Meat Pies by the Maker of Pies

Makes these delectable meat pies using a pastry creator! Perfect for gatherings and hosting. Simple pastry creator formula with step-by-step images.

Pastry Creator

I have hopped on board the pastry creator trend. I never planned to. Our kitchen is 9 square meters in size with minimal storage, and I already felt that owning two (yes, two!) waffle machines was a bit extreme.

But this unique period of isolation to avoid a particular virus has resulted in many (many) late night online shopping splurges. Granted, I do most of my shopping online anyway, and almost always late at night after the children have gone to bed.

But having endured 8 weeks of working remotely, plus homeschooling two children, plus preparing two meals a day, I felt I could use some assistance in the kitchen. Hence, the pastry creator.

Why This Formula Works

• Create mouth-watering meat pies in a pastry creator with incredibly crispy pastry all over!
• These pies only take 10 minutes to cook in a pastry creator.
• No need to pre-bake the pastry, which means you can make and serve the pies more quickly.
• Mini pies have a higher pastry to filling ratio, which means more delightful pastry!

Effortless as Pie

I adore making my Australian Meat Pies or Traditional Meat Pies when the yearning strikes.

But anyone who creates pies regularly will know that it can be a time-consuming task. A good meat pie always has a crisp base, which is best achieved by pre-baking the pastry first, which means a good 15-30 minutes just for this step.

With a pastry creator, you can skip the pre-baking! Omitting this step means that making pies has never been simpler! In fact, now that I own a pastry creator, I'm not certain I will return to making pies the old-fashioned way again...

Meat Pie Formula

As an Australian, I like to stick to the classics – beef and mushroom, steak and pepper, chicken and vegetable. I also have a soft spot for a curry pie!

A beef meat pie filling is typically a beef stew of some kind, but with a thicker sauce so that the filling doesn't run everywhere, especially since meat pies are usually eaten on-the-go with the hands.

It goes without saying that almost any stew can be turned into a meat pie. In fact, what I often do in winter is turn leftover beef stews into meat pies; my Beef Bourguignon meat pies are very popular in my family!

The pie maker recipe below uses the same beef and Guinness filling as that for my Classic Meat Pies. It's a classic and comforting beef stew which uses stout to give that familiar bakery flavor.

Pie Maker Recipe

For pie maker recipes, I prefer to use puff pastry for both the bottom and cover. I find it more practical and cost-effective to use just one type of pastry when making mini pies.

But you could, of course, go the traditional route and use shortcrust pastry for the base and puff pastry for the cover.

How to Use a Pie Maker

Step 1

Preheat the pie maker.

While the pie maker is heating up, cut out the pastry for the pie bases and covers.

I suggest only cutting out as many as you need to fit the pie maker, and to cut any additional pastry while you are waiting for the pies to cook. Pastry works best when it is cold from the fridge – it is easier to handle, and there is less shrinkage with cold pastry.

Consult the manufacturer's instructions to find out the dimensions you need to cut for the pie bases and covers.

For my pie maker, the bases are 11 cm and the covers are 9.5 cm.

Place the pie bases, one at a time, into the pie slots.

Since the pie machine is very hot, use a small glass or similar container to gently push the pastry into the slot. Repeat with the remaining pie bases.

Since the machine is hot, it will start to cook the pastry right away. So try to work quickly so that each pie will cook for the same amount of time.

Step 2

Quickly fill each pie base with some filling, taking care not to over-fill.

Step 3

Place the pastry covers on top of the filling.

Fourth Step

Swiftly brush each pie with some egg wash.

Fifth Step

Seal the cover of the pie maker, and cook for approximately 10 minutes, or until the pastry is amber in color and completely cooked.

Sometimes the pastry may appear nicely amber, but it hasn't fully cooked yet. A lot depends on the kind of pastry you've used, as well as its thickness.

You may have to experiment with a couple of batches to determine the optimal timing for your machine.

Benefits of Using a Pie Maker

1. Incredibly crispy pies: These machines ensure that your pies don't have a damp bottom! Every pie I've made has had perfectly crisp pastry all around, even crispier than traditionally-made pies.
2. Super fast: While it may take some time to prepare the filling, the pies themselves only take a mere 10 minutes to cook (albeit 4 at a time).
3. Extremely easy: To make a delicious meat pie with crisp pastry at the bottom, you typically have to pre-bake the pastry, which can be a bit troublesome with mini pies. But a pie maker eliminates the need for pre-baking, making the pies much simpler to prepare.
4. Convenient: If you regularly make sweet and/or savory pies, you will likely find that your pie maker gets plenty of use.

Drawbacks of Using a Pie Maker

1. Size: These machines are not particularly small – the models that make 6 pies are even larger.
2. Not suitable for children: Since the pie makers get very hot, I recommend adult supervision if you plan on involving kids. Similar to a hot waffle maker or jaffle maker, kids need to be cautious to avoid burning themselves on the inside of the machine.

Tips For Using a Pie Maker

• Prepare everything in advance: Once the pie maker is hot, make sure you have all your ingredients and components ready, ready to be assembled.
• Work swiftly: Since the machine will be hot, the pastry will start to cook as soon as you place it in the pie maker. So work swiftly to ensure that all your pies cook for approximately the same amount of time.

Utilize a separate timer: Some pie makers come with an integrated timer to signal when the pies are finished. However, I suggest checking at approximately 8 minutes to ensure that the pies are not excessively browning. Occasionally, the pies may appear golden brown, but the pastry might not be completely cooked. Therefore, you may need to experiment with a few batches.

