Shortcrust Pastry Mince Beef Pie Recipe

Aussies love a good meat pie. We love the hand-held ones because we get the whole thing to ourselves. But when you've got sharing vibes, this Family-size Meat Pie is the one you pull out. With a shortcrust base, slow-cooked fall-apart chunks of beef are smothered in a rich gravy, topped off with a golden puff pastry lid.

It's knee-knockingly good comfort food!

Pulling a slice out of freshly cooked Family Meat Pie

Family Meat Pie with slice taken out of it

A big, fat, Family Meat Pie

It dawned on me yesterday that the traits of my very favourite meat-based foods lie at opposite ends of the spectrum. Give me either the spanking freshness of raw stuff (think: sushi, ceviche, tartare) or the melt-in-your-mouth-tender perfection of slow-cooked meat smothered in a rich sauce like shanks, short ribs, pulled pork, stews. 🤩

There's plenty of good stuff that falls in between. But if you want to win me over*, bring me a tuna carpaccio or a slow cooked lasagna.

Or – a big fat Meat Pie!

* Or just give Dozer a lot of attention. Actually, this is the most effective method!

Slice of Family Meat Pie with ketchup on a plate

Anatomy of an awesome Family Meat Pie

Here's a breakdown of what makes up a great Aussie meat pie:

Shortcrust Base for family meat pie — Shortcrust base

Close up of pot of slow cooked beef filling for Family Meat Pie — Shortcrust base

Shortcrust base – Buttery and flaky, this pastry type has enough structure to contain the considerable volume of rich filling! It is blind baked (ie partially cooked before filling) so it doesn't go soggy once baked with the filling. Use store-bought shortcrust pastry for convenience (freezer section), but for a truly great Meat Pie, use homemade shortcrust pastry!
Meat Pie Filling – Your basic meat pie might only be made with beef. But the addition of mushroom, bacon, celery and carrots only makes it better! Bacon for flavour, mushroom for just general extra-delicious factor. Celery and carrots add flavour into the sauce as well as breaking up the filling texture a bit so it's not just 100% full-on meat.

The secret ingredient in this meat pie sauce is Guinness (or other dark beer or red wine) which makes it dark and rich as well as adding a stack of flavour. It puts your basic store bought pies to shame!
Puff pastry top – The traditional topping for Meat Pies is puff pastry. You simply can't top golden, flaky and buttery puff pastry as the lid for a meat pie!

Ingredients in Family Meat Pie filling

Here's what goes in the Family Meat Pie filling:

Chuck beef – A cut of beef made for slow cooking that breaks down into fall-apart goodness, ideal for using for meat pie fillings.

Alternative cuts: boneless short ribs (but it's fattier and pricier), beef osso buco (cook on bone then discard later) and beef cheeks (but the beef pieces will buckle rather than stay in neat cubes).

Not recommended: brisket (a bit stringy), steaks and other quick cooking cuts of beef, or roasts (too lean and will dry out).
Onion and garlic – Essential flavour base for the rich sauce.
Carrots, celery and mushrooms – Vegetable add-ins. These introduce a bit of non-meat goodness into the filling. Without it's meat, meat, meat! Which, while delicious, can be a bit too full-on!
Bacon – This is one of my "secret ingredients" in meat pies. Also for sausage rolls, for that matter! It's sautéed at the beginning so other ingredients can be cooked in the bacon fat. And the bacon releases flavour into the sauce. But no, it doesn't taste bacon-y at the end!

For the Meat Pie Filling Sauce

The sauce is essentially a very rich stew sauce that is a Beef & Guinness Stew that borrows techniques from a French-style stew like Beef Bourguignon. Yep, we are stealing secrets from the French to make the very best Aussie meat pie!

The flavourful stout beer in this recipe is the reason why there are so few ingredients needed for flavour in the sauce. Red wine can also be used, for a slightly more elegant sauce option – see below for more on this.

