The Amazing Muffin Tin Pies!!
These pies came to me one
day when I was so hungry for a pie, but all frozen pies to me are pretty gross.
They have so little flavour, they are always so dry and the pastry just never
tastes like the bakery pies that we all used to get as kids.
So…. Why muffin tins?
Well going through the cupboards in the kitchen in my house I realised
somethi9ng terrible, the pie maker was nowhere to be found (neither was the
large wooden spoon I think they had secretly married and eloped), so I tried to
find something else that could be almost bite sized. That’s where the muffin
tin stepped up and became a pie tin. I have never made them in anything else. I
will admit I have looked at buying pie tins but never have, why change a good
thing.
I think in my
experimentation of pie making, pies are really hard to stuff up, they can be
fun for kids to make as a learn to cook exercise (speaking from my child care
back ground) and they can be so inexpensive. Everything to make them is
normally found in your kitchen.
What to do?
1.
Get out all your ingredients, your muffin
tin/tray and baking paper. Don’t forget the baking paper it’s a miracle worker
when making pies!
2. Turn
the oven to around 180 to 190 (for fan forced) these guys like it hot!
3. Get
out a large pot for your stove, it also even better if you can slow cook with
this meat, it will fall apart and melt in your mouth.
Ingredients
It could almost be
classified as a 4 ingredient recipe, but I love my pies with homemade gravy,
makes them so tasty and morish! YUM!
· 400gm skirt steak if
you can’t find this at your butchers I like to use porter house or scotch
fillet, chuck is to tough
· Brown onion x 1
· Mushroom sliced x 10 you
don’t have to add these but the boys love them with mushroom
· Continental beef stock pots x 2 this is the stock that is kind of gelatinous its
great for giving your gravy heaps of flavour
· ½ cup water
· Beef stock continental 200ml
· Puff pastry x 6 sheets at least 6 sheets
· Plain flour
· Salt and pepper to taste
This recipe will make 12
– 14 pies, for more just start doubling the recipe. I’d make the gravy as you
go otherwise it might end up too salty or too watery.
1.
Place your pot on the stove add the
readymade stock and one of the stock pots. This will give your stock time to
heat up.
2. If you
already have your steak cut in small pieces you’re on your way, if not cut
steak into small bite sized pieces. Add to the hot stock on the stove and stir.
This will also add flavour to the stock and the gravy.
3. Chop
your onion up add to the pot
4. Now is
the time to add your mushrooms, if you would like mushrooms in your pies.
5. Allow
to simmer cooking down the onion (mushrooms maybe) and allowing the stock to
obtain all the flavours in the pot. This makes the gravy so delicious… I should
stop I’m drooling…
6. Take
your plain flour and add it to the water in a separate container until it makes
a white watery mixture, this will create the thick gravy that you just gotta
have. Make sure there are no lumps, and add to the pot slowly, stirring all the
time after a few minutes it will start to thicken.
7. Allow
the pot to slowly bubble away, stirring occasionally, you don’t want to burn
the gravy (or the POT!)
8. Your
puff pastry should be almost defrosted by now, makes it much easier if it is.
Take your baking paper and cut it into squares around 10x10 cm. A little
smaller won’t make much difference. Take your pastry and cut it into four
squares. This is what makes them so easy.
9. Place
the square on the baking paper and then push carefully making sure not to tear
the pastry or your pie will escape.
10. Make sure the edges over
hang, don’t cut them off they will be your lid.
Add roughly 2 spoons of mixture to each pie. When all the pies have
mixture in them grab two opposing corners and fold them in. push down the edges
to seal in the mixture. Brush the folded pastry with milk. Pull one of the
remaining corners in brush with milk and repeat with remaining corner. Brush
the top with milk, you can use an egg and milk mix if you like. Peirce a hole
in the top of the pastry to allow the pie to breathe in the oven.
Your now ready to
cook in the oven, they take about 10 – 15 minutes for the pastry to brown and
be gorgeous delicious melt in your mouth pies.
Perfect for parties,
special occasion I think.
Cook and enjoy!!
Nothing beats a meal
you make yourself
