Australian Meat Pie #EattheWorld

This Australian Meat Pie is like a big, family sized Sloppy Joe.  It is easy to make and pretty to serve. 

We are heading Down Under for today's Eat the World Challenge......

This Meat Pie is popular throughout Australia being served as full pies in restaurants and hand pies as street food.  I found a plethora of recipes, read through them and decided to make mine full sized using only puff pastry for the crust.  

Some of them used regular crust for the bottom and puffed pastry for the top.  Some used only regular crust and made them hand held like a small pasty.  Some used other kinds of meats for the filling, but from what I could find, ground (minced) beef was the original filling.

So, while I did make this my own recipe, I also tried to stay as closely as possible to the traditional recipe.  That being said, in the future when I make this pie, I will definitely add some garlic and perhaps some thyme or oregano.  I think the addition of vegetables would be very welcome, turning this into more of a version of American Pot Pie. 

Evelyne of CulturEatz chooses a new country each month and invites us to join her in visiting and learning about the culture of said country through their food.  You can learn all about this project and how to join in the fun on her Eat the World page.

Australia, to me, is much like the USA in terms of food.....all the different ethnicities landed and brought with them their foods which became part of the culture of a country filled with immigrants. 

Let's see what the others are sharing from their exploration of this Land Down Under......

• A Day in the Life on the Farm: Australian Meat Pie 
• Magical Ingredients: Anzac Biscuits 
• Sneha’s Recipe: Deviled Chicken 
• Kitchen Frau: Anzac Biscuits - Crispy Oatmeal Cookies 
• Amy’s Cooking Adventures: Fairy Bread

As luck would have it, our World Wine Travel group is also visiting Australia this year so I opened a bottle fo South Australian Shiraz to pair with this pie.  I will be writing about that pairing later in the month so stay tuned.

I hope you enjoy the foods we are sharing for this exploration of Australia. I, personally, was very pleased when Evelyne chose this Country as I will need many recipes to pair with wine as we explore different areas each month with the wine group.  

Last month, I found and shared a recipe for Lamb and Lupin Kofte to pair with a Western Australian Cabernet Sauvignon.  It was my favorite recipe of the month.  These Chocolate Crackles,  that I shared a couple of years ago,  are a fun take on Rice Krispie Treats and are as iconic to Australia as the Krispie treats are to the USA.  

I look forward to my continued exploration of the foods and wines of Australia and sharing them with you starting with this comforting, homey meat pie.