Guinness or other stout – This rich, dark beer is a magical ingredient to use in slow cooked dishes because hours of simmering cooks out the alcohol and leaves behind a rich, earthy flavour that you can't buy in jars. There is no trace of "beery" flavour left at all, just the dark and complex notes from the stout.

It also gives the sauce the deep, dark brown colour which is part of the appeal of this filling. Nobody wants a meat pie with a pale filling!

Red wine can also be used for a slightly more elegant sauce option (essentially Beef Bourguignon sauce) which is equally as delicious. I opted for Guinness here because it gives the sauce a slightly richer, earthier flavour that Aussies know and love about Meat Pies!

Non alcoholic option – The best flavour-boosting alternative would be to add anchovies. It will NOT make it taste fishy but will add some desirable complexity in lieu of beer. See recipe notes for directions.
Beef stock – Believe it or not, there is not a huge difference between homemade and store-bought beef stock in this recipe! I was quite surprised because ordinarily, for great classic dishes of the world, I find that homemade beef stock is a key quality that sets apart a good homemade version from an exceptional restaurant quality one (like in Bourguignon and Coq au Vin).

However, for the Aussie Meat Pie, I found that store-bought beef stock was almost as good as using homemade. I think it's because beer does so much more heavy-lifting in the sauce compared to wine.

Whichever way you go, I don't recommend using powdered beef stock.

Flour and butter (sauce thickening) – In today's recipe, we are thickening the stew using a simple French finishing technique called a Beurre Manié. This is raw flour and softened butter mixed together, and then stirred into a liquid (a sauce usually). It makes the sauce shiny and thick.

The idea for this pie is as follows. The sauce needs to be thicker than regular stews else it runs everywhere when you serve a slice of pie. Adding flour at the start means you're working with an already-thick sauce while it cooks. Thick sauces require regular stirring to ensure it doesn't catch on the base of the pot but the problem is all this stirring causes the beef pieces that are tender from long cooking to break apart. We want lovely big chunks, not shredded beef!

It is much, much easier just to use a Beurre Manié instead to thicken the sauce at the end! (Bonus: You get to sound like a total pro when you tell your family how you made this.)

Base and lid for Meat Pie

Meat Pie Base – The traditional base for Meat Pies is shortcrust pastry. This is a buttery, flaky pastry that is used for things like quiche and sweet pies (like Pumpkin pie, Pecan pie).

It is ideal for meat pies because it is sturdy enough to hold up to the rich, dense filling. This recipe calls for 800g / 1.6 pounds of beef – this makes quite a bit of filling!

Store-bought is fine, but homemade shortcrust pastry really is worth making if you have the time. The flavour is better and also texture.

Puff pastry could also be used however for the base, to avoid the need to buy two different pastries. See recipe notes for directions.

Meat pie lid – The traditional lid for meat pies is puff pastry. These days, the quality of store-bought is actually very good if you opt for real butter puff pastry. Cheaper puff pastry is made with oil rather than butter so it doesn't tastes as nice and doesn't puff up as well.

If you make your own, I will be mighty impressed. Brag in the comments section below – you deserve to!! 😂

This is the brand I usually use, just purchased from grocery stores in Australia:

How to make Family Meat Pie

Buckle in! This does take time to make because it involves making a slow-cooked stew filling which then needs to be cooled before filling the pie. But it's straightforward, and an excellent leisurely weekend project. Most of all you'll know with just one bite that it was worth every second!

1. Make the Meat Pie Filling

Brown beef – Season the beef with salt and pepper, then brown aggressively in a heavy based pot over high heat. Turn the beef cubes to get a lovely brown crust all over. You don't need to cook the beef all the way through here, we are just after colour on the outside. This not only adds flavour to the beef, but the golden bits left on the base of the pot adds valuable flavour to the sauce (that beautiful stuff is called fond).
Cook ingredients individually – We start with bacon, cooked until golden and to release its fat. We then use the fat to cook the following ingredients. After the bacon is cooked, add it into the bowl with the browned beef.

