Heh, not to make you feel bad but that is exactly what I'm having for lunch
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Recently they actually passed regulation on how much 'meat' a meat pie had to have. So no more lips and a***holes, sawdust etc etc :P.
Here is a stock standard meat pie recipe, havent made it for ages so I have forgotten how they compare to your store bought ones (Love my Mrs. Mac's pies)
MEAT PIE
Filling
750g minced steak
2 beef stock cubes
1tsp soy sauce
1 1/2 cups water
2 tbsp plain flour
salt and pepper
1/4 cup water (extra)
Pie base
2 cups plain flour
2/3 cup water
1/2tsp salt
1tbsp beef dripping
Pie top
1 ready made packet puff pastry
1 egg yolk
1tsp water
For the filling, place meat in a saucepan,stir over low heat until meat is well browned,drain of any surplus fat,add crumbled stock cubes,water, salt and pepper,nutmeg.Stir until boiling,reduce heat,cover and simmer gently for 20 minutes,remove from heat.Combine extra water and flour,stir till smooth,add the flour mixture to the meat,stir till combined,return to heat, stir till meat boils and thickens,add soy sauce,mix thoroughly.Simmer uncovered for 5-10 minutes,rmove from heat and allow to cool.
For the base, Sift the flour and salt together in a bowl.Place water and dripping in a saucepan,stir till dripping melts,remove from heat.Make a well in the centre of dry ingredients,add the liquid,stir till combined.Turn out on a lightly floured board,knead lightly.Roll out pastry to line 8 greased pie tins(around the same size tin as a pot pie comes in )cut off excess pastry from the sides of the tins,fill the base with cold meat filling.
For the pie lid, roll pastry out on a lightly floured board,cut into rounds for top of pies (use a saucer as a guide for size) wet edges of base pastry and gently press tops into place,trim edges with a sharp knife.Brush tops with combined egg yolk and water.Bake in a hot oven for 5 minutes until golden brown,reduce heat to moderate and bake a further 10 minutes.
And of course, top with tomato sauce. Or put some mashed potato on top of a cooked pie and place it under a grill to brown the top, then add sauce
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For a curry version, simply add an amount of curry powder in with the beef mixture, probably around a tablespoon or so (but I'm estimating, so go by your own preference/opinon)
For a chicken pie, they are generally not made with mince but small chunks of chicken meat (breast or thigh) and follow the same directions for the stock-standard meat pie.
For the bacon and mushroom, I would say reduce the amount of mince beef slightly and add a suitable quantity of cooked bacon and mushrooms to the mixture.
Enjoy!
