English Mini Meat Pies Recipes

MINIATURE MEAT PIES

Steps:

• In a large skillet, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Stir in chili sauce and soup mix; set aside. , In a large bowl, combine the flour, sesame seeds if desired, and salt. Cut in shortening and cheese until crumbly. Combine milk and vinegar; gradually add to flour mixture, tossing with a fork until dough forms a ball. , Divide dough in half; roll out to 1/8-in. thickness. Cut with a lightly floured 2-1/2-in. round cutter. Place half of the circles 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets; top each with a rounded tablespoonful of beef mixture. Top with remaining circles. Moisten edges with water and press with a fork to seal. Cut a slit in the top of each. , Bake at 425° until golden brown, 12-16 minutes. Serve immediately., Freeze option: Freeze cooled pies in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Bake, from frozen, on an ungreased baking sheet at 425° until heated through, 14-16 minutes.

MINI PORK PIES

Steps:

• Mix the filling ingredients and season. Grease 12 holes of a muffin tin and line each with a strip of baking parchment, to make pies easier to remove from tins.
• To make pastry, bring the lard and 250ml water to the boil in a small pan. Sieve the flour into a food processor and add 2 tsp salt. While processor is on, pour in lard and water mix, then blend until you have a smooth dough. Turn out into a bowl and remove two-thirds, covering the final third with a tea towel to keep warm.
• Roll larger piece out on a floured surface to about 2-3mm thick - work quickly as the dough is easier to work with when warm. Cut out 12 x 11cm circles using a pastry cutter. Line each hole of the tin with the circles, pushing them in with your fingers and leaving a slight overhang.
• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4 and put in a baking tray. Divide filling between pastry cases, pushing down lightly. Roll out remaining pastry on a floured surface and stamp out 12 x 8cm circles. Brush edges of filled cases with egg, then put lids on top. Pinch together and crimp the edges with your fingers. Brush with beaten egg and set aside the rest for later.
• Bake in oven for 30 mins, then remove the tin and tray, and gently take the pies out of the holes. Brush the sides and top again with egg and place directly onto the baking tray. Turn oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6 and cook for 25-30 mins until the sides are set and tops a deep golden colour. Remove and cool on a wire rack.

HOW TO MAKE MEAT PIE PASTRY DOUGH

Steps:

• The first step to make meat pastry pie dough is to take 4 cups of plain flour in a large bowl and mix salt and baking powder into it. If you want some sweetness too in the pie, then you can add one teaspoon of sugar into it as well. Knead well with your hands.
• Add some margarine into the mixture. Work it properly into all of the flour until it starts looking like a bowl of breadcrumbs.
• Start adding ice cold water little at a time and keep kneading until you make a stiff ball of dough. If the flour is too hard, add some more water to it, but if it gets too soft and runny, add some more flour to make it stiffer.
• Test the consistency of the dough by slightly pulling the dough and checking its elasticity. It should be elastic enough to come out with a slight pull, but should not stick to your hands.
• Grab a roller pin and flatten the ball of dough on a lightly floured surface. Roll until the dough ball becomes smooth and gets flat to around half inch thickness.
• Use a pot lid or a dough cutter to cut a circle out of the flattened dough, trim off the edges and add your favorite filling in it.
• Take a separate bowl and beat 2 eggs in it.
• Using a basting brush, apply the beaten egg on the dough edge around the filling. This will help the edges to stick to each other when folded. Also use a fork to press the edges and give it the classic shape of a meat pie. Do not forget to brush some beaten egg on the folded dough so that it turns golden brown when cooked.
• Once you have made the pastry dough and filled the filling in it, the trick lies in its cooking and baking too. You might need to cook the pie for around 45 minutes at 180 ºC/350 ºF, but it is important to check it after every 20 minutes. It is also important to place the pastry on a greased plate only, otherwise the dough will stick to the pan and refuse to come off
• Once your meat pie is ready, allow it to cool and serve. Add some homemade Worcestershire sauce to top your delicious pie. Bon apetit.

