Savory Hand Pie Recipe

Method

Pastry Dough

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine the bread flour and salt. Add the cold lard and butter and toss with your hands to coat with the flour. Using your hands, break up the lard and butter. You want the mixture to become like a coarse sand with tiny bits of fat covered in flour.
2. Add 4-5 Tablespoons of cold water to the bowl and toss the mixture around to hydrate the flour. Continue to add 1 Tablespoon at a time until the dough sticks together in a ball and there isn’t any loose flour.
3. Form the pastry dough into a disc and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes while you get the filling prepared.

Filling

4. Trim any connective tissue or hard gristle from the beef and cube it into ½-¾” cubes. Put the beef cubes into a large mixing bowl. Dice the potatoes, carrots, mushrooms and onions all in ½” dice. Measure out the frozen peas. Add everything to the bowl.
5. Pour the melted butter over the filling mixture and stir to combine. Sprinkle the seasonings and flour over the filling mixture and stir well to combine. If you are going to assemble the hand pies right away, leave the mixture at room temp. If you aren’t, cover and refrigerate until use.

Assembling the Savory Hand Pies

6. Remove the dough from the fridge and divide it into 6 equal sections. Wrap 5 pieces back in plastic wrap and set aside. Lightly flour a large pastry mat or work surface and form one piece of the dough into a disc. Place a little flour on top of the dough and use a rolling pin to roll out an oval shape with the top to bottom being about 10-12” and the sides being about 8-10”. You want the dough to be about ¼” thick.
7. Place 180 ml¾ cup of the filling in the center of the dough, but just a tad closer to you than