Watch Gina Make It (and George Taste-Test It)

Meet the Ingredients (The Usual Suspects, Sugar)

Gear you’ll want

A large skillet, a wooden spoon, four 5-inch pie tins, a round cutter or a small bowl to trace around, a pastry brush, a fork for crimping and a sheet pan. And oven mitts, because hot pie tins and bare hands do not get along, and George can tell you why.

Let’s Cook, Sugar: Step by Step

1. 1. Brown the meat. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Add 1 pound ground beef and 6 ounces finely diced andouille and break it up with a wooden spoon. Cook 6 to 7 minutes until browned.
2. 2. Add the trinity. Stir in the diced onion, bell pepper and celery and cook 5 minutes until soft. Add 2 cloves minced garlic and stir 30 seconds.
3. 3. Make the gravy. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons flour over the meat and stir 1 minute. Stir in 1 tablespoon tomato paste, 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce and 1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning, then pour in 1 1/4 cups beef broth. Simmer 8 to 10 minutes, stirring, until the gravy is thick enough to hold a trail when you drag the spoon. Season with salt and pepper.
4. 4. Cool it down. Spread the filling on a plate and let it cool at least 20 minutes. Hot filling melts pastry and gives you a soggy bottom, and nobody wants that.
5. 5. Line the tins. Heat the oven to 400°F with a sheet pan inside. Cut four 6 1/2-inch rounds from the pie crusts and press them into four 5-inch pie tins. Prick the bottoms with a fork.
6. 6. Fill them up. Spoon the cooled filling into the crusts, leveling it just below the rim.
7. 7. Put a lid on it. Cut four rounds of puff pastry a little bigger than the tops. Brush the crust rims with beaten egg, lay on the lids, and crimp the edges with a fork. Cut a small steam slit in each and brush the tops with egg.
8. 8. Bake. Set the pies on the hot sheet pan and bake 25 to 30 minutes, until puffed and deep golden. Let them rest 5 minutes, then lift them out with a spatula.
9. 9. Bring it home. Zigzag Louisiana hot sauce across the top and scatter on sliced green onion. Now we taste-test.

Gina’s Kitchen Truths (What Goes Wrong and How to Fix It)

Why This Aussie Meat Pie Recipe Works

The Australian meat pie is all about contrast, sugar: a sturdy base, a flaky lid and a filling of minced beef in gravy thick enough that it doesn’t run all over your hand. I kept that backbone exactly as Sydney does it.

What this Aussie meat pie recipe adds is smoke and soul. Andouille brings smoky, garlicky depth, the trinity brings sweetness, and Louisiana hot sauce on top brings the tang that tomato sauce does Down Under. It still eats like a meat pie. It just sounds like it grew up near the bayou.

Aussie Meat Pie FAQ

Can I make these ahead? Yes. Make the filling up to 2 days ahead and keep it in the fridge. Cold filling is actually easier to work with. Assemble and bake right before supper.

Can I freeze them? Freeze unbaked, assembled pies in their tins, wrapped well, up to 2 months. Bake from frozen at 400°F for 40 to 45 minutes.

Is it spicy? Only as spicy as your Cajun seasoning and hot sauce. Keep the hot sauce on the table if you’ve got tender mouths at supper.

What should I cook next? For another flaky pastry, try my Istanbul-style börek. For more Louisiana comfort, make Gina’s Louisiana gumbo.

Gina’s Louisiana Twist

In Sydney, a classic pie is plain beef mince in gravy with a squirt of tomato sauce on top, and that’s perfect just the way it is. My twist is andouille browned with the beef, the holy trinity cooked into the gravy, and a zigzag of Louisiana hot sauce where the tomato sauce goes.

Want to take it further down the bayou? Swap half the beef for crawfish tails, stirred in at the end of step 3 so they stay tender. Louisiana has its own little meat pies up in Natchitoches, so you could say this one came home to cousins. George asked me to “be honest” about how good it was, then ate his pie and slid mine across the island while I was still talking.

The Printable Recipe

Gina's Aussie Meat Pie, Bayou-Style

Hand-sized Australian meat pies with a sturdy crust, a flaky puff pastry lid and a peppery beef-and-andouille gravy with the holy trinity, topped with Louisiana hot sauce.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 45 minutes mins

Servings: 4 pies

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

  

Filling

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 pound ground beef 85% lean
• 6 ounces andouille sausage finely diced
• 1 small onion diced
• 1/2 green bell pepper diced
• 1 rib celery diced
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning salt-free if possible
• 1 1/4 cups beef broth low-sodium
• salt and black pepper to taste

Pastry and topping

• 1 package refrigerated pie crusts 2 rounds, for the bases
• 1 sheet frozen puff pastry thawed in the fridge, for the lids
• 1 egg beaten
• Louisiana hot sauce for serving
• 2 green onions thinly sliced

Method

 

1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Add the ground beef and andouille, break it up with a wooden spoon, and cook 6 to 7 minutes until browned.
2. Stir in the onion, bell pepper and celery and cook 5 minutes until soft. Add the garlic and stir 30 seconds.
3. Sprinkle in the flour and stir 1 minute. Stir in the tomato paste, Worcestershire and Cajun seasoning, then the broth. Simmer 8 to 10 minutes, stirring, until thick enough to hold a trail. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Spread the filling on a plate and cool at least 20 minutes.
5. Heat the oven to 400°F with a sheet pan inside. Cut four 6 1/2-inch rounds from the pie crusts, press them into four 5-inch pie tins and prick the bottoms with a fork.
6. Spoon the cooled filling into the crusts, leveling it just below the rim.
7. Cut four puff pastry rounds slightly larger than the tops. Brush the rims with egg, lay on the lids and crimp with a fork. Cut a small steam slit and brush the tops with egg.
8. Set the pies on the hot sheet pan and bake 25 to 30 minutes until puffed and deep golden. Rest 5 minutes, then lift out with a spatula.
9. Zigzag Louisiana hot sauce over the top and scatter on green onion. Serve hot.