Meat Pie Recipe

Crust

1. Get ingredients:
   • 1 egg (50 g) (large, cold)
   • 688 g (5 1/2 cups) flour (all-purpose)
   • 454 g (2 1/4 cups) shortening
   • 6 g (1 tsp) salt
   • 15 g (1 tbsp) vinegar (white)
   • drinking glass
   • glass measuring cup (2 cups or more)
   • mixing bowl (large)
   • pastry blender
   • whisk (small)
2. Fill a drinking glass with cold water and ice. Set aside.
3. Add to large mixing bowl:
   • 454 g (2 1/4 cups) shortening (chopped into about 8-16 pieces)
   • 688 g (5 1/2 cups) flour
4. Mash with a pastry blender until uniform (about 4 minutes). Stop if the dough starts coming together in big chunks.
5. Add to glass measuring cup:
   • 1 egg (50 g)
   • 6 g (1 tsp) salt
   • 15 g (1 tbsp) vinegar
6. Whisk until combined (about 30 seconds).
7. Add enough water from the drinking glass to the glass measuring cup to bring it up to 1 cup.
8. Whisk until it is a uniform colour (about 30 seconds).
9. With one hand, stir the flour mixture using a regular fork. With the other hand, slowly add the egg mixture into the flour mixture (about 1 minute).
10. Keep mixing with the fork until it becomes hard to mix.
11. Using your hands, form the dough into a ball.
12. Split the ball into 8 separate balls of roughly equal size (about 170 g each).
13. Flatten each ball slightly into a disc shape.
14. Place all discs in the fridge.
15. Roll the pie crusts, one by one. Make the 4 bottom crusts first, and then start making the filling, and then make the 4 top crusts.

Filling

1. Set the oven to bake, 425° F (218° C). Ensure the oven rack is in the middle position.
2. For the first 2 pies:
   1. Get ingredients:
      • 2.5 kgs (1 package) lean ground beef
      • 1 1/2 packages OXO beef broth
      • 1/2 tsp ground pepper
      • 1/8 tsp sea salt
      • 1 tsp secret ingredient
      • frying pan (large, with lid)
      • glass measuring cup (4 cups or more)
      • regular bowl
      • flipper spatula
      • spoon (large) (not a slotted spoon)
      • prongs (if meat is frozen)
      • turkey baster
   2. Add to regular bowl:
      • 1 1/2 packages OXO beef broth
      • 1/2 tsp ground pepper
      • 1 tsp secret ingredient
      • 1/8 tsp sea salt
   3. Stir with a fork or spoon until combined (a few seconds).
   4. Add to regular bowl:
      • 237 g (1 cup) water (hot)
   5. Stir with a fork or spoon until combined (a few seconds). Set aside.
   6. Place the frying pan on the stove.
   7. Set heat to medium.
   8. Add the spice mixture into the frying pan. Set the empty bowl aside for later.
   9. Remove the paper from the bottom of the beef if necessary. (It's okay if the beef is frozen, but cooking it will be quicker if it's not frozen.)
   10. Add the beef to the frying pan.
   11. Using the flipper spatula, break the beef up as best you can.
   12. Place the lid on the frying pan.
   13. If the beef was frozen, periodically turn the meat over using the flipper spatula and prongs, and scrape off any meat that has thawed. If the beef was not frozen, periodically check on the meat and continue to break it up using the flipper spatula.
   14. Make the top crusts while checking on the meat periodically. Cook until the meat is brown, and there is no pink meat left (about 15 minutes if meat was frozen).
   15. Turn off the heat, and remove the frying pan from the heat, but keep the frying pan on the stove.
   16. Using the flipper spatula, chop the meat up.
   17. Drain the liquid:
       1. Place the glass measuring cup next to the frying pan.
       2. Using the flipper spatula, move the meat to one side of the frying pan.
       3. Place the regular bowl under one side of the frying pan to lift the meat up so the liquid drains to the bottom of the frying pan.
       4. Using a large plastic spoon, scoop the liquid out of the frying pan and into the measuring cup.
       5. Once you can't scoop any more liquid with the spoon, use a turkey baster to suck any remaining liquid out of the frying pan. With the baster out of the liquid, squeeze the bulb slightly. Dip the baster into the liquid, holding the baster at an approximately 30 degree angle, and then stop squeezing. The liquid will go into the baster. Hold the baster over the measuring cup and squeeze to release the liquid.
   18. Using the large plastic spoon, scoop the filling into two of the pies.
   19. Decorate the pie tops.
   20. Bake for 20 minutes (or until the edges have lightly browned).
   21. Repeat for the remaining pies.
3. Let cool at room temperature in the pie pan.
4. Wrap each pie in plastic wrap and then aluminum foil. Store in the fridge for a few days (or the freezer for up to 1 year).
5. Let the grease sit in the measuring cup for a day so it will harden. Put the grease in a plastic bag and put it in the garbage.