Then we add a little butter into the pot because the residual bacon fat isn't enough to cook the mushrooms properly. We want the mushrooms to get nice and golden – and we need enough fat to get there! Once the mushrooms are done, remove to a separate bowl because we will be adding them into the stew partway through the slow cook time.

Lastly onion, garlic, celery and carrots go in together. We don't need to make these golden, we just want to cook the onion enough so the flavour transforms from pungent to sweet.
Add liquids – Add Guinness, beef stock and water to the pot, then give it a good stir.
Return beef and bacon to pot – Then add the browned beef and bacon back into the pot.
Bring to simmer – Bring the stew up to a simmer, then cover with a lid. Remember, no flour added yet to thicken – we're going to thicken the stew at the end because it's easier.
Slow cook 2 hours – Transfer the pot the oven for 2 hours adding mushrooms at the 1 hour mark. We add the mushrooms in later so they don't become too soft.

The oven temperature is 180°C/350°F (160°C fan) which might sound quite high, but actually, it's the equivalent of simmering the stew on a very low heat on the stove. I generally prefer doing slow cooked stews in the oven rather than the stove because it's lower maintenance – it's entirely hands-off, no need to stir.

2. Thicken Sauce

Out of oven – After 2 hours, the meat should be quite tender but not yet completely "fall apart at a touch". The sauce will have reduced and darkened in colour but will still be very thin. We are going to thicken it in the next steps.
Simmer for 20 minutes – Next, we put it on the stove to simmer for 20 minutes. The purpose of this step is to reduce the liquid a bit more because meat pie fillings have a more concentrated, smaller volume of sauce than typical stews. During this step, the beef will become "fall-apart-tender". If it doesn't, cover with a lid (to prevent further liquid evaporation) and keep simmering until it does!
Sauce thickener Beurre Manié – Mix together the flour and softened butter to make a Beurre Manié. This is going to be mixed into the stew to thicken the sauce. The butter stops the flour forming lumps when it hits the hot stew (yay!).

The purpose of using a Beurre Manié here is explained in the ingredients section earlier. It allows us to thicken the sauce without the problem of broken up meat from excess stirring!
Stir in Beurre Manié – As noted above, once the Beurre Manié is made, you just need to stir it into the sauce. The butter just melts in effortless, so you hardly need to stir. Watch the lump-free thickening magic unfold!
Thickened sauce – Continue to cook the sauce for a couple of minutes. As the flour cooks, it will continue to thicken the sauce. The goal: A sauce viscosity that is about the consistency of honey, ie. Thicker than normal stews but not pasty. When you cut the pie, you want the filling to ooze slowly not run everywhere. The filling does not thicken further when it is baked in the pie, so you want to get the sauce thickness right at this stage.

The photo below shows what the filling should look like at this stage fresh off the stove. There is more sauce than you think too, which is what you want because some will inevitably get absorbed by the pastry (don't worry! It stays crisp!).

Cool filling – A VERY IMPORTANT STEP! The filling must be cooled before using for two reasons. Firstly, so it doesn't soak into the pie crust base and make it immediately soggy. Secondly, so the hot filling doesn't melt the butter in the puff pastry when the lid is put on. Melted butter in puff pastry = no puff = 😩

How to cool the pie filling – Cover the pot with a lid to prevent further liquid evaporation (else the sauce will get too thick from water loss). Then leave in the pot or transfer to a container. Let it cool on the counter for a few hours then transfer into the fridge. Never put a hot pot in the fridge!

PRO TIP: For best results, leave the filling overnight. As with all stews, the flavour just gets better!

3. Assembling the Family Meat Pie

We're on the home stretch here! So close to tasting this magnificent beast!

Blind bake pie crust – Whether using store bought or homemade shortcrust pastry, it needs to be blind baked to ensure the base doesn't go soggy once filled with the pie filling. "Blind baking" simply means that the crust is partially baked. It will finish baking once we fill it.

