You Should Try Making These Flaky, Scottish Meat Pies!
I have had quite an obsession lately with binge-watching “The Great British Baking Show” to get my Christmas baking fix from watching other people bake while I sit on the couch and order Crumbl cookies online like any good Millennial would do :) There is just something so sweet about this show that makes you feel so good inside. The judges are all so nice and encouraging and they have their two hosts, which have a very slap-stick, British humor that just makes all the contestants laugh and helps ease the tension and stress and they try to fit very intricate bakes in with very little time.
While I love seeing all the fancy things they whip up, it is glaringly obvious how different British food is from American food--even in desserts! They have some really interesting traditional recipes that I think Americans would have a hard time even tasting, but I’ve really got to hand it to them for being so loyal and adorable with their interesting bakes that they take great pride in.
In one Christmas episode, I was shocked when they were making “mince meat pies” but there was no meat in them at all! I was expecting a savory pie, but every one of the contestants were just cutting up a bunch of dried fruits, adding various amounts of booze in various ways, (as any good Brit would do, it seems!) and baking them up. I was so confused! Why are they called mince meat pies if there is no meat in them?!
After looking in the depths of the interwebs, I learned quite a lot about these beauties. I have to say that I’ve never really had a desire to try making mince meat pies. For some reason, they just don’t sound super appetizing to me. I do think I owe most of this blame to watching a musical film starring Johnny Depp, Alan Rickman and Helena Bonham Carter called “Sweeney Todd”--if you’ve seen this film, you’ll know what I’m talking about. However, in my internet research, I found a delightful new Scottish recipe channel on YouTube and this woman changed my mind about minced meat pies instantly! At least this Scottish Version. I watched one of her videos for a delicious-looking recipe for a “Scottish Mince Round”, which is a mixture of ground beef and onions cooked down with a nice thick gravy sauce and is baked in a flaky pastry shell. In this particular recipe, she uses a box of puff pastry to make it a super easy and fast recipe to whip up on any cold, winter night for a nice comfort food meal.
If you want to watch the video with a delightful Scottish woman explaining the recipe in a calm and soothing voice, feel free to watch the original video with the recipe in the sources at the bottom of the page. My family gobbled this pie up and it was so fun and easy to make. For a truly authentic Scottish meal, you can serve it over roast new potatoes, or mashed potatoes, and garden peas. I highly recommend you try this recipe--I think anyone would love it!
1 (8-inch) aluminum pie tin
1 pound (450 g) best quality beef steak mince (ground beef, preferably low fat--90/10 or 93/7)
1 medium onion, finely diced
1-2 tablespoons butter
1 beef oxo cube (beef bouillon cube)
1 cup (1/2 pint) beef stock base
1 tablespoon all purpose flour
A few splashes Worcestershire sauce or Henderson's Relish
14 ounces box (400 g) ready-made puff pastry sheet
1 large egg yolk
**You could add peas and diced carrots to the minced beef if you like
Directions:
Add Recipe to Cook'n
While I love seeing all the fancy things they whip up, it is glaringly obvious how different British food is from American food--even in desserts! They have some really interesting traditional recipes that I think Americans would have a hard time even tasting, but I’ve really got to hand it to them for being so loyal and adorable with their interesting bakes that they take great pride in.
In one Christmas episode, I was shocked when they were making “mince meat pies” but there was no meat in them at all! I was expecting a savory pie, but every one of the contestants were just cutting up a bunch of dried fruits, adding various amounts of booze in various ways, (as any good Brit would do, it seems!) and baking them up. I was so confused! Why are they called mince meat pies if there is no meat in them?!
After looking in the depths of the interwebs, I learned quite a lot about these beauties. I have to say that I’ve never really had a desire to try making mince meat pies. For some reason, they just don’t sound super appetizing to me. I do think I owe most of this blame to watching a musical film starring Johnny Depp, Alan Rickman and Helena Bonham Carter called “Sweeney Todd”--if you’ve seen this film, you’ll know what I’m talking about. However, in my internet research, I found a delightful new Scottish recipe channel on YouTube and this woman changed my mind about minced meat pies instantly! At least this Scottish Version. I watched one of her videos for a delicious-looking recipe for a “Scottish Mince Round”, which is a mixture of ground beef and onions cooked down with a nice thick gravy sauce and is baked in a flaky pastry shell. In this particular recipe, she uses a box of puff pastry to make it a super easy and fast recipe to whip up on any cold, winter night for a nice comfort food meal.
If you want to watch the video with a delightful Scottish woman explaining the recipe in a calm and soothing voice, feel free to watch the original video with the recipe in the sources at the bottom of the page. My family gobbled this pie up and it was so fun and easy to make. For a truly authentic Scottish meal, you can serve it over roast new potatoes, or mashed potatoes, and garden peas. I highly recommend you try this recipe--I think anyone would love it!
