Hand meat pies (Ghana style)

Meat pies with a slightly flaky, ultra-buttery crust and juicy beef filling bring back memories of our church in my home country. If you know, you know! Ask any Ghanaian and they will tell you about the meat pie and ice cream vendors on Sunday afternoons. Meat pies are stuffed with ground beef, potatoes, and sometimes carrots and peas. They come in an array of delicious forms so they are commonly found at weddings, parties, and festivals. Once you get the hang of how to make the dough, they are not that complicated to make.

I like a slightly flakier dough so this is butter-heavy and has a tomato-rich filling. The filling is 100% customizable. I stuck to ground beef, but feel free to swap it out for pulled pork, pulled beef, or shredded chicken breast. The filling is cooked prior to placing it in the pie dough so this is a great option if you’re wondering what to do with the leftover meat you have in the fridge.

Cooking the meat pie filling

First thing is to start with the filling; this will give it time to cool down to room temperature as you prepare the other ingredients. The process is similar to making sausage rolls. The filling was just regular ground beef, seasoned with salt, black pepper, and garlic. Once it was cooked through, I added tomato paste and water (which can be substituted for tomato sauce). Some people don’t add any form of tomato in their pie filling so it is up to you. Nonetheless, I think the beef tastes better and is less dry when cooked in a tomato sauce.

Forming the pie dough

The dough is made from super-chilled butter (pop it in the freezer prior to making the dough to keep them really cold), all-purpose flour, a bit of baking powder (skip this if you’re using self-raising flour), flour, sugar, and a pinch of salt. Process these ingredients to form a coarse-textured flour mix then gradually mixing in the chilled water as you process everything together. Your dough shouldn’t be ultra-wet, just damp enough to knead into a ball. Knead it, then shape it into a disc. Refrigerate it for at least 1 hour prior to making the pies so you’ll have a dough that is lovely to bite into.

The egg wash is simple- it is one large egg mixed with a tablespoon of water. This gives your pies the nice golden-brown finish of your dreams. Brush this over the top of each pie before baking.

Hand meat pies

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Servings: 8 Prep Time: 15 Minutes Cooking Time: 30 Minutes 30 Minutes

Rating: 5.0/5

( 1 voted )

Ingredients

Pie filling

500 g/ 1 lb ground beef

2 teaspoons minced garlic or garlic powder

2 teaspoons black pepper

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons tomato paste

4 tablespoons water  

 

Dough

1 cup chilled butter

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 cup ice-cold water

1/2 teaspoon salt

 

Egg wash

1 large egg

1 tablespoon water

Instructions

1. Season beef with salt, pepper, garlic, and then cook it until browned, breaking the meat into tinier pieces.
2. Add tomato paste and water into the same saucepan (or tomato sauce, see notes). Simmer on medium heat for 5 minutes, then turn off the heat and let it cool completely to room temperature.
3. Pulse dough ingredients except for cold water together in a food processor or blender until they become coarse and crumbly. Next, drizzle in cold water whiles processing the dough at high speed until it's just combined. Your dough shouldn’t be sticky-just damp.
4. Roll the dough onto a floured surface and knead into a disc shape.
5. Wrap kneaded dough with cling wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour to make it firm.
6. Preheat oven to 350°F/175°C.
7. Lightly flour your surface and then cut the chilled four into four equal squares. Roll it till it's super flat-about 1/10 in. (1/4 cm) thick. Use the bottom of a small plate or top of a small bowl to cut out a circle on the dough. I like mine about 3 in. (6 cm) wide.
8. Place about two tablespoons of pie filling in the centre bottom of the dough circle leaving about 1/2 in. (1 cm) off the edges.
9. Brush the egg wash along the bottom edge of the dough circle. Fold over the dough in half and use a fork to press the edges together. You should have a semi-circle-shaped pie.
10. Pierce the top of the pie with a fork and brush the top with egg wash. Repeat this until the dough and filling are used up.
11. Heavily grease a large baking sheet with butter or line it with parchment paper. Place your meat pies on the baking sheet leaving sufficient space between them. Bake for 30 minutes and serve warm.

Notes

Tip: I highly recommend lining your baking sheet for easier removal of your pies. Greasing your pan with lots of butter works but parchment paper or aluminum foil are even better! Substitute tomato paste+water with 1/4 cup tomato sauce.