Australian Foods: Meat Pie Recipe

I published the Grated Carrot, Apple, and Raisin Salad Recipe in the previous post, to continue with the  series of Australian Foods articles, today I’m posting about one of the best Australian recipe: Meat Pie

A typical breakfast may consist of fruit, toast with Vegemite (a salty yeast spread), fried eggs and  bacon, and juice. Lunch may be an apple or a salad (such as Grated Carrot, Apple, and Raisin salad), a sandwich filled with tuna or deli meats, and an ANZAC biscuit for a treat. (ANZAC is the acronym for Australia and New Zealand Army Corps. No one knows for sure, but many people think these biscuits were first prepared for troops—and for Australian and New Zealand families—around 1915 during
World War I.) Dinnertime often brings leg of lamb or barbecued prawns (shrimp), roasted vegetables, a salad, and a custard or tart for dessert. Damper, a simple homemade bread, and billy tea, named for the pot it is heated in, both remain a staple for any meal.

Meat pie is considered the Australian national dish. One newspaper, the Sydney Morning Herald,  reported some statistics about meat pie consumption in the country:

• Almost 260 million pies are consumed every year, or almost 15 per person

• Men eat meat pies almost twice as often as women

• 62 percent of meat pies are filled with chopped steak (ground beef)

• 36 percent are filled with steak and onion, steak and kidney, steak and potato, or steak and mushroom

• Just 2 percent are filled with chicken

Australian Meat Pie

Ingredients
2 pounds ground beef
1 cup ketchup
1 cup onion, chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
2/3 cup bread crumbs
1 teaspoon oregano
½ teaspoon pepper
2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
2 prepared pie shells, 8-inch

Procedure
1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Combine ground beef, ketchup, onion, salt, milk, breadcrumbs, oregano, and pepper in a bowl.
3. Mix well.
4. Divide mixture into 2 pie shells and bake for about 45 minutes.
5. While the pies are baking, mix together Worcestershire sauce and cheese in another bowl.
6. After about 45 minutes, remove pies from oven.
7. Spread Worcestershire sauce and cheese mixture on top of pie shells.
8. Bake for about 10 more minutes, or until cheese is melted.

Meat pie, with dozens of recipe variations, is
considered the Australian national dish.

Within the next post, I’ll share more two Australian Foods: Black Australian Coffee and ANZAC Biscuits

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