History

The Australian meat pie traces to the British colonial era but became the country's identity dish by the 1940s. Harry's Cafe de Wheels (Cowper Wharf, 1938) popularised the Tiger pie (with mash, peas and gravy) for late-night Sydney. Sargents and Four'N Twenty industrialised it for the post-war footy crowd; modern Sydney bakeries (Bourke Street, Lode Pies) reclaim the pie as an artisan product.

Common allergens: Gluten, Dairy, Egg

Make it at home

Yield Makes 4 individual piesHands-on 40 minTotal 3 hrDifficulty Intermediate

Ingredients

  • Filling: 600g beef chuck cut into 1.5cm dice, 1 tbsp plain flour, 1 onion finely diced, 2 garlic cloves crushed, 2 tbsp tomato paste, 400ml beef stock, 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce, 1 tsp Vegemite, 1 bay leaf, 30g unsalted butter, salt and pepper
  • Pastry: 250g shortcrust pastry (for the bases), 250g puff pastry (for the lids)
  • 1 egg beaten, for egg wash
  • Tomato sauce, to serve

Method

  1. Toss the diced beef with the flour and season. Heat the butter in a heavy pot and brown the beef in batches; remove.
  2. Soften the onion and garlic in the same pot, stir in the tomato paste, then return the beef.
  3. Add the stock, Worcestershire, Vegemite and bay leaf. Simmer covered for 90 minutes, then uncovered for another 30 minutes until the gravy is thick.
  4. Cool the filling completely (overnight is best).
  5. Heat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Line four 12cm pie tins with shortcrust pastry, pressing into the edges.
  6. Spoon in the cold filling. Top each pie with a puff-pastry lid, trim and seal the edges, then brush with egg wash.
  7. Cut a steam vent in each lid and bake for 25-30 minutes until the pastry is deeply golden.
  8. Cool for 5 minutes before serving with tomato sauce.

Tip from the editors. Cook the filling the day before; cold filling gives a much cleaner pie that doesn't blow out the pastry seal.

This is the TableJourney editorial recipe, modelled on the canonical bistro / counter version. The first place to try the dish in its city of origin is below.

Where to eat australian meat pie

Australian Meat Pie in Sydney

Bourke Street Bakery Surry Hills ★ 4.6

surry-hillsMon-Fri 7am-5pm, Sat-Sun 7am-3pmWalk-in onlyOrganic sourdough and lamb-and-harissa sausage rolls

Sydney's most-imitated bakery on Bourke Street, Surry Hills. Open daily from 7am; the bacon-and-egg ciabatta roll is the menu signature, retail till 4pm.

Worth the queue: Pork and fennel sausage roll

633 Bourke Street, Surry Hills NSW 2010

Lode Pies and Pastries ★ 4.5

surry-hillsWed-Sun 8am-3pmWalk-in onlyHand-pies and viennoiserie

Pie shop and pastry counter on Buckingham Street, Surry Hills, Sydney from Eight by Andrew McConnell alumni. Strong pastry program, weekend queues from open.

Worth the queue: Curry beef hand-pie

1 Buckingham Street, Surry Hills NSW 2010

More cities are in research. Want australian meat pie covered somewhere specific? Tell us where you want to eat.

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