Gourmet 'Beef & Guinness' Pies

Well the sun's not out, the birds are definitely not chirping and the leaves may be falling but there's still nothing better than the smell of warm pies coming out of the oven, just in time for the long anticipated sports game you're watching!

One of Australia's most beloved snacks or family meals, the meat pie with its flaky, golden pastry slathered in salty tomato sauce, is enough to tickle anyone's tastebuds. 

Whether you're serving them individually or alongside some chips or salad, but most definitely with a cold beer or refreshing glass of pinot noir, these savoury sensations are sure to be a massive hit. 

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 Method 

For the Beef and Guinness filling

 1. Preheat the oven to 140°C. Place the beef in a large bowl and sprinkle with flour. Toss lightly to coat the beef. 

2. Heat half of the oil in large casserole pan over medium-high heat. Add 1/3 of the beef and cook, turning occasionally, for 5 minutes or until brown all over. Once that's done, transfer to a heatproof bowl. 

3. Repeat the above process with the remaining 2 batches of beef. 

4. Heat the remaining oil in the pan. Add the onion, carrot, bacon and garlic and cook, stirring for 5 minutes or until the onion softens. Return the beef to the pan with the beer, stock, tomato paste, rosemary and bay leaves. Bring to the boil. 

5. Cover and bake, stirring occasionally for 2 1/2 hours or until the beef is very tender. Season to taste and set aside to cool. 

For the Pastry 

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C. Divide beef mixture evenly among four 375ml ramekins or ovenproof dishes.  Use an 11cm round pastry or cookie cutter to cut 8 discs from the pastry, making sure to keep the excess pastry off to one side. 

2. Brush half of the pastry discs with a little bit of egg. Do the same with the remaining half and place 2 on top of each other to make a stack. Do this until you have 4 stacks of pastry. 

3. Use a little star shaped cutter (you can use any little cookie cutter shape if you want) to cut stars from the excess pastry. Arrange over the discs and brush with the rest of the egg. 

3. Top each ramekin with a pastry disc and place on a baking tray. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown and puffy and the filling is heated through. 

4. Top with your favourite condiment and when I say top I mean lather the pastry in sauce. The more sauce the better. 

5. Dig in! 

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