Sanitize in between batches: Based on my experience, a significant amount of fat can escape from the pastry during cooking, and my particular model accumulates a considerable amount of hot fat around the edges after each batch. For easier cleanup, I recommend using paper towels to swiftly absorb the fat in between batches and once you have finished cooking. I find this method more convenient for cleaning the machine compared to letting the fat solidify at the end of cooking. Once the machine has completely cooled down, it is advisable to give it a thorough wipe-down.

Additional Pie Recipes

You can prepare pie maker pies with nearly any filling of your preference. Some alternative fillings that would be delightful in this context include:

Australian Meat Pies (for a traditional minced beef filling)

Beef Bourguignon (for a filling consisting of beef and red wine)

Classic Meat Pies (for a filling comprising of beef, mushrooms, and Guinness)

Hand Pies with Ham and Cheese (for a creamy filling with ham, vegetables, and cheese in a white sauce)

Print

• Author: Thanh | Eat, Little Bird
• Preparation Time: 10 mins
• Cooking Time: 10 mins
• Total Time: 20 minutes
• Yield: 24 mini pies
• Category: Pies
• Method: Pie Maker
• Cuisine: Australian

Craft these delectable meat pies using a pie maker! Ideal for gatherings and entertaining. An effortless pie maker recipe with step-by-step pictures.

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Ingredients

To create the Beef, Mushroom and Guinness Filling

• 1 kg (2 lb) chuck steak or blade steak, sliced into 5 cm (2 inch) pieces
• 60 ml (1/4 cup) olive oil
• 2 brown onions, thickly sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 250 ml (1 cup) Guinness, stout, pale ale, or beef stock
• 500 ml (2 cups) beef stock
• 5 sprigs of fresh thyme
• 2 fresh bay leaves
• sea salt
• freshly ground pepper
• 500 g (1/2 lb) mushrooms, thickly sliced
• 2–3 tablespoons cornflour (cornstarch), mixed with some water
• 2–3 tablespoons freshly chopped parsley


To put together the Pie Maker Meat Pies

• puff pastry
• 1 egg, lightly whisked

Instructions

To make the Beef, Mushroom and Guinness Filling

1. Heat some oil in a large pan. I prefer using a cast-iron pan with a tightly fitting lid.
2. Season the beef generously with sea salt and freshly ground pepper.
3. Sear the beef in small batches, and use a slotted spoon to transfer the browned meat to a large bowl. Avoid overcrowding the pan, as the meat will steam instead of browning. It is the caramelization on the meat that adds a lot of flavor to the stew.
4. Add the onions and garlic, and cook for 1-2 minutes.
5. Pour in the Guinness and let everything simmer.
6. Use a wooden spoon to scrape off any caramelized bits on the pan.
7. Add the beef stock, thyme, and bay leaves.
8. Return the beef to the pan, along with any meat juices collected in the bowl.
9. Reduce the heat to low, and simmer gently for about 2 hours, or until the beef is tender. Refer to Kitchen Notes below for instructions using a pressure cooker.
10. Once the beef is tender, add the mushrooms.
11. Simmer gently for a few minutes until the mushrooms have slightly softened.
12. During this time, try to remove the thyme and bay leaves.
13. Increase the heat to medium-high, and gradually add the cornflour slurry. You may not need all of it – use just enough until you achieve a fairly thick consistency.
14. Taste the sauce for seasoning.
15. Stir in the parsley.
16. Set the mixture aside to completely cool down.

To put together the Pie Maker Pies

1. Preheat the pie maker.
2. Refer to the manufacturer's instructions for the dimensions of the pie bottoms and lids. Alternatively, use a ruler to determine the dimensions you need.
3. Cut out 4 pie bottoms and 4 pie lids from the pastry.
4. When the pie maker is ready to use, place one pie bottom at a time into the pie maker. Use your fingers or a small glass to gently press down the pastry. As the machine will be very hot, be careful and work quickly as the pastry will start cooking once it touches the pan.
5. Swiftly fill each pie bottom with 1 to 2 tablespoons of filling.
6. Place the pie lids on top of the filling.
7. Brush each pie with some egg wash.
8. Close the pie maker.
9. Set the timer for 10 minutes, but check around the 8-minute mark.
10. While the pies are cooking, prepare the pie bottoms and lids for the next batch.
11. Once the pies are cooked to your liking, serve immediately or keep them warm in an oven at 150°C (300°F).
12. Repeat with the remaining pastry and filling.


Kitchen Notes

COOKING TIMES Prep Time and Cook Time indicated here only pertain to using the pie maker.

WHICH TYPE OF PASTRY TO USE Traditionally, meat pies have a bottom made of shortcrust pastry and a lid made of puff pastry. When making mini pies, I prefer using just puff pastry to minimize waste, but you can use whichever type you prefer.



USING THE PRESSURE COOKER If you're short on time, I recommend using a pressure cooker to make the filling. Follow Steps 1 to 8 according to the instructions above, but only add 1 cup of beef stock. Cook on high pressure for 30 minutes, then quickly release the pressure. Remove the lid, add the mushrooms, and continue with the rest of the recipe. If the stew needs more liquid, add additional beef stock or boiling water.



FREEZER TIPS If you plan on freezing the pies, I suggest cooking them until they're just lightly golden but the pastry still holds its shape. This prevents the pastry from drying out too much when reheated. Let them cool completely before freezing in freezer bags. To reheat, preheat the oven to 200°C/392°F and bake until the pies are nicely golden and heated through.



OVEN TEMPERATURES All recipes on this website indicate temperatures for a regular oven (i.e., a conventional oven without a fan). If you have a convection oven with a fan, please consult the manufacturer's instructions on how to adjust the temperature and baking time accordingly.



CONVERSIONS To convert between cups and grams, and vice versa, please refer to this helpful Conversion Chart for Basic Ingredients.