Scottish Minced Beef and Onion Pie (Mince Round)
Serving size: 4
Calories per serving: 37
Ingredients:
Calories per serving: 37
1 (8-inch) aluminum pie tin
1 pound (450 g) best quality beef steak mince (ground beef, preferably low fat--90/10 or 93/7)
1 medium onion, finely diced
1-2 tablespoons butter
1 beef oxo cube (beef bouillon cube)
1 cup (1/2 pint) beef stock base
1 tablespoon all purpose flour
A few splashes Worcestershire sauce or Henderson's Relish
14 ounces box (400 g) ready-made puff pastry sheet
1 large egg yolk
**You could add peas and diced carrots to the minced beef if you like
Directions:
1. Grease your pan with butter, lard or shortening.
2. Add 2 Tbsp of butter to your pan on medium heat and stir around until it’s melted. Add diced onion and stir around for a couple minutes until they are just starting to color.
3. Add your ground beef and break up and stir around with your spoon until it’s nicely browned all over.
4. Add your beef bouillon cube and 1 tablespoon of flour and stir and give this a cook for a minute or two to cook the flour.
5. Add your beef stock and a few splashes of Worcestershire sauce and stir around. Let it come to a simmer, then cover with a lid and let it cook until the water has reduced significantly and the sauce gets thicker.
6. While you are waiting for your sauce to cook down, you can start working on your pastry. Unravel your puff pastry sheet and with a rolling pin, roll it down smooth. Place your tin upside down on top of the pastry and trim around the tin, with about an inch wider than the tin to spare. This is your bottom crust. Make another one for the top crust the exact size of the tin and set aside. **If you do not have quite enough width for both of these crusts, pull off some excess and re-roll to get a circular shape.
7. Place your bottom crust down into the tin, pressing it along the sides, all the way up and over the top of the tin. Trim off any excess crust by pressing the blunt edge of a knife across it, removing it as you go. *You can also re-roll out these leftovers to help make more dough for the top crust, if necessary.
8. Put your pie crusts in the fridge to chill and become easier to handle as you wait for your pie filling to cool to room temperature. After the beef mixture has cooled to room temperature, add it to the bottom crust.
9. Using your fingers or a basting brush, add water to the edges of the bottom crust so the top crust will stick to it easier.
10. Add your top pastry crust and press around the edges, joining the top with the bottom, by pressing with your thumbs all the way around. Cut the edges of the crust off with the back end of a knife again.
11. Add brushed egg yolk all over the top to give it a rich, deep, golden color.
12. Cut a ½” inch hole in the center of the top for steam to escape. You can score the top in lines, or any other design you’d like (which is purely optional--this only adds to the design of the finished pie).
13. Bake on the center rack of your oven at 400F (200C) for 30-35 minutes. Cover halfway through with foil so the top doesn’t burn.
14. Cut, serve and enjoy! For an authentic simple Scottish meal, you can serve for tea with roast new potatoes and garden peas.
2. Add 2 Tbsp of butter to your pan on medium heat and stir around until it’s melted. Add diced onion and stir around for a couple minutes until they are just starting to color.
3. Add your ground beef and break up and stir around with your spoon until it’s nicely browned all over.
4. Add your beef bouillon cube and 1 tablespoon of flour and stir and give this a cook for a minute or two to cook the flour.
5. Add your beef stock and a few splashes of Worcestershire sauce and stir around. Let it come to a simmer, then cover with a lid and let it cook until the water has reduced significantly and the sauce gets thicker.
6. While you are waiting for your sauce to cook down, you can start working on your pastry. Unravel your puff pastry sheet and with a rolling pin, roll it down smooth. Place your tin upside down on top of the pastry and trim around the tin, with about an inch wider than the tin to spare. This is your bottom crust. Make another one for the top crust the exact size of the tin and set aside. **If you do not have quite enough width for both of these crusts, pull off some excess and re-roll to get a circular shape.
7. Place your bottom crust down into the tin, pressing it along the sides, all the way up and over the top of the tin. Trim off any excess crust by pressing the blunt edge of a knife across it, removing it as you go. *You can also re-roll out these leftovers to help make more dough for the top crust, if necessary.
8. Put your pie crusts in the fridge to chill and become easier to handle as you wait for your pie filling to cool to room temperature. After the beef mixture has cooled to room temperature, add it to the bottom crust.
9. Using your fingers or a basting brush, add water to the edges of the bottom crust so the top crust will stick to it easier.
10. Add your top pastry crust and press around the edges, joining the top with the bottom, by pressing with your thumbs all the way around. Cut the edges of the crust off with the back end of a knife again.
11. Add brushed egg yolk all over the top to give it a rich, deep, golden color.
12. Cut a ½” inch hole in the center of the top for steam to escape. You can score the top in lines, or any other design you’d like (which is purely optional--this only adds to the design of the finished pie).
13. Bake on the center rack of your oven at 400F (200C) for 30-35 minutes. Cover halfway through with foil so the top doesn’t burn.
14. Cut, serve and enjoy! For an authentic simple Scottish meal, you can serve for tea with roast new potatoes and garden peas.
Recipe formatted with the Cook'n Recipe Software from DVO Enterprises.
Mary Richardson
Weekly Newsletter Contributor since 2014
Email the author! mary@dvo.com
