Do I have to make the cheesy béchamel?

You don't have to - I love the oozy factor but you could just use grated or thin slices of cheese.

Can I freeze the pies?

Yes! They freeze really well after being cooked. Just pop them in zip lock bags to store, and then you can cook from frozen for 20 minutes at 180C/390F fan. You could also form the pies, cover them tightly with cling film, and freeze them pre-baking in their tray. Then just bake from frozen for about 40 minutes at 180C.

Why do the fillings have to be cold?

This is all about helping to keep the pastry cold, so it doesn't go soggy and sad in the oven. If you add hot fillings to cold pastry, the pastry will start to melt immediately and won't crisp up as it bakes. This is especially important when you're making mini party pies because you need the bases to be crispy and hold up (so that people can easily eat the pies with one hand). If you're making a large pie and you're planning on serving it with a knife and fork, you might not be quite as bothered about a crispy bottom.

My pies exploded in the oven, what did I do wrong?

You most likely overfilled them - I have done this before!! They'll still taste great, but it is super annoying after all that work. Try to fill them ALMOST right to the top, leaving a little space at the top. It could also be because the top lid of the pastry wasn't sealed properly to the base - make sure you're using an egg wash around the rim of the pastry and pressing down firmly with a fork to seal them up. And make sure you pierce the lids of the pies so there's somewhere for the steam to go.

The BEST New Zealand Style Mince and Cheese Pies

Name: New Zealand Style Mince and Cheese Pies
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 55 min
Cuisine: new zealand
Ingredients: 500g/1lb good quality beef mince; 1 tablespoon olive oil; 1 onion, finely diced; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 3 garlic cloves, crushed; 2 anchovies; 2 tablespoons cornflour; 1 teaspoon fish sauce; 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce; 350ml/1.5 cups beef stock; 1 cup whole milk; 2 tablespoons butter; 2 tablespoons plain flour; 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 1 cup strong cheddar cheese, grated; 1/2 cup creamy blue cheese, grated (use more cheddar if you’re not into blue cheese); 2 packs of ready-rolled puff pastry (try to find an all butter puff pastry); 1 egg, for the egg wash; Muffin tin or pie dish; Butter, for greasing

Description

Mince and cheese pies are an absolute New Zealand classic for a reason. Crispy buttery pastry, intensely savoury minced beef and a creamy, oozy cheese topping? Yes please!

I love making these as mini pies for the ultimate party bite which always go down a storm.

Ingredients

Units Scale

For the mince –

500g/1lb good quality beef mince
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, finely diced
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 garlic cloves, crushed
2 anchovies
2 tablespoons cornflour
1 teaspoon fish sauce
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
350ml/1.5 cups beef stock

For the béchamel –

1 cup whole milk
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons plain flour
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup strong cheddar cheese, grated
1/2 cup creamy blue cheese, grated (use more cheddar if you’re not into blue cheese)

You’ll also need –

2 packs of ready-rolled puff pastry (try to find an all butter puff pastry)
1 egg, for the egg wash
Muffin tin or pie dish
Butter, for greasing

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

Make the mince. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the diced onion and 1/2 teaspoon of salt and cook, stirring for a couple of minutes until starting to soften. Add the crushed garlic and 2 anchovies. Stir, letting the anchovies dissolve into the oil, for a couple of minutes. Add the mince and cook, stirring, until it browns. Add the 2 tablespoons of cornflour, give it a mix through, then add 1 teaspoon fish sauce, 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce and 350ml/1.5 cups beef stock. Stir and let the mixture simmer for about 15 minutes until thickened nicely. You want it to be really thick and not liquidy at all, so keep simmering if it’s still a bit runny. If it’s too runny, it will leak out of the pastry in the oven. Remove from the heat and let cool totally. PRO TIP: Ideally you want to pop the mince in the fridge for at least a couple of hours – I’ll often make the mince a day or two before I want to serve the pies.
Make the cheesy béchamel. Melt the 2 tablespoons of butter in a large saucepan over medium heat, then add 2 tablespoons of flour, whisking to combine into a paste (roux) and keep whisking to cook out the raw flour for a couple of minutes. Turn the heat to low and slowly pour in the milk, whisking as you go. It’ll thicken, then thin as you keep whisking. Keep stirring as it thickens up and starts bubbling. It should end up like a very thick gravy. Add the salt and nutmeg, then all the cheese, stirring as it melts into the sauce. Taste, and add a little more salt if you think it tastes a bit bland (this will depend on how salty your cheese is). Remove from the heat and let cool.
Assemble the pies. When you’re ready to cook your pies, get your oven heating to 200C/390F fan and get your muffin tin (or pie dish) out. Grease the tin with butter. There are a couple of ways to assemble your pies. You can either take the whole sheet of pastry and lay it over the tray, then push it into the tin, or you can cut out rounds and line the tin that way. I normally use the whole sheet of pastry because it’s quicker! Whichever way you choose, make sure you press the pastry firmly into the bottom and sides of the tin, and that there is an overlap of pastry over the top of each hole so that the top has something to stick to. Spoon about 1.5 tablespoons of the mince into the pies, then top with about 2 teaspoons of the cheesy bechamel. The key here is to not overfill your pies (I have done this so many times and it’s VERY sad when they explode in the oven!) The filling will bubble up inside the pastry, so you do need to leave a little room and make sure your pastry lid is sealed really well.
Egg wash and seal the pies. Whisk your egg in a bowl with a fork, then brush the whisked egg around the edges of the pastry. This is going to help the pastry lids stick. Top the pies with the other pastry sheet, pressing down firmly to seal. Use the edge of a large glass to trim the excess pastry by pressing down around the edge of each pie. Seal around the edges of each pie by pressing down all around with the back of a fork. Brush the tops of the pies with the egg wash again, then stab the tops with a fork to create holes, so they have space to vent.
Cook the pies. Bake for 30 minutes, until golden all around and super crispy. Let cool for a few minutes in the tin before carefully removing them and placing them on a wire rack. Enjoy while hot with a good tomato sauce on the side! PRO TIP: Sometimes when I’m using a muffin tin I find that the pies around the outside of the tin cook quicker than the ones in the middle – so check them after 20 minutes and see how they’re going. If the ones around the outside look finished, remove them from the tray and keep cooking the ones in the middle.

Notes

The pies freeze really well. Just pack them into zip lock bags after cooking, and then you can cook them straight from frozen at 180C/360F for 20 minutes.

A classic mince and cheese pie is made with grated cheese or cheese slices rather than the béchamel, so if you want to skip making it, you can just use cheese by itself.

You can make this as one big pie instead of mini party pies, or smaller individual pies.

Prep Time: 10
Cook Time: 45
Category: baking
Method: oven
Cuisine: new zealand

Nutrition

Serving Size: 1 pie

Keywords: mince pies, party pies, savoury pies