Australian Meat Hand Pies

March 9, 2014 | 2 Comments

Welcome to week ten of Reddit’s 52 Weeks of Cooking challenge. This week’s theme is Australian.

I was talking to my wonderful MIL this past Friday. During the conversation we talked about this week’s Reddit challenge. I mentioned the theme, and she told me about some delicious hand pies she and my FIL had made a while back. Today after deliberating for a couple days, I decided to make Australian meat hand pies.

I used a recipe for pasties pastry that a friend shared with me a while back. It is a recipe that her grandmother used. It is a really easy pastry to put together, and easy to work with, as well as being extremely forgiving. I almost forgot the best part, it turns out really flaky and delicious every time I make it. You can just use your favorite pastry though, and your pies will be yummy.

I used a small cereal bowl for some of the pies, and a soup bowl for others. I placed the bowl upside down on top of the rolled out pastry, and cut around it with a knife. I then carefully lifted the bowl and was left with a circle of pastry.

After I placed a few tablespoons of cooled filling into the center of the pastry circle, I dipped my finger in a small ramekin of water, and wet the entire edge of the pastry circle.

Then I folded one side over the filling, and pressed around to seal the half circle.

Using the tines of a fork, I crimped the edges so they were even more sealed and had a finished, pretty edge.

I should have doubled the pastie pastry, because I had a lot of filling left over. My pastry recipe made four cereal bowl sized hand pies and three soup bowl sized hand pies for lunch.

My girls, and Dominic went to town on these scrumptious pies. I barely had time to snap some finished pictures before they were devouring them.

We added some rice wine vinegar and Bragg Aminos to the leftover filling, and served it for dinner over rice(for them), and sauteed cabbage(for me) and it was yummy! I hope you make these hand pies and share them with your family and friends, I know they will appreciate the pies and you.

Australian Beef and Vegetable Hand Pie

Recipe type: Entree,Snack

Author: Jillian

Ingredients

2 Tbsp coconut oil or other favorite fat
1 pound ground beef
4 carrots, chopped
4 onions, peeled and chopped
3 rutabaga, peeled and chopped
1 small green cabbage thinly sliced, and chopped
4 cloves garlic peeled and chopped
1 1/2 Tbsp fresh thyme leaves
small bunch of chives snipped or chopped
1 Tbsp fresh parsley
2 tsp kosher salt for sauteing + more if needed after tasting
4 grinds black pepper
1/2 tsp fresh ground nutmeg
3 Tbsp slivered almonds
————————-
EGG WASH
————-
1 large egg
2 tsp water
——————-
PASTIE PASTRY
——————-
3 cups flour
1 cup shortening (I used non Hydrogenated Organic)
1 1/2 tsp salt (I used sea salt)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 Tbsp vinegar (I used white)
6 Tbsp cold water
Combine dry ingredients (I use a whisk)
Work in shortening (I use my hands)
Whisk water, egg & vinegar
Add wet to dry & combine til dough comes together ( I start out with a fork and then switch to my hands)
Wrap dough in plastic and flatten to form disc and squeeze air out of plastic
Place dough disc in refrigerator for 10-30 minutes
PASTIE PASTRY CONTINUED IN INSTRUCTIONS

Instructions

In a medium saucepan, heat oil/fat over medium heat
Add onions, carrots, cabbage and rutabagas, cook until soft
Add garlic and stir
Add beef
Cook beef,stirring and breaking up meat with a spatula, until no longer pink, about 5 minutes
Stir in thyme, parsley & chives
Add 1 1/2 cups cream, and nutmeg
Stir over low heat until mixture gets a little creamy and thickens
Taste and season with salt and pepper
Let cool completely
————————–
PASTIE PASTRY CONT…
——————————–
Remove dough from refrigerator, and cut in half
Roll each portion of dough to a thickness of about 1/8 of an inch
Place cereal bowl upside down on top of rolled out dough
Cut around bowl with knife, making pastry circle
Scoop 2-3 Tbsp filling onto center of pastry circle
Dip finger into ramekin, and wet the edges of the circle
Fold pastry in half over filling and seal with fingers
Crimp edges with tines of fork to create a better seal and a pretty package
Place pies on a sheet tray, lined with parchment
Repeat with the rest of the dough (Scraps can be re-rolled and cut again)
Place baking sheets full of hand pies in the refrigerator for 10-20 minutes
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Remove from fridge
Pierce each pie three times with the tip of a knife to vent
Brush the tops of each pie with an egg wash
Bake for 20-25, or until golden brown, rotating sheets halfway through
Let cool, and enjoy with a bit of tomato sauce, ketchup, or some Siracha

B000KYX6AW,B00008CM69,B00004UE83,B00061N0QO

2 Responses so far.

Trente Miller says:

September 16, 2014 at 2:05 am

These look wonderful!!! Def added to my list for Fall/Winter. I’ll make a large batch and freeze for quick lunches.

Reply
- Jillian says:
  
  October 19, 2014 at 5:52 am
  
  That sounds like a terrific idea Trente! Can’t wait to hear about your flavor combinations. Come back and let me know.
  
  Reply