Follow the directions in the Shortcrust Pastry recipe for how to make shortcrust pastry (if you want to use homemade) and how to blind bake the pie crust (whether using homemade or store bought).
Fill crust – Once the crust has been blind baked, let it cool for 15 minutes. This helps ensure the base stays crispy because the pastry is more porous when hot.

The Pie Filling should be at room temperature and not cold before filling the pie, for two reasons. Firstly, fridge-cold filling is stiff and difficult to evenly pack into the pie crust. Secondly, puff pastry sitting atop fridge-cold filling doesn't cook as evenly. The edges of the pastry will go beyond brown well before the middle cooks.

Fill the pie crust with the Meat Pie Filling. If using a 9″ / 23cm pie tin as I do, you should be able to use ALL the pie filling! It will fill it right to the surface with a slight mound. The filling sinks a bit as it settles into the casing when in the oven.

Top with puff pastry – Brush the rim with egg (the world's best food glue) then place a sheet of puff pastry on the pie. Use scissors to trim excess so the puff pastry lines up with the edge of the shortcrust pastry.

It's easier to trim with scissors after placing rather than cutting out the shape before placing because you really won't know what size you need due to the filling mounding slightly.
Crimp with fork – Press down with a fork, to crimp all along the edge. While this is optional from a decorative purpose, it also helps ensure the puff pastry is firmly adhered to the base. Nobody wants pie filling bursting out of their pie because of a sloppy job gluing the lid on! 😂

Egg wash – Brush the surface with lightly whisked egg so it will bake up beautifully golden and shiny.

PRO TIP: For guaranteed deep golden surface, brush with egg yolk. It's just a little less practical because you need to use a whisked whole egg for brushing the edges to adhere the puff pastry lid to the base which doesn't use much egg so you'll have a lot left over. Then you need another egg, yolk only, to brush the surface. But if you have a good oven, you can just brush with whisked whole egg, as I have done.
Incision – Then use a small knife to cut an X in the middle. This allows steam to escape so the puff pastry lid doesn't distend from trapped steam underneath.

Bake 45 to 50 minutes – Bake the pie straight on an oven rack for 45 to 50 minutes at 200°C/390°F (180°C fan), or until the top is beautifully golden. Do not put it on a tray because this will affect how evenly and quickly the puff pastry cooks (as the tray will affect how the hot air circulates in the oven). If you are concerned about mess if the filling leaks out, put something on the floor of the oven.

If your pie filling was a little on the cool side, you will probably find that it takes closer to 60 minutes. Just bake until that top is golden and flaky!
Voila! Yes, I know it's been quite a journey to get here. But when this fat, bronzed beauty comes out of the oven just ask yourself, HOW IS THIS MEAT-FILLED MASTERPIECE NOT WORTH IT!!?? (That's a dead set rhetorical question, in case you didn't pick it)

Rest 5 minutes – I know, I know, you are busting to crack through that pie lid immediately. But I need you to be patient for just 5 minutes longer! Let it rest just for a wee bit to make the pastry a bit more stable so it's easier for you to cut and serve slices.

The perfect meat pie filling….

Notice how the pie filling is saucy, and that there's plenty of it, but it's not running everywhere and nor is it thick and stodgy (that's a frequently used and unflattering term used around these parts). It's a nice, thick gravy that (mostly) stays in the pie. That's exactly what we're aiming for!!

And here's a couple of up-close-and-personal snaps highlighting the finest features of our meaty model:

Fall-apart beef – Just some photo evidence, in case you were in any doubt!
The pie crust! Flake perfection. It's not stiff enough so you can hold an entire slice in your hands, nor is it supposed to be. But if you're like me and you like to save the best for last, you'll start from the sloppy end and eat your way towards the crust, then use your hands to eat the crust!

Make-ahead tips

Overload of meat pie-making this year for various pie recipes has lead to the discovery of some handy make ahead tips!

