Aussie Meat Pie recipe
User Reviews
4.9
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Prep Time
40 mins
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Cook Time
3 hrs 40 mins
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Filling cooling
4 hrs
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Total Time
4 hrs 20 mins
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Servings
6
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Calories
825 kcal
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Course
Main Course
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Cuisine
Australian
Aussie Meat Pie recipe
Description
This Aussie Meat Pie starts with seasoning beef chuck cubes and browning them in olive oil to develop a deep flavor base. After removing the meat, diced onion and minced garlic are cooked before adding flour to create a roux base. Beef stock, dry red wine, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, black pepper, and bay leaves are incorporated to simmer the beef slowly until tender and the sauce reduces to a thick consistency just covering the meat.
For the pastry, the recipe offers options between homemade shortcrust, frozen sheets, or refrigerated pie crust for the base, with puff pastry used for the pie lid. The pastry is trimmed and fitted into pie tins, filled with the cooled beef filling, then topped with a puff pastry lid, often sealed and trimmed. Before baking, the pies are brushed with egg wash to achieve a golden finish.
The finished pies present a golden, flaky exterior encasing a savory, rich beef filling with a thick gravy that melds wine and beef flavors. They can be prepared in individual tins or as a larger pie. Clear guidance is provided on pastry handling to avoid shrinking or soggy bases, and storage instructions cover refrigeration and freezing to maintain quality.
Ingredients
Pie Base - Choose ONE (Note 1):
- 1 1/2 shortcrust pastry batches homemade
- 3 shortcrust pastry 300g/10oz, frozen sheets, thawed
- 2 pie crust refrigerated (US/Can
Pie Lid:
- 3 puff pastry 300g/10oz) (Note 2, frozen sheets, just thawed
- 1 egg , lightly whisked
Filling:
- 1.25 kg / 2.5lb beef chuck , 2.5cm/1" cubes (Note 3)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 2 - 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion , diced
- 4 garlic minced, cloves
- 5 tbsp flour , plain/all purpose
- 1 1/4 cups (315 ml) beef stock Note 4, low sodium
- 3 cups (750 ml) red wine , dry full bodied (Note 5)
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tsp black pepper , coarsely ground
- 2 bay leaf
Instructions
Filling:
- Sprinkle beef with 1/2 tsp salt and pepper.
- Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large heavy based pot over high heat. Add 1/3 of the beef and brown aggressively all over, then remove. Repeat with remaining beef, adding more oil if needed.
- Turn stove down to medium high. Add garlic and onion, cook 3 minutes.
- Add flour, stir through.
- Slowly add beef stock while stirring constantly. Once flour is dissolved, add wine, tomato paste, Worcestershire, pepper and bay leaves.
- Return beef into pot, cover with lid, adjust heat so it's simmering gently.
- Simmer 1 hr 45 minutes. Remove lid, increase heat slightly and simmer 30 - 45 minutes, stirring regularly, or until beef is fork tender and liquid reduces down to a thickish gravy, just about covering beef (see video). Do not reduce liquid too much - thickens more as it cools & in pie.
- Remove from stove, cover and cool filling (I usually leave overnight).
Pastry:
- Preheat oven to 180C/350F.
- Cut out 6 rounds from the shortcrust pastry, then drape pastry into pie tins - don't stretch and pull pastry, causes shrinkage. (Notes 1 & 6)
- Place pies on tray. Top each pie with large sheets of parchment / baking paper and fill with pie weights (Note 7).
- Bake 20 minutes, remove, then use paper overhang to carefully remove pie weights.
- Return crusts into oven for 5 minutes or until base is light golden and dry (can skip, Note 8). Remove from oven.
Assemble pies:
- Fill pies with cooled filling, push down to fill. Should be slightly mounded.
- Cut rounds from partially thawed puff pastry - cut them slightly larger than the edge of the cooked pastry bases.
- Brush edge of pie crusts with egg, then place lid on filling, pressing edges to seal puff pastry to the shortcrust pastry.
- Brush lids with egg, then cut a 1cm / 0.5" incision in the middle using a small knife.
- Bake 30 minutes or until deep golden and puffed.
- Devour hot and fresh, topped with tomato sauce or ketchup if desired!
Notes
- Several pastry base options are provided: homemade shortcrust rolled to 2-3mm thickness, frozen shortcrust sheets overlapped and pressed to form a larger sheet, or refrigerated pie crust such as Pillsbury, with trimming adjustments as needed.
- Use well-marbled beef chuck cubes for the filling; avoid lean cuts like gravy beef for best tenderness and flavor.
- Dry, full-bodied red wines such as Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, or Shiraz are suitable; avoid sweet or light red wines to maintain the rich gravy flavor.
- Pre-baking the pastry base is recommended to prevent sogginess since meat pies are typically hand-held and benefit from a crisp bottom crust.
- Pies can be stored cooked in the refrigerator up to five days; reheat in the microwave followed by the oven to crisp the pastry again, or freeze cooked pies for longer storage with reheating instructions provided.
- Filling can alternatively be made with ground beef, but cubed beef offers better browning and flavor development.
- Brush raw puff pastry lids with lightly whisked egg and consider sprinkling with cinnamon sugar, parmesan, or herbs for variation.
Nutrition Information
Show DetailsNutrition Facts
Serving: 6Serving
Amount Per Serving
Calories 825 kcal
% Daily Value*
| Calories | 825cal | 41% |
| Carbohydrates | 43g | 14% |
| Protein | 46g | 92% |
| Fat | 41g | 63% |
| Saturated Fat | 14g | 70% |
| Cholesterol | 165mg | 55% |
| Sodium | 759mg | 32% |
| Potassium | 1074mg | 23% |
| Fiber | 1g | 4% |
| Sugar | 2g | 4% |
| Vitamin A | 145IU | 3% |
| Vitamin C | 3.1mg | 3% |
| Calcium | 71mg | 7% |
| Iron | 7.5mg | 42% |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
User Reviews
Overall Rating
4.9
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