Australia Day Meat Pie

For those that have known me for a long time know I spent a summer in Australia as a foreign exchange student.  My experience living there, even today as an adult, are still some the most memorable I have ever had.  One in particular experience was eating a meat pie.  These were readily available in the north east coast region of Australia almost like we see hot dog stands in downtown DC.  The flavor is so unique but makes you come back for more and more for the buttery, savoury flavor.  In honor of Australia Day, I surfed the web to find a truly authentic recipe.  It's printed in raw form below, but I made some substitutions to ingredients found in US.

From eatocracy.cnn.com:

Australian Meat Pies


1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large brown onion, finely chopped
500 grams lean beef mince (ground beef) (1.1 lbs)
1 tablespoon corn flour (corn starch)
3/4 cup beef stock
3/4 cup tomato sauce
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon barbecue sauce
1 teaspoon Vegemite (soy sauce or beef bouillon)
2 sheets frozen, ready-rolled shortcrust pastry, thawed
2 sheets frozen puff pastry, thawed
1 egg, beaten

1. Heat oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion. Cook for 3 minutes or until soft. Add ground beef. Cook for 4 minutes, stirring with a wooden spoon, or until browned.

2. Mix corn flour and 1 tablespoon of stock to form a paste. Add remaining stock. Add stock, sauces and Vegemite to mince. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer for 8 minutes or until thick. Cool.

3. Preheat oven to 425°F. Place a baking tray into oven. Grease 4 x 8 cm base measurement pie pans.
Cut 4 x 15 cm circles from shortcrust pastry. Use to line bases and sides of pans. Fill with the ground beef. Brush rims with water. Cut 4 x 15 cm circles from puff pastry. Place over meat. Press to seal. Trim. Brush with egg. Season.

4. Place pies onto hot tray. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden. Serve

Family Factor: Enjoyed, but thought they tasted similar to sloppy joes
Time Factor: Save for a weekend
Stomach Factor: mild, for everyone

I didn't have the proper pans for these to cook in, but the ramekins works just fine.