Ian Arthur, who researched and curated The Meat Pie: Australia's Own Fast Food for the Australian Society for the History of Engineering and Technology (ASHET), said the cakes date back to cooked meat products in the 2nd century AD.
Stories have told that there are lots of meat in Australia so people started making pies in Sydney very early. According to Ian Arthur, the first large pie maker was Sargents. When George Sargent founded Sargents Ltd in 1906, he ran a bakery on Pitt Street in Sydney, then re-registered as a public company in February 1909. The meat pie has become Australia’s iconic fast food, in the company of Britain’s fish and chips, America’s hamburger, Mexico’s taco, and Italy’s pizza.
Ingredients:
1 tbsp olive oil
1 large brown onion, finely chopped
500g beef (minced)
1 tbsp Coles Cornflour
3/4 cup Massel beef stock
3/4 cup tomato sauce
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp barbecue sauce
1 tsp Vegemite
2 sheets frozen shortcrust pastry, thawed
2 sheets frozen puff pastry, thawed
1 egg
Directions:
Preheat the saucepan over medium-heat high and add your olive oil. Add the onion and cook it for 3 minutes or until it is soft. Add the minced beef once you see the color of the onion is translucent. Cook the beef until the meat turns brown.
Mix the cornflour and a tablespoon of stock to form a paste. Once done, add the remaining stock, sauces, and Vegemite to the minced beef. Bring it to boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low once it started boiling. Let it simmer until the beef minced mixture is thick. Let it cool down.
Preheat the oven to 220°C. Put the baking tray in the oven. Grease the bottom of a 4 x 8 cm cake pan.
Cut out 4 x 15 cm circles from the puff pastry. Used to fix the bottom and sides of the pan. Fill with minced meat. Brush the edge with water. Cut out 4 x 15 cm circles from the puff pastry. Put it on the meat. Press to seal. prune. Brush with eggs. Season it according to your preferred taste.
Place pies onto a hot tray. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden.
Serve it while it is hot.