Bake ahead and store – Let the whole pie cool in the pie dish, then refrigerate. Once cool, you will be able to lift the whole pie out of the pie tin – it's solid! Wrap and refrigerate 4 days or freezer 3 months. Thaw then bake for 30 minutes to reheat at 180°C/350°F, loosely covered with foil.
Assemble and bake at the ready – Assemble the entire pie but do not do the egg wash (it just doesn't hold up well when done ahead). Then refrigerate 2 days (beyond this, thawed puff pastry suffers) or freezer 3 months. Thaw, egg wash, then bake per recipe.

As a general note, thawed then refrigerated or refrozen puff pastry doesn't puff up quite as well as when it is thawed then baked immediately. But for a meat pie, the difference is marginal enough to not matter.

Make a mega-feast starring this Family Meat Pie with the addition of the following:

A big, beautiful Spring Salad filled with peas, asparagus and snow peas.
Garlic bread! Because nobody ever says no to garlic bread…
Self Saucing Butterscotch Pudding for dessert. Warm, soft, caramel flavoured cake AND a butterscotch sauce that magically makes itself? It's got my name written ALL OVER IT!

If you're about to make this for dinner, I'm so jealous. I want to be you! I want to be there! – Nagi x

PS See below recipe card for the complete Meat Pie Recipe Collection.

Watch how to make it

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Servings 6

Recipe video above. Aussies love a good meat pie. We love the hand-held ones because we get thewhole thing to ourselves. But when you've got sharing vibes, this Family-size Meat Pie is the one you pull out. Shortcrust base, slow cooked fall-apart chunks of beef smothered in a rich gravy with a golden puff pastry lid.

It's knee-shatteringly good comfort food!

Workflow – I usually make the filling the day before, then refrigerate overnight. Then I do everything else on the day of serving.

Beef:

▢ 800g/ 1.6lb chuck beef , 3.5cm/1.4″ cubes (Note 1)
▢ 3/4 tsp salt
▢ 1/2 tsp pepper
▢ 2 tbsp olive oil , plus more as needed (or vegetable or canola)

Filling:

▢ 30g / 2tbsp unsalted butter
▢ 200g / 7 oz mushrooms , smallish, halved (larger ones quartered)
▢ 125g / 4 oz streaky bacon , cut into 1 x 1.5cm / 0.4 / 0.6″ cubes
▢ 1 onion , cut into 2cm / 0.8" cubes
▢ 2 garlic cloves , minced
▢ 1 celery , cut into 1cm/0.4″ slices (split wide end of celery lengthwise, don't want giant celery chunks)
▢ 1 carrot , halved, 1cm/0.4″ slices (quarter very thick end if needed)
▢ 330ml / 11 oz Guinness (Note 2)
▢ 2 cups beef stock , homemade or store bought low sodium (Note 3)
▢ 1 cup water
▢ 1/4 tsp salt
▢ 3/4 tsp coarsely crushed black pepper , plus more as desired

Beurre Manié (sauce thickener, Note 4)

▢ 4 tbsp flour
▢ 60g / 4 tbsp unsalted butter , softened

Pastry:

▢ 1 quantity shortcrust pastry , homemade or store bought (Note 5)
▢ 1 sheet puff pastry , for lid (Note 6)
▢ 1 egg , lightly whisked

Serving:

▢ Ketchup or Aussie Tomato Sauce , for serving

Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F (160°C fan).
Brown beef: Sprinkle beef with 3/4 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper. Heat oil in a large heavy based pot over high heat. Brown beef aggressively in 2 to 3 batches (do not crowd pot, else it gets watery instead of browning). Then remove beef into a big bowl.
Wipe down pot: Wipe pot clean of burnt bits, if needed.
Cook bacon: Cool pot, add bacon. Place pot back onto medium heat. When you see some fat starting to melt, turn heat up to medium high and cook bacon until golden. Then remove into bowl with beef.
Cook mushrooms: Melt 30g/ 2tbsp butter in the pot. Cook mushrooms until golden with a pinch of salt and pepper. Remove into separate bowl with slotted spoon.
Cook other vegetables: Add onion, garlic, carrot and celery then cook for 5 minutes until onion is soft and sweet, not too golden. Add oil if needed, but bacon fat + residual butter should be enough.
Oven slow cook: Add beef, bacon, Guinness, water, stock, 1/4 tsp salt and 3/4 tsp pepper. Stir then bring to simmer. Cover with lid, then transfer to oven for 1 hour.
Add mushrooms, then continue cooking in the oven for a further 1 hour. Meat should be starting to be tender at this stage.