MINI MEAT PIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 200°C.
• Cut pastry into 48 circles if making traditional pies, or 24 if making uncovered pies using a 7 cm round cutter.
• Press 24 circles into two lightly greased 12-hole patty tins.
• To make filling, heat oil in heavy-based pan, add onion and garlic and cook over medium heat for 2 minutes or until onion is soft.
• Add mince and stir over high heat for 5 minutes or until well browned and all liquid has evaporated; using a fork to break up any lumps of mince.
• Add flour, stir until combined then cook over medium heat for 1 minutes.
• Add stock, sauces and herbs and stir over the heat until boiling.
• Reduce heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes or until mixture thickens.
• Stir occasionally then allow to cool.
• Divide filling among pastry circles.
• Top each with two half slices of tomato and sprinkle with oregano.
• Bake for 25 minutes or until pastry is golden brown and crisp.
• For traditional pies, place the remaining pastry rounds over the tomato and oregano topping and seal the edges with beaten egg before baking.
• Serve hot.

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.

INDIVIDUAL BEEF PIES

Steps:

• For the pastry, put the butter, lard and 150ml water in a pan and bring to the boil, making sure the lard and butter have melted. Meanwhile, sift the flour and salt into a bowl and make a well in the centre. Add the 2 beaten eggs to the well and sprinkle over enough flour to cover the egg. Pour the just-boiled butter and water mixture around the edge of the flour and mix quickly with a wooden spoon until combined and smooth. Knead briefly, then wrap in cling film and rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, gently heat 1 tbsp of the oil in a large pan and cook the onion and garlic for 10 minutes until soft but not coloured. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. Toss the steak in the flour, add to the pan along with the remaining oil, increase the heat and brown all over, in batches if necessary.
• Return the softened onion and garlic to the pan with all the steak. Add the thyme and bay leaf, pour over the ale and stock, then stir in the mustard and Worcestershire sauce. Bring to the boil, cover, then simmer gently for about 1 hour 45 minutes until the meat is tender. Remove and discard the bay leaves and thyme sprigs. Transfer the pie filling to a bowl and cool completely.
• Preheat the oven to 200°C/fan180°C/gas 6. Reserve one-third of the pastry for lids, re-wrap in cling film and keep in the fridge. Divide the rest into 6 equal pieces. Roll or press the dough out on a lightly floured surface into 17cm circles. Lightly grease 6 x 220ml metal pudding basins with oil. Line each one with a pastry circle, using your fingers to press it evenly around the sides - work the pastry up over the edge. Chill uncovered in the fridge for 40 minutes to harden.
• Divide the cooled filling among the cases. Take the reserved pastry and divide into 6. Press each piece out to a circle large enough to make a lid. Make a hole in the centre of each (for steam to escape). Dampen the edges of the pastry with water. Lay the circles over the cases and seal all around the edge with your fingers. Crimp the edges and brush the tops all over with beaten egg.
• Bake for 40 minutes (covering with foil if the pastry browns too quickly) until the pastry is golden and crisp, and the filling is piping hot. Remove from the oven and rest for 5 minutes. Carefully remove from the moulds. Serve with mash.

ENGLISH MINI-MEAT PIES

Steps:

• For the dough: Sift the flour into a bowl and make a well in the center. Into the well, add the butter in small pieces, salt, egg and 2 tablespoons of water. Quickly knead and shape into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill for about 2 hours.
• For the filling: Preheat the oven to 180°C (approximately 350°F). Soak the bread in lukewarm water. Squeeze out excess water. Grind pork, fatty bacon and smoked bacon through a meat grinder. Peel and finely chop the shallots and garlic cloves. Combine with the bread, ground meat, egg, and salt and pepper to taste, and mix well.
• Divide the dough into 8 portions and roll out each approximately 5 mm (approximately 1/4 inch) thick.
• Butter four ramekins and line each with a dough circle. Spoon in the filling and top with the remaining dough. Trim and gently press the edges together seal. Garnish with remaining pastry and brush with egg yolk. Prick holes in the center of each pie.
• Bake in preheated oven until golden brown, 60-70 minutes.
• Allow to cool slightly in the ramekins, then remove and serve warm or cold.

