English Meat Pie Recipes

BRITISH MEAT PIES

Steps:

• Brown 1/2 pound sausage in a skillet with 1/4 cup chopped onion and 1 each diced celery stalk and carrot. Add 1/2 cup mashed potatoes, and salt and pepper. Roll out a can of refrigerated biscuit dough and cut into twelve 3-inch rounds. Top each with a spoonful of meat filling and fold in half; pinch to seal and brush with a beaten egg. Make slits in the top and bake at 350 degrees F until golden, about 15 minutes.

TRADITIONAL MEAT PIE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Pie Crust: Mix flour and shortening. Add salt and cold water. Add all the cold water at once and mix delicately. Form a ball and refrigerate for 2 hours.
• Once dough is chilled, flour your worktop. Divide dough in half. Roll out 2 pie crusts. One should be slightly larger than the other, this will be your bottom crust.
• Meat Filling: Heat the oil in a large pot. Add the pork and onion and cook over medium-low heat for 45 minutes, stirring often. When pork is cooked remove fat from pan. Add grated potato, salt, pepper, and allspice, to taste. Stir well, and let mixture rest for 20 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Butter the bottom of 9-inch pie plate. Place the bottom crust in the pie plate and poke several holes in the crust with a fork. Make sure an ample amount of crust spills over the edges of the pie plate. Fill the crust with the meat mixture. Level with a spatula. Wet edges of bottom crust and place top crust over meat mixture. Press top crust onto meat mixture to eliminate any air holes. Beat together the egg and the milk to make an egg wash. Pinch the crust edges together and brush the top crust with the egg wash.
• Bake for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees F and continue baking for 15 minutes or until crust is golden brown.
• Slice and serve hot or cold.

ENGLISH MEAT PIE

Steps:

• Dough Dice butter. Combine flour & butter. With fingers, press butter into flour until the mix looks mealy. Crack egg into small dish, add 4 tbsp ice water. Beat. Add to flour bowl. Mix just until a paste forms. Slowly add remaining ice water if mix doesn't come together. Split into 1/3 & 2/3 portions. Shape into a disk & wrap with plastic. refrigerate at least 1 hour or up to 1 day before using. Filling In med saute pan over med-high heat melt butter. Add onion & garlic, stir often until soft but not at all brown - 4 minutes. Set aside to cool then refrigerate to chill. Put pork, ham, S&P, thyme, & the onion-garlic mixture in a bowl. Use hands or spatula to mix well. Slowly add stock a few tbsp at a time until incorporated. Cover & refrigerate until cold, 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 425-F On a flowered work surface, roll the larger piece of dough into a 12-inch circle, 1/8-inch thick. Brush off excess flour, place on baking sheet. Shape meat into a 5-inch x 2 1/2-inch thick disk & place in the center of the dough. Carefully lift the edges of the dough & wrap around the meat so that the top is partially covered. Roll out the remaining dough until it's 1/8-inch thick & cut a 6-inch circle from the center. Cut a 3/4-inch hole in the center of this dough circle. Set aside. Egg wash In a small bowl whisk the 3 ingredients until uniformly blended. Using a pastry brush, paint the edges of the dough that encases the meat. Then paint one side of the 6-inch dough circle. Lift the circle, place egg wash side down on the meat. Crimp seam to seal with bottom crust. Brush top. Bake 20-25 minutes, until crust begins to brown. Reduce oven to 350-F, bake 50 minutes until internal temp of pie is 150-F. Remove pie & rest for 15 minutes. Serve warm, at room temp, or chilled. To serve chilled, make aspic: Combine chicken stock with gelatin. Microwave to dissolve gelatin. Pour slowly through steam vent in top of pie. Let cool, refrigerate until firm, 3 hours.

ENGLISH MEAT PIE

Steps:

• Prepare the dough by combining the butter with flour in a food processor or stand mixer until the mixture is mealy (you can also use your hands). Add the egg and mix thoroughly. Add enough water to form a dough that can be rolled. Put in refrigerator while you make the filling.
• Saute the onion and garlic in butter until soft, but not browned. Cool. Mix all filling ingredients with your hands as you would a meatloaf.
• Divide the dough into two pieces. Roll one to about 1/8 inch for the bottom. Form filling into an oval loaf on dough and pull up dough to partially cover sides. Roll the other piece of dough to 1/8 thick. Use and egg wash to secure crusts and encase meat loaf in its entirety. Cut a hole in the top to allow steam to escape. Coat entire pastry with egg wash. Left over dough can be cut into decorations and attached to outside of pastry. (I used small Christmas Cookie Cutters to make reindeer, etc.).
• Preheat oven to 450 degrees and cook pie about 20 minutes. Turn oven down to 350 degrees and cook 1 hour more or until center registers 150 degrees on a meat thermometer and pastry is browned. Allow to cool.
• To make the aspic combine chicken stock with unflavored gelatin and microwave until boiling. Pour through hole in top. Refrigerate 3 hours to serve cold.

