Australians are famous for their meat pies. Every Aussie bakery offers a range of pies, including steak and mushroom, steak and kidney, chicken curry, and even kangaroo pies! So loved are these meat pies, it is estimated that Australians eat about 270 million of them a year! As an American living in Australia for many years, I loved these small round pies filled with meat, surrounded by lots of gravy.
I recently saw an Instagram post by English baker, Julie Jones, whose beautiful meat pies inspired me to try making (and eating) them again. Julie makes highly decorative pastries, as illustrated in her latest cookbook, The Pastry School. Even though her pastries could almost be considered a work of art, she stresses that the most rewarding aspect of baking pastry should always be in the eating.
One of her signature recipes is Tartiflette Pies, featuring small oval shaped pies, baked in a ‘Simple Simon’ tin mould. There was something about the pies that looked like they could have come from a Charles Dickens story- perhaps it was the ‘old fashioned’ decorations on top or the shape of the pies. Anyway, I was hooked!
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After ordering the tin pie moulds from Silverwood Bakeware in England, I practiced making the pastry decorations for my pies. These included small braids, leaf shapes, and small circles made with the small end of a piping nozzle. Although I am not a skilled artist, I found these decorations were not too difficult to make.
(Not a fan of making fancy decorations for your meat pies? Just skip the decorations and make a meat pie using a traditional 9-inch pie plate).
Hot Water Pastry
Julie Jones uses Hot Water Pastry to make her meat pies. This involves melting butter and vegetable shortening (‘lard’) together, then slowly mixing it into a flour/egg mixture to form a paste. This type of dough is ideal for making meat pies since it doesn’t split or crack and turns a nice golden color while baking.
The recipe below is enough to produce one double-crusted 9-inch pie, or six mini-pies using the special ‘Simple Simon’ molds. You could also use any other type of mold or baking container that you wish.
What sort of meat should I use for the pies?
I prefer meat that has been slow-cooked and can be shredded (or pulled apart). I used chuck steak that was cooked in shiraz red wine and aromatics such as carrots, onions, garlic and bay leaf. You could also use lamb or chicken or just plain hamburger meat. After cooking the chuck steak, I reduced and thickened the braising liquid, then added it back to the meat and vegetables. It’s important that there is plenty of sauce or gravy in your pie filling- no dry pies allowed!
To line and bake the pie molds:
Roll out the dough to about 1/8 inch thick and cut out shapes for both the bottom and tops of your pie mold. For the sides, cut out strips long enough for a 1/2 inch overlap when fitting the sides into the mold.
Cut out shapes to fit bottoms and tops of your pie mold 
Cut out strips to fit sides of mold
Lightly brush the insides of the molds with oil, then fit the bottom and side pieces of the dough into the mold, overlapping the side ends 1/2 inch and pressing together at the seam. Trim away any excess dough that may rise over the lip of the mold.
Fill the molds with your meat mixture. TIP: make sure there is plenty of gravy/sauce in the filling so that it is very moist and slightly runny. Meat pies should not be dry!
Place the lids on top of the pies and add any decorations on top of the dough. Brush with egg wash. Bake at 350 F. for 30 minutes, then carefully remove the pies from their molds. Brush sides with egg wash and bake for another 10-15 minutes until crust is golden.
For the hot water pastry: Combine the flour and salt in a mixing bowl. Make a well in the center and add the egg; mix with a fork or wooden spoon. Heat the butter and shortening in a saucepan until the ingredients are melted. Bring to a boil for twenty seconds then gradually pour the mixture in a steady stream into the dry ingredients. Mix vigorously using a spatula or wooden spoon until dough starts to form a thick paste. Cover the bowl and let rest at room temperature for 30 minutes. Turn the mixture out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for several minutes until the dough forms a smooth ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes. When ready to use the pastry, roll the dough out to between 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick- the thinner the better! Cut out the tops and bottoms according to the shape of your pie molds. For the sides, cut out strips long enough for a 1/2 inch overlap when fitting the dough into the mold (mine were about 7 inches long and 1 /34 inches high). If making a traditional 9-inch pie, cut out pieces big enough to cover the bottom and top of the pie. To make the pie filling, Chop the steak into large cubes. Dust with a little flour and shake to remove the excess. Heat several tablespoons of vegetable oil in a Dutch oven or large pot. Brown the steak pieces over medium high heat on the stove top for several minutes. Transfer to a dish. Add the diced onion, carrot, and garlic to the Dutch Oven (or pot) and cook until tender (3 – 4 minutes). Add steak back into the pot with the veggies, then add the wine and beef stock, thyme and bay leaves. Bring the liquid to a soft boil, reduce the heat, cover the pot with a lid and let simmer on low heat for 1.5 – 2 hours or until the meat falls apart and is easy to shred. If necessary, add more stock to the pot to ensure the ingredients are fully covered by the cooking liquid. About 10 minutes before the meat is fully cooked, add peas (optional) to the pot. Add salt and pepper to taste. Strain the meat and veggies from the cooking liquid. Separate the meat from the veggies and shred it using a fork to ‘mash’ the meat fibers. Place the shredded meat and cooked veggies into a bowl and set aside. Pre-heat the oven to 180 C (350 F). Return the cooking liquid to the stovetop and let simmer until the sauce reduces to about 1/2 of the original volume. If required, add a bit of corn flour paste to the liquid to thicken it further. Combine the sauce with the reserved meat/veggie mixture until the mixture is very moist and slightly 'runny.' Press the bottom and side pastry pieces into your molds, overlapping the side pieces about 1/2 inch- pinch end pieces together. Brush a little egg wash on the rims of the pies to form a little 'glue' to hold the tops. Add the meat filling to the molds and cover with the top pieces- decorate tops accordingly. Brush the dough lightly with an egg wash (1 egg mixed with a little water or milk). Bake for 30 minutes then remove pies from oven and carefully remove the pies from their molds. Brush egg wash on the sides. return to oven and bake a further 15 minutes until the pie is golden brown and the dough is cooked through.Steak and Shiraz Pies
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