Thicken Sauce and Cool:

Stove reduce: Remove pot from oven. Remove lid, then simmer on low heat for 20 minutes to reduce sauce. Meat should now be "fall-apart-tender" but just holding form (not disintegrating).
Sauce thickener (Beurre Manié – Note 4): Mix together butter and flour until smooth.
Thicken sauce: Stir Beurre Manié into sauce. Once melted, leave on the stove for another 2 minutes. Sauce should be thicker than a normal stew, like a honey consistency. Sauce will not thicken any more in oven, so make it exactly what you want – Note 7. Also, there will be more sauce than you expect for a pie – some gets absorbed by pastry (but won't make it soggy).
Cool: Cover pot with lid, then let it cool completely, preferably overnight. (Note 8)

Assemble and bake:

Shortcrust base: Make and blind bake Shortcrust Pastry per that recipe using a 23cm/9" pie dish, whether using homemade or store bought. Then let it cool for at least 15 minutes (stays crispier).
Preheat oven: Turn oven up to 200°C/390°F (180°C fan).
Fill pie: Bring filling to room temp, do not use fridge cold. (Note 9) Fill pie with filling (use it all, pack it in a level surface or have slight mound).
Puff pastry lid: Partially thaw puff pastry (do not cut). Brush lip of pie crust base with egg, then top with puff pastry sheet. Trim excess with scissors, press to adhere to edges. Then press the tip of a fork around the edge to make little crimps (to further adhere + decorative).
Egg wash: Brush top with remaining whisked egg, then make a 2.5cm / 1" X incision in middle to allow steam to escape (stops lid doming).
Bake: Bake 45 – 50 minutes until top is super golden. Rest 5 minutes. Brag in comments below that you made this magnificent pie. Save Nagi a slice. Then serve remainder with ketchup or Aussie tomato sauce!

1. Chuck beef – Look for beef that's nicely ribboned with fat, as it will be juicier and more tender. Don't buy pre-cut small pieces, they will cook too quickly before the flavour in the sauce develops. It's better to buy a big piece and cut your own to size.

Other beef cuts that can be used: 1.3kg / 2.6lb beef osso bucco (2.5cm / 1″ thick, cook whole on bone then flake big chunks of meat off at end, start checking at 1 hr as it cooks faster than chuck. Boneless beef ribs (but it's fattier) or beef cheeks (though pieces will warp in shape). Brisket not recommended (too stringy / dry). Do not use steaks, roasts or other lean cuts.

2. Guinness – Key for rich flavour in sauce despite so few ingredients, so don't skip it! Stout is also excellent.

Red wine (pinot, merlot, anything dry) – use 600ml / 2 1/2 cups and skip the water. Sauce colour will be more like Beef Bourguignon, slightly more elegant (French!) flavour. I love this version too.

Non alcoholic option –Beer brings great depth of flavour to the sauce. So if you need to skip it, we need to replace it with something that brings similar complexity of flavour. My best suggestion is anchovies. To do this, REDUCE salt sprinkled on beef to 1/4 tsp. Finely mince 3 anchovy fillets (removed from oil in jar or tin) or 1 1/2 tsp anchovy paste. Add that with the onion and cook per recipe. Replace beer in recipe with 1 cup of beef stock (MUST be low sodium) and 1/2 cup of water. I have not tried this. But I am confident it will yield very good results having done so for similar recipes. It is what I will do if I need to make a non alcoholic version of this recipe.

3. Beef stock – Store bought is good! For this recipe, store bought stock yields a result quite close to using homemade, probably because the Guiness adds so much flavour and the sauce is more concentrated than typical stews. Be sure to use low sodium, else it will be too salty.

