New Zealand Beef and Cheese Pie

Photograph by James Ransom

Author Notes

The moment we arrived in New Zealand, the long line at the auto rental station made it articulate to me that most visitors prefer to view the country by driving through it. Sure, yous could easily have a short flight to go from the top of the North Island to the bottom of the South Island, but you would miss the ever-changing, mind-blowingly beautiful mural that New Zealand has on offering. You'd also miss the opportunity to grab some of the best pies y'all'll ever eat—from any gas station forth the route.

Every gas station I went to in New Zealand carried a wide range of warm hand pies ready to be picked up and eaten on the go, no utensils required. You'll find them in hot cases almost the checkout counters. Flavors are a-plenty, ranging from bacon and egg to steak and cheese, butter chicken, chicken and mushroom, smoked fish, and my all-time favorite—mince and cheese (beef and cheese).

These mince and cheese pies characteristic ground beef encased in a thick, night, beefy gravy interspersed with pockets of melted white cheddar cheese. No flaky, buttery pastry shell I tasted was soggy or leaked any filling. Nosotros tried pies from coffee shops and restaurants, but they didn't stack upwardly to the gas station pies. According to my cousin, it's non a matter of ingredients; she told me that even the beef used in the gas station pies is grass-fed, due to the warm climate and endless abundance of fresh green grass all year round.

As shortly as I got back habitation, I wanted to figure out how to recreate NZ pies in my own kitchen. There are a lot of varying recipes out at that place, and what virtually had in common was puff pastry. I started there, using puff pastry every bit the base for the pies. I needed a pastry that was flaky enough to bite into only potent enough to avoid getting a soggy bottom, while holding lots of bulky gravy. I found the key was making certain both the filling and the pastry were totally chilled earlier beingness filled and broiled. (Information technology helps to make the filling the day before.)

I also avoided adding any extra vegetables for nutrition considering, well, mince and cheese pies don't demand them. That'southward why I opted to make these in a muffin pan, instead of in a larger individual pie size, which is what you would find in New Zealand. Ii, plus a salad, can be lunch; one is a tasty snack.

Now that I have a stash in my freezer, if I feel like eating i in the car, I can oestrus one up and swallow it on the get. The only caveat is that I'll just accept to settle for metropolis views instead of breathtaking landscapes around every bend.

Note: You can save the puff pastry scraps and sprinkle with cinnamon and carbohydrate or Parmesan cheese & fresh thyme to make a tasty snack. —Miranda Keyes

• Test Kitchen-Approved

Watch This Recipe

New Zealand-Way Beef Steak & Cheddar Cheese Pies

• Prep fourth dimension 3 hours
• Cook time 45 minutes
• Makes 12

Ingredients

• ane tablespoon olive oil
  
• 1 small onion, finely diced
  
• 1 clove garlic, minced
  
• ane pound lean ground beefiness
  
• ¹/₂ teaspoon table salt
  
• 3 tablespoons flour
  
• i ^one/₂ cups beef stock
  
• one teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
  
• 2 450-gram packages pre-rolled butter puff-pastry, thawed in the fridge
  
• ^three/₄ cup (100g) aged white cheddar cheese, finely diced
  
• one egg
  

Directions

1. Heat oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add onion, melt, stirring often until tender and starting to chocolate-brown on the edges, most ii-iii minutes. Add together garlic, melt i minute. Add ground beefiness to pan and cook, breaking up with a wooden spoon, until no pinkish remains, about v-six minutes.
2. Stir in common salt and a few cracks of black pepper. Sprinkle flour over beefiness and cook, 1 minute. Cascade in beefiness stock and Worcestershire sauce. Bring to a boil, scraping all the dark-brown $.25 off the bottom of the pan. Reduce heat to medium-low and permit simmer until gravy has reduced and thickened, about 6-viii minutes.
3. Scrape beefiness mixture into a bowl and let cool to room temperature. Embrace and air-condition until completely chilled, this will accept at least ane-2 hours. The filling tin can hands be made the day earlier.
4. Remove puff pastry from fridge. Curl sheets to 1/viii-inch thick. Cut puff pastry into twelve iv-inch rounds and twelve iii-inch rounds. Pre-marking where you volition cut each round equally you will have but plenty dough for all the rounds. Place onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and let chill in the refrigerator for thirty minutes.
5. Lightly grease a 12-cup muffin tin. Place larger puff pastry rounds in the base of each muffin tin, pressing along the sides so they are flush with the bottom and sides of the tin can. The dough should slightly overlap the rims, stretch dough slightly if needed.
6. Remove the chilled beef mixture from the refrigerator. Stir in the diced cheese. Evenly divide filling between each pie, packing them right to the top.
7. Whisk the egg in a bowl. Brush the edges of the pastry overlap with the egg mixture and meridian with smaller pastry rounds. Printing effectually the edges of the pies using the tines of a fork to create a seal. Cut a small slit into the top of each pie. Utilise the remaining egg to brush the tops of each pie. Place the tray in the freezer to chill for 15 mins before baking.
8. While the pies are chilling preheat the oven to 425° F. Broil pies for twenty-25 minutes, until golden brown. Permit cool 10 minutes before serving.

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Source: https://food52.com/recipes/76077-new-zealand-style-beef-cheddar-pies

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