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 BRITISH MINCE PIE

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Place the flour, butter, and salt into a large clean bowl.
• Rub the butter quickly into the flour with your fingertips until the mixture resembles rough sand.
• Stir the egg into the mixture using a cold knife.
• Add the cold water, a teaspoon at a time, and stir until the mixture binds but is not sticky.
• Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill for a minimum of 15 minutes and up to 30 minutes.
• Gather the ingredients.
• Preheat the oven to 400 F / 200 C / Gas Mark 6. Choose a muffin or bun tin for the size of the tart you want. Choose from a standard 12-cup muffin tin down to small canapé size. The number of pies will depend on the size of the tin you use.
• Dust a work surface lightly with a little flour and roll out 2/3 of the pastry to 1/8 inch thick. Cut circles to line the cups of your tin; don't worry if the pastry doesn't come to the very top.
• Fill the pastry-lined tins 2/3 full with mincemeat.
• Roll out the remaining pastry to the same thickness and cut smaller circles to fit as lids on the tarts or, to be decorative, cut stars or other fancy shapes.
• Dampen the edges of the tart bases with a little cold water and press the lids on. Make a small hole in the surface of each pie with a small sharp knife to allow the steam to escape.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes (15 minutes if making canapé-sized ones), or until golden brown.
• Let cool and sprinkle with the confectioners' sugar.
• Serve and enjoy.

EASY MINI ALE AND MEAT PIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Lightly flour a work surface. Roll each crust out to about 1/8-inch thick. Cut dough to fit three 3x5-inch loaf pans. Push dough into tins and up the edges using your fingertips. Roll out remaining dough for use as top crusts and set aside.
• Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add potatoes, celery, onion, and carrot. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. Add beef and cook until browned, 5 to 7 minutes. Add peas, corn, and ale; cook and stir until reduced by a bit more than half, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes.
• Add flour to the vegetable-ale mixture and stir constantly until thick and almost pasty, 1 to 3 minutes. Add stock slowly, stirring constantly. Add ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, salt, tomato bouillon, rosemary, and garlic powder. Reduce heat and simmer until filling mixture reduces to desired thickness and potatoes are cooked through, 7 to 10 minutes.
• Remove pot from heat and allow filling to cool slightly. Fill crusts with filling. Top with remaining dough and pinch edges to seal. Brush tops of pies with beaten egg wash. Cut 3 slits in the top of each pie for air to escape. Place tins on a baking sheet.
• Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown, about 30 minutes.

AUTHENTIC SCOTCH PIE RECIPE

Steps:

• Start by oiling the pie tins with a little vegetable oil, or put cling film over the end of the glasses/jars you intend to use.
• Put the flour in a large bowl and make a well in the middle.
• Cut the lard into cubes and add to a small pot of hot water, stirring until it's melted. Don't allow the water to boil.
• Pour the mixture into the flour well and mix together with a wooden spoon, until it's mostly combined. Turn it out onto a floured surface and knead a little to make sure it's fully combined. As the hot water pastry cools it becomes harder to manage so you need to work reasonably quickly.
• Divide the pastry into 4 balls and then take a little from each ball to save for the pie lid. Between a quarter to a third depending on the size of the pies you're making.
• Roll out the pastry balls to about 5mm thickness one by one and put them into the pie tins, ensuring there is a flat even edge to the top of the sides of the pie. We rolled to approximately 20cm each for our 10cm tins. If you're using a jar or glass then drape the pastry over and cut around it to ensure it has a flat edge where the top of the pie casing will be.
• Roll out the lids and put them on cling film or baking paper on a tray. The lids will need to fit inside of the pie casing so you'll want to make sure they are not the exact size of the tins/cases but slightly smaller.
• Put all of the pastry in the fridge to harden.
• In the meantime, finely chop one small onion and fry in a pan. Add the mace and mixed herbs, and then put in a bowl with the minimum amount of stock/gravy.
• Once cooled add to the lamb and mix through. Add additional stock/gravy if the mixture isn't too wet. You don't want there to be too much liquid as it will leak out of the pie while cooking and make the pastry soggy.
• Divide the lamb mixture up and fill the pie cases about 3/4 full.
• Push the pie lids down into the pie casing, so they are around 1cm from the top of the pie.
• Cut a small hole in the top of the pies to let the air escape.
• Put the pies in the oven for around 45 minutes at 180°C or 356°F. Check at 35/40 minutes as you want the pastry to be just golden-brown.
• You can remove from the tins as soon as they're cool enough to handle.

MINI MINCE PIES

Steps:

• In a medium bowl mix the flour and salt.
• Cut butter into the flour mixture with a fork or pastry blender until the flour has the consistency of sand and the butter is evenly distributed.
• Add 6-7 Tbsp of water slowly and mix with fork until the dough clumps together around the fork. It should clean the edges of the bowl and nearly come together on its own. All it should need is a gentle press together to come into a clean ball.
• Roll out the crust on a lightly floured surface to roughly 1/8 inch thick.
• Preheat your oven to 350F.
• Cut the rolled crust into small circles that fit nicely into your mini muffin tin. (We used roughly 2 ¼ - 2 ½ inch circles.) Re-roll the crust dough as necessary to fill 24 mini muffin tins.
• Spoon roughly 1 Tbsp of mincemeat into each crust shell.
• Roll out the leftover crust and use a cookie cutter to cut out a star or other shape for the top crust.
• Bake the mini mince pies for 30-35 minutes, until golden.
• Remove the pies from the oven and let them cool for 10 minutes in the pan before removing them to cool completely on a wire rack.
• Store the mini mince pies in an air-tight container for up to 2 weeks on the counter.

MINI MEAT PIES (AUSTRALIAN PARTY PIES)

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 180˚C / 360˚F.
• Remove 2 frozen sheets of shortcrust pastry and puff pastry and leave them on the bench to thaw.
• Heat the olive oil in a large pan and throw in the onions and garlic. Stir them around and cook until nicely fragrant and you just want to eat them all up (around a minute or so). You know, that amazing "Oh my god as if that's only onions and garlic" smell.
• Add the beef mince and cook until nicely browned, then pour over with red wine and sprinkle in the smoked paprika and nutmeg. Next, add in the mushrooms and grated carrots. Cook down until all the liquid has evaporated, stirring occasionally so nothing sticks and burns.
• Now reduce the heat to medium and add in the tomato paste, beef stock and that glossy brown gravy. Give everything a good stir. Remove from the heat and start working on those pie crusts!
• Use a large circular jar or bowl to cut out circles roughly 12 cm / 4.5 inches in diameter for the shortcrust pastry bases, and 8 cm / 3 inches for the puff pastry tops. Note: Sizes may vary slightly depending on the size of your muffin tray.
• Press the shortcrust bases out into a muffin tin, then scoop in some of the beef filling until they're full to the top. Don't overfill, as this will cause the pies to leak while cooking and pop the tops off.
• Next, place the puff pastry lids over each pie and press around the edge of each lid with your finger to seal them.
• Baste with the beaten egg and pierce the tops 4 times with a skewer. Pop them in the oven to bake for around 25 minutes or until the tops are flaky and golden brown.
• Serve hot with your favourite sauces such as tomato sauce/ketchup, bbq sauce, Worcestershire sauce or takoyaki sauce.