PROPER ENGLISH COTTAGE PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• To Make Meat Filling: Place a large skillet over medium heat. Crumble in ground beef and saute 1 minute. Add onion and carrot, then continue to saute until meat is no longer pink and onion begins to brown, about 5 minutes. Mix in flour, cinnamon, mixed herbs, and parsley.
• In a small bowl, combine beef broth and tomato paste. Mix together, then add to beef mixture. Add salt and pepper to taste. Lower heat and simmer mixture for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until almost all of liquid has been absorbed. Spoon mixture into a 9 inch pie plate.
• To Make Potato Topping: Place diced potatoes in a medium saucepan. Cover with water and place over high heat. Allow to come to a boil. Boil for 15 minutes, or until potatoes are tender. Drain.
• Mash potatoes until smooth, then add butter or margarine, followed by milk. Whip until fluffy. Add salt and pepper to taste. Spread potatoes over beef filling. Sprinkle with grated Cheddar cheese.
• Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes, until top is browned and cheese is bubbly.

TRADITIONAL ENGLISH BEEF & POTATO PICNIC PIES - PASTIES

Steps:

• First peel and cut your potatoes into even size chunks & then boil for about 15-20 minutes or until very tender, but not too mushy.
• Drain the potatoes and add the milk, butter, salt & pepper to taste.
• Mash very well with a potato masher or using a hand-held mixer.
• Mash/mix until there are no lumps left.
• The mashed potato should be smooth but fairly firm and not too soft.
• Heat up the oil in a large roomy pan and add the diced onions. Add the garlic if using with the onions.
• Cook the onions for about 15-20 minutes, until soft and golden.
• Remove the onions and set to one side in a large mixing bowl.
• Add the minced beef, adding a bit more oil if necessary. Stir the minced beef all the time to break down any lumps. Cook for about 15 - 20 minutes until cooked & brown all the way through.
• Add the tinned tomatoes, soy sauce, herbs, tomato puree if using and a good twist of freshly ground black pepper. Mix together thoroughly.
• Continue to simmer and add the beef stock - stirring all the time for a further 5 minutes.
• Take off the heat and add the beef mixture to the onions.
• Mix them together thoroughly & then add the mashed potatoes - mix again well.
• Allow to cool slightly.
• Pre-heat the oven to 220C, 425F or gas mark 7.
• Grease 6 x 5" pie tins OR 1 x 9" ovenproof pie plate.
• Sprinkle some flour onto a board and roll out the ready-made puff pastry.
• Taking a saucer or a large cookie cutter, cut out six x bottoms for the pie tins, just slightly larger than the tins. (Invert the pie plate & cut around it for a plate pie.).
• Put the pastry bottoms into the buttered tins (or on to the buttered plate) and fill generously with the beef and potato pie filling.
• Cut out the lid/s and moisten the edges of the bottom pastry case with water; then place the lid/s on top - making sure they reach right up to the edge.
• Crimp the edges of the pastry with a fork or your fingers to make a seal.
• Cut two slits on top of the pies with a knife or scissors.
• Glaze with the beaten egg (or milk) and sprinkle some sea salt.
• Bake in the pre-heated oven for 25- 30 minutes until puffed up and golden brown.
• Serve warm or cold with pickles, chutneys and assorted salads.
• Ideal for picnics, snacks, light lunches & brunch.
• Freezer:.
• To freeze them, pack them with greaseproof paper between each pie in a freezer container. Defrost for at least 6 hours. Can be frozen before the final baking or after being baked. To cook when unbaked, defrost them & then follow the directions above.

ENGLISH PASTRY FOR MEAT PIE

Steps:

• Put the flour in a mixing bowl.
• Combine the water, milk, lard and salt in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Let simmer until the lard melts.
• Add the liquid to the flour, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon to blend thoroughly. This dough should be shaped or rolled while it is still hot or quite warm.

EASY STEAK PIE

Steps:

• To make the filling, heat the oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Heat half the oil in a large casserole dish, brown the meat really well in batches, then set aside. Add the onions adding a drizzle more oil, then cook on a low heat for 5 mins until coloured.
• Scatter over the flour, stirring until the flour turns brown. Tip the meat and any juices back into the pan along with the ketchup and give it all a good stir. Pour over the stock, season, and bring to a simmer then cover with a lid and put in the oven for about 2 hrs, until the meat is tender. The filling can be made up to three days ahead and chilled or frozen for up to three months.
• To make the pie, heat the oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Tip the filling into a 24-26cm rimmed pie dish and brush the rim of the dish with some yolk. Unravel the pastry, drape over the dish and use a knife to trim and press the edges against the side of the dish. Re-roll your trimmings to make a decoration if you like. Brush the pie heavily with egg yolk. Make a few little slits in the centre of the pie and bake for 40 mins until golden. Leave to stand for a few minutes before serving.