together.

Meat pies are found in take away shops, bakeries and most everywhere else.

You can also buy Four 'n Twenty, Aussie Pies, and Sargents brands of meat pies in the frozen food section of our grocery stores.

It might surprise you to know that Four 'n Twenty produces 50,000 pies per hour. We told you that Aussies like their meat pies!

The original settlers in Australia preferred low-cost, plentiful mutton as the meat for their pies.

Beef is now the meat of choice in pies with a variety of styles: steak and onion, beef and tomato and onion, beef and vegetables, chicken and vegetables and others.

For our American friends
Please don't confuse the Aussie meat pie with the American pot pie. When you buy an American pot pie in the frozen food section of the

Australian Recipe

Australian Meat Pies

There are many ways to make a meat pie. Here's one we enjoy.

a. Filling – Ingredients

1
2
1
1 ½
½
½
¼
2

kilogram

large
cups
teaspoon
teaspoon
teaspoon
tablespoons

chuck or round steak (2 pounds)
bacon rashers (bacon slices), chopped
onion, peeled and finely chopped
water
black pepper
salt
thyme
plain flour

Meat Pie a. Filling – Method

Remove any fat and cube the chuck into about 1 cm ( ½" ) pieces.
Fry the bacon and onion over a low heat and add the chuck when the onions are slightly soft.
Season with salt, pepper and thyme, add the water, cover and simmer for about 1 hour.
In a bowl, slowly add a little water to the flour and stir until it forms a smooth, runny mixture.
Slowly stir the flour-water mixture into the meat mixture until it thickens. Remove from heat and let it cool.

b. Pastry – Ingredients

2
1
60
160
1

cups
pinch
grams
ml
package

plain flour
salt
margarine or butter (2 ounces)
cold water (5 fluid ounces)
commercial puff pastry

b. Pastry – Method

In a mixing bowl, add salt to the flour and then cut in the margarine until mixed with the dough.
Add water and lemon juice to the dough.
Remove the dough and gently knead on a lightly-floured surface.
Let the dough rest for about 20 minutes and then roll it out.

c. The Pie – Method

Line the small pie dishes with the pastry and fill with the cooled meat mixture.
Moisten the rim of the pies with milk or beaten egg so the tops will stick to it.
Place a layer of commercial puff pastry on top of each pie to form a lid and trim away the excess.
Press the edges together with a fork to seal.
Make a hole in the centre of each pie to allow the steam to escape and glaze the tops with beaten egg or milk.

Bake pies at 180° C ( 375° F) for 15 - 20 minutes or until golden brown on top. Serve hot with tomato sauce on top.

For something different, try an Aussie pie floater. That's a meat pie served in a bowl of pea soup. Fair dinkum! Try it and you'll see why it's an Aussie favourite.

We hope you enjoy this recipe!

grocery store, it comes in a foil pie pan which you cook it in. You eat the pot pie with a fork because the pastry is too thin to pick it up. The Aussie meat pie also comes frozen, but has no pie pan. You put it straight onto the baking tray (cookie sheet) and bake. You don't need a fork to eat it. Just pick it up in your hands when it's cool enough to handle.

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