The perfect festive season party food
Once you make these mini Brislt Beef Pies you won’t want to stop. Completely addictive to produce and eat, they offer the perfect size to grab in the hand and keep appetites at bay whilst a main meal is prepared. They can be eaten hot, warm or cold and come with an additional spiced festive beef gravy for dipping. If you are looking for a crowd-pleasing snack or appetiser for guests then these little pies are it.
How to make Mini Beef Brisket Pies
Beef brisket is an excellent cut for pie filling. Its high collagen content is perfect for slow cooking, releasing fat and keeping the meat tender and juicy. After browning briefly on all sides it simply cooks down on the stovetop or in a pressure cooker for 3 -4 hours meaning you can get on with other tasks in that time. When ready it will be extremely soft and easily pull apart.
Slow-cooking beef brisket
The brisket is combined with beef stock and a selection of spices. At the end of cooking, you will be left with a delicious gravy to thicken up and serve with the pies.
Vegetable fillings
A combination of potato, carrot, onion, radish, and mushrooms adds extra bulk and texture to the beef. As these are miniature pies you will need a sharp knife to cut the vegetables into tiny chunks.
Making the pie filling
Simply combine all the pie ingredients along with the gravy, taste, and season. Once the mixture has cooled completely you can start preparing the pie cases.
Miniature pies in a muffin tin
It’s easy and fun to prepare the pies in a muffin tin and the sizing is just right. Use ready rolled shortcrust pasty to fill each hole with a pie base, then spoon in the beef filling.
Add the pie tops
Cut out the pie lid rounds, layer on top, then pinch around the edges to seal and form a perfect little pie. If you cut the tops bigger than the circumference of the pie you can get creative with the crimping of the edges. But a basic pinch is normally the best option.
Decorate your pie tops
It’s your choice on how you want to decorate the pie, there should be enough leftover pasty to create an array of designs such as stars, leaves, Christmas-themed shapes, or anything else you can think of.
Make the gravy
Strain the brisket cooking liquid and return it to a pot. Cook the sauce down over a medium boil to reduce and thicken. The flavour will be amazing as it’s had many hours of beef and spices to infuse it.
Perfectly cooked golden brown pies
The smell of the finished pies will be irresistible. Transfer them to a wire rack to cool down and try to be patient and not eat them all!
Serving Mini Beef Brisket Pies
When cool enough to eat, arrange the pies on a large plate, or serving platter. Pour the hot gravy into a dipping bowl and place alongside the pies. Enjoy!
Keep scrolling down for the full recipe.
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Mini Beef Brisket Pies
Delicious brisket beef hand pies with a spiced beef gravy dipping sauce
- Prep Time: 30 Minutes
- Cook Time: 4.5 hours
- Total Time: 5 Hours
- Yield: 24 Pies 1x
- Category: Beef
- Method: Oven Roasting
- Cuisine: Modern Fusion
Ingredients
- 1kg beef brisket
- 1 large white onion
- 4 garlic cloves, crushed,
- 3 star anise
- 6 cloves
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 2 tsp rice wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp grated ginger
- 250ml red wine
- 1.5 litres of beef stock
- 2 tbsp cornflour
- 100g white radish
- 1 small carrot
- 100g potato
- 3 spring onions
- 4 x packets ready rolled shortcrust pastry
- 1 egg, beaten
Instructions
- Heat a large pot with oil. Sprinkle all sides of the beef with salt, then flash fry on each side briefly until nicely and browned (the meat should still be raw inside).
- Pour in stock, red wine, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar and maple syrup. Next add the chopped onion, minced garlic, star anise and cloves. Bring to a boil, cover with a lid and turn to simmer for 4 hours. By this point, the beef should be super soft and easy to tear apart.
- Chop the potato, carrot, mushroom, and radish into miniature squares, approx. 5mm x 5mm, keeping each vegetable separated.
- Heat a frying pan with a little oil and fry the potato for a few minutes to soften. Next add carrot, mushroom and a sprinkling of salt. Cook a few more minutes to soften. Do not cook the radish, this will be added raw. Transfer cooked vegetables to a bowl and set aside for later.
- When the beef is ready, remove it from the pot and shred it into thin pieces.
- Strain the beef stock and discard the solids. Return the stock to the pot. Mix 1 tbsp of cornstarch with a little water to make a paste, then over medium heat slowly whisk it into the stock. Continue to cook until the liquid has intensified and thickened slightly (if you need to add a little more cornflour then do so).
- Measure out 500ml of the gravy. Keep the rest aside for later.
- Make the filling: Combine beef, cooked vegetables, raw radish, and 500ml of gravy. Gently mix together. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed. Allow to cook completely.
- Making the pies. Using a muffin tin, brush down each hole with melted butter.
- Cut out 8cm x 9cm circles and line each hole with a pie base. Spoon in the pie filling, making sure not to overload the casing (otherwise it will burst out during cooking).
- Cut out 8cm x 7cm circles to make tops for the pies. Lightly brush the edges of the pie bases with egg, place each top onto its pie, and press down into the filling. Pinch the sides together to seal.
- Brush tops with the remaining egg wash. If making a decoration with the leftover pasty, add these now and brush also with egg wash.
- Bake pies for 30 – 35 minutes or until the pastry is crisp and golden brown. Reheat the gravy and serve alongside the warm pies.
Notes
The pies can also be eaten cold the following day
Keywords: miniature pie recipes, festive pie recipes, christmas pie recipes, beef brisket recipes
