Nigerian Meat Pies

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: African, Nigerian

Prep Time: 30

Cook Time: 50

Total Time: 1 20

Servings: meat pies

Calories: 381kcal

Author: Jazzmine Woodard

Juicy spiced beef filled flaky pastries perfect for snacking or breakfast

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Equipment

Ingredients

For the Meat Pie Crust

¾ cup cold butter
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ cup cold water
1 egg

For the Meat Pie Filling

½ pound ground beef
1 potato
2 cloves garlic
¼ onion
½ cup peas and carrots or just carrots
1 maggi cube crushed into powder
1 teaspoon curry powder
½ teaspoon black pepper
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
¼ teaspoon ground thyme or one fresh thyme sprig
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
½ cup beef stock or broth
¾ teaspoon cornstarch
1 ½ teaspoon water
sea salt to taste

Instructions

To Make the Crust

Cut butter into small cubes and place in freezer. Meanwhile, add flour, sugar, sea salt, and nutmeg to food processor and pulse to combine. (See notes for alternative dough instructions.)
Add in cold butter and pulse until a coarse, sandy meal.
Remove the food processor blade then pour in cold water.
Mix by hand or with a kitchen spoon just until a dough forms then press the dough into a disc. Wrap with plastic wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes.

To Make the Filling

Add ground beef to a large skillet over medium high heat. Break up the ground beef and cook for about three minutes, making sure to break up the meat very well so that it will season evenly and have consistent texture throughout the meat pies.
Meanwhile, dice potato into ½ inch pieces, mince garlic, and chop onion.
Stir the onion, garlic, potato, peas and carrots, maggi cube, curry powder, black pepper, cayenne pepper, thyme, and ginger into cooking meat and cook until meat is fully browned (about 6 minutes).
Add in beef broth and cover pot. Then mix cornstarch and water to create a slurry then stir into beef mixture.
Cover pot again, reduce heat to low, and simmer for about 10 minutes or until all vegetables are tender and any remaining liquid in the pot is thickened. Taste and add salt, as needed. Remove from heat.

To Assemble and Bake Meat Pies

Preheat oven temperature to 350 degrees. Line sheet pan with parchment paper and set aside. Beat egg and set aside.
Divide dough into 8 equal pieces and shape each piece into a ball. (See recipe notes for alternative crust instructions.)
Flatten out each ball to about ¼ inch thickness and scoop about two tablespoons of the filling into the middle of the dough, leaving about two inches space between the meat and edges of dough.
Brush or rub a bit of beaten egg along one edge of the dough circle then fold the other side over and press down on edges with a fork for a good seal.
Place meat pie onto parchment lined baking sheet and prick it two or three times with a fork to create holes in the dough, which will allow steam to escape while baking.
Repeat previous steps with the remaining pieces of dough and meat filling until all ingredients are used then brush each meat pie with remaining egg.
Place pan into oven and bake for about 30 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Serve warm.

Notes

Preparation

You can make meat pies up to three days ahead of time as long as they are stored properly. They will have the best freshest taste within the first two days.

Alternative meat pie dough preparation: If you don't have a food processor, you can combine the dough ingredients using either a pastry blender tool or your hands. When using your hands, try to work as quickly (but carefully) as possible so that your body heat does not melt the butter, which can impact the texture of the crust.

Alternative crust preparation: Instead of dividing the dough and flattening each piece, you can instead roll out all the dough at once then cut out circles with a five inch cookie cutter or biscuit cutter. This will result in neater looking pies.

Troubleshooting

Since we are using bouillon (maggi) and broth in this recipe, it's important to taste the filling then salt as needed near the end of cooking to avoid it being too salty.

Rolling out the crust: Be sure to roll the crust out to roughly ¼ inch thick for the best results. Too thin and the crust won’t hold up to the filling and can break open while baking as well as be too crisp. Too thick and the crust will likely be doughy and under baked on the inside.

Storage

Store baked meat pies in an airtight container or wrapped in plastic wrap or aluminum foil and refrigerate. Keeps up to five days.

To freeze, space the meat pies out on a sheet pan and place in freezer for about four hours to freeze them through. Then transfer the frozen pies to an airtight container or zipper seal freezer bag. Consume within two months for the best taste and texture.

Nutrition