How to bake meat pies

You may well be wodering what this is doing in a car forum....... The subject came up in discussion elsewhere on the forum and I was requested my some members to do a how to.

Anyway here’s a rough guide, as I don’t use a recipe as such, I just wing it.

I use an electric fry pan, as it’s easy to keep the heat regulated, to cook the pie filling I set it to @ 4 (out of 10)
Pour in enough extra virgin olive oil to cover the bottom of the pan to @ 3mm (1/8”)
Break the mince steak up and hurl it into the pan.



Keep it moving a bit like you would with a stir fry.
Add herbs such as parsley, oregano thyme, and basil. Keeps it moving and add crushed garlic, salt, pepper and fine grated Parmesan cheese.



Next mix up your gravy, but don’t let it thicken, you need it a bit runny, as you pour it into the pan and let it cook with the pie filling.



now you turn the heat down to 1 to slowly simmer off the liquid.
You still keep the pie filling moving, every few minutes, except you use a motion like you would using a shovel to mix cement or mortar.
It should end up looking like this



Now grease your pie tins with real butter



Melt the butter in the microwave and use a pastry brush



I use muffin tins as they’re deeper than pie tins, you’ll notice the star shape, this makes for a structurally stronger pie allowing more filling in the deeper pie.
My pies are engineered.



Next step is take rolled shortcrust pastry…push into the tin and mold to shape, trim off the excess with a butter knife.

You will probably break through the pastry in a few places, just take some of the pastry that you’d trimmed off and reinforce the damaged pastry with a patch.



Now I grate some cheese….. well before you all storm the castle with pitchforks and burning torches, let me explain that when I say cheese I mean that strange processed stuff that looks more like a bar of soap! Real cheese can of course be used, but I’m going for the superior texture that this stuff gives.
Call me a heretic, but it’s what I use.



Spoon equal amounts of filling into the tins, pressing it in firmish.



Now fill the remaining space with the weird soap cheese shit



Next take some rolled butter puff pastry and stretch over the pie to make a lid



And trim the excess with a butter knife as before, now use a fork to roll crimp the edge.



Hurl the lot into the oven, all damned ovens are different, I set the shitbox I use to @140C, I don’t go by time I go by colour



Smother in home made tomato sauce (ketchup to yanks & cunuks) and scoff whilst hot.
It’s gotta be the homemade stuff, store bought sauce is shitfull!



The French say: "Bon aperitif" but in Oz we say: "get that down ya guts!" ....so much more poetic, don't ya think?

Those that aren’t consumed hot out of the oven, can be bagged up and put in the fridge or freezer to be warmed up at @ 85 - 90 C and enjoyed at your leisure.

Alternative ingredients can be used or added as desired.
Beef, chicken or lamb chunks can be used in place of mince steak.
And stuff like bacon, onions, mushrooms, veggies etc can be added.
It all depends what you like and what you’ve got handy.

The how to guide for the homemade tomato sauce will have to be another day

I’ve added a Thank You but I think this tour de kitchen deserves more.
I’m going to, with the help of my wife, have a go at an example & if it turn out well & lasts long enough I’ll take a picture. If it doesn’t then no more will be heard.
Do you have any other skills than can be shared in polite company?
M

Polite company.......that's putting a limitation on things!

It will focus the mind & with the possibly, remote as it may initially appear to be, of uncovering an antipodesian quality which has until now been screened from humanity.
Kangaroo & camel cake with cane toad butter, garnished with rabbit sweetbreads.
Hum, I’m not sure whether to salivate or vomit.
M

Chunder, pavement pizza or spew are much more Aussie terms for vomit

Cobber, I take my hat off to you, I never thought that you would pull off such an excellent “how to”. A quality pie is good eating and can easily be made with the cheapest ingredients. I am surprised at the rubber cheese being better in the pie, we would never have considered using it in anything bar mouse traps.
My wife makes an excellent Shepherd’s/Cottage pie where the meat is gently cooked for three hours with herbs and spices. Like your pies, quality low cost food.