Irish Beef Hand Pies

Manami's Note:

On St Patrick's Day or on any other day, tuck the makings of traditional beef-and-potato stew into flaky pastries you can bake straight from the freezer. These are like empanadas and can be stuffed with all vegetables, or maybe berries of some kind, or sausages and/or other meats. Everyday Food or Martha Stewart web site.;)

• Total Time: 1 hrs
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 45 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 8

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• ¼ head green cabbage , shredded
• ½ lb red potatoes , scrubbed and diced
• 1 lb ground sirloin
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• ½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• ½ teaspoon dried thyme
• coarse salt
• fresh ground black pepper
• crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
• all-purpose flour , for rolling
• 2 pie crusts (9 inches each, homemade or store-bought)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400ºF.
2. In a medium saucepan, heat oil over medium; add cabbage and potatoes.
3. Cook until beginning to brown, 7 to 9 minutes.
4. Add beef; cook, breaking up meat with a spoon, until no longer pink, about 5 minutes.
5. Stir in tomato paste, crushed red pepper flakes (if using), Worcestershire, thyme, and 1 cup water.
6. Cover, and cook until potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes.
7. Lightly mash mixture with a fork.
8. Season; salt, & pepper, to taste.
9. Crushed red pepper flakes, if using (optional)
10. Let cool completely.
11. On a lightly floured work surface, roll each crust into a 14-inch square; cut each into 4 equal squares.
12. Place 1/2 cup filling on one half of each square, leaving a 1/2-inch border around the filling; brush borders with water; fold dough over filling to enclose.
13. Crimp edges with a fork to seal.
14. With a paring knife or scissors, cut 3 small vents in each.
15. Transfer pies to 2 foil-lined rimmed baking sheets; bake until golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through.
16. *Arrange unbaked pies on a baking sheet (they should not touch); freeze until firm, about 1 hour.
17. Wrap each pie in foil & place in a resealable plastic bag; freeze up to 2 months.
18. To Bake from Frozen: Proceed increasing baking time to 28 to 30 minutes.

Reviews

[Izzy The Terrible]

I love, love, LOVE this recipe. I found it in my Everyday Food mag last year, and actually just went looking for the recipe again, cause I was craving it. This has replaced corned beef and cabbage on St. Patrick's day. This is an Irish dish and is very MILD. Don't expect something crazy spicy, or salty, it's a very lovely dish. Our only problem is that I love cabbage so much that I can't help but add more. We've turned it into a regular meat (pot) pie rather than hand pies to deal with the problem.

[nethope]

I'm not sorry I made this, and DH and I did both go back for seconds last night, but ... (1) yes, it's authentically bland and could use some garlic and onion, (2) even cutting waaaay back on the hamburger to about 1/3 pound it's naturally heavier on the meat-n-potatoes and lighter on the veggies than we prefer, and (3) crust was soggy despite FLIPPING the pies top-for-bottom during baking (the other rotation, and clearly needed here). I used my double-piecrust recipe and could only make 6 pies, but I do have a tendency to STUFF.

I learned that my 2-year-old son likes to eat raw cabbage, and is very proud of the gas he can produce afterward. At least one of my kids eats veggies!

If you tend to the mild meat-and-potatoes side of the menu, try it! I'll wander over to the spicy veggies instead.

[Pamela Joyce Ochsner]

I whipped these up today according to directions, but I found the mixture bland; so I added about 4 cloves of garlic, large ones, half an onion, sliced, and some beef broth instead of water. I'm sorry I used the red pepper flakes, it would have been just about perfect at that point without it, and I'm about to serve it for lunch to my chef son and my oh, so picky fiance, so I'll be back later and give you THEIR reviews. Thanks for a unique take on beef pies! :) The son loved them, the fiance refused to try them: I'm crazy about them!