Nigerian Meat Pies Recipe

Meat pies, or beef hand pies―flaky pastries stuffed with a curry-spiced combination of floor beef, onions, potatoes, and carrots―are common at home and as street treats in Nigeria. Increasing up in Warri, located on the southern coastline of Nigeria, my spouse and children would invest in them from swift-provider eating places rather than make them at house. They had been delicious more than enough, but it wasn’t till I went to Lagos on holiday that I fell in enjoy with the meat pies at Mr. Biggs, the most well-known fast-support cafe chain in Nigeria. 

At Mr. Biggs, you could get the most mouth watering meat pies, rooster pies, sausage rolls, and the most effective jelly doughnuts ever (I have not experienced a one doughnut that comes close, but I digress), all of which were childhood favorites of mine. Their meat pies consist of a crumbly, flaky crust that’s stuffed with an aromatic filling of meat, carrots, potatoes and curry powder, and they’re often served very hot. 

Released to Nigeria during British colonial rule, meat pies resemble Cornish pasties and Jamaican beef patties in physical appearance but essentially vary in a lot of methods. The pastry for meat pies, exact same as with Jamaican beef patties, is a shortcrust created with chilly drinking water, not incredibly hot drinking water, which is conventional for Cornish pasties. Butter or margarine are the fat of decision in meat pies, in contrast to suet in Jamaican patties and lard or white shortening in Cornish pasties. Last of all, the filling for Cornish pasties is raw prior to stuffing, though the filling for Nigerian meat pies is cooked beforehand.

When it arrives to earning meat pies at property, there are two most important elements to prepare: the meat filling and the shortcrust pastry. Both of these can be designed ahead of time to assistance shorten the method. For the shortcrust pastry, I use a combine of all-intent and total wheat flour, which contributes to the tenderness of the dough. In addition, a ratio of two sections flour to 1 aspect butter by pounds assures a crumbly, flaky texture. If you aren’t capable to make the pastry from scratch, you can substitute with retailer-acquired puff pastry. For the filling, it is traditional to use floor beef, on the other hand it’s similarly tasty with chopped, shredded, or ground rooster or finely-chopped mushrooms. The inclusion of environmentally friendly bell pepper adds a clean, vegetal flavor and aroma, and seasoning the combination with Nigerian-fashion curry powder provides heat and marginally spicy notes. 

Even though this recipe yields person hand pies that are perfect for snacking, you can fairly quickly convert it to make just one substantial pot pie that can be served household design by spooning the filling into a medium ovenproof dish and topping it with a one piece of rolled-out dough. Whatever sort you choose on, get pleasure from your meat pie with a salad alongside.