4. Beurre Manié sauce thickener – This is a French cooking technique where flour is mixed with softened butter to make a Beurre Manié. This is mixed into liquids to thicken it and make it glossy.

I am not using this method to show off! 😂 It works better and is easier than the usual method of adding flour at the beginning of the stew because this sauce is thicker than typical stew sauces. So you'd need to stir constantly to ensure the base doesn't catch, and in doing so the tender meat falls apart. It is far easier and safer to just stir the thickener in at the end.

5. Shortcrust pastry – homemade will yield the best flavour and texture, if you have a food processor, it's a cinch!

Store bought – 1 standard Australian sheet of store bought frozen shortcrust pastry (20cm/8″ square). Use offcuts to patch up as needed (use egg to glue then press firmly).

Puff pastry option (so you can just buy one packet of pastry) – line base, pick with fork, cover with 2 big sheets of baking paper in a cross. Fill to top with baking beads, rice or dried beans. Bake 200C/390F for 20 minutes, remove beans and paper, bake 5 minutes unfilled. Proceed with recipe. (Note: pastry is thinner and not as sturdy as shortcrust. But it is still very tasty!)

6. Puff pastry – Use butter puff pastry, puffs better, better flavour. You only need 1 standard Australian sheet which s 20cm/8″ square. Partially thaw, do not let it thaw completely before using – harder to handle (floppy, sticky). Stick it back in freezer if that happens.

7. Sauce thickness – Adjust sauce as needed ie more water to loosen, or if meat is done before sauce reduced, remove meat with slotted spoon and reduce liquid.

In determining sauce thickness, remember that it will not thicken any more when cooked inside the pie. So make the sauce as thick as you want it to be in the finished dish. Ensure there is a bit more sauce than you expect in the finished pie as some will get absorbed by the pastry (but don't worry, it's not soggy, there's plenty of crisp!)

8. Cooling filling – Essential to do this else the puff pastry melts and it won't puff up. Do not cool uncovered otherwise too much liquid evaporates and sauce gets too thick. To speed up cooling, can spread on tray but work quickly to cover asap. Never put piping hot things into fridge, cool on counter first then place in fridge. Overnight is best because for all stews, flavour improves with time!

9. Room temp filling – Fridge cold filling is stiff and thick which makes it harder to pack into the pie shell. Plus (more importantly) the puff pastry won't cook well if it starts off resting on a fridge cold filling. Needs to be room temp – around 17C/63F. See above why filling can't be hot.

10. Storage – As with all things puff pastry, this is best served hot and fresh out of the oven! Can assemble with puff pastry lid up to 2 days in advance, but do egg wash on lid just before baking. Make sure the blind baked pie crust is cooled before filling, and that the filling is cool before putting it in. Store in fridge. Can also freeze assembled uncooked, thaw then bake per recipe.

11. Nutrition per serving. I never said this was diet food! Go for a long walk tomorrow.

Calories: 806 cal (40%) Carbohydrates: 38 g (13%) Protein: 41 g (82%) Fat: 53 g (82%) Saturated Fat: 21 g (131%) Polyunsaturated Fat: 5 g Monounsaturated Fat: 25 g Trans Fat: 1 g Cholesterol: 173 mg (58%) Sodium: 1243 mg (54%) Potassium: 955 mg (27%) Fiber: 2 g (8%) Sugar: 2 g (2%) Vitamin A: 2178 IU (44%) Vitamin C: 3 mg (4%) Calcium: 55 mg (6%) Iron: 5 mg (28%)

Keywords: Australian Meat Pie, family pie, Meat Pie

The Meat Pie Recipe Collection

Evidence of my love of all things meat pie.

Life of Dozer

Cute when he photobombs day to day candid photos. Not so cute when he photobombs recipe video shoots.

Oh, who am I kidding. I think it's cute whenever he photobombs ANYTHING! 😂

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Source: https://www.recipetineats.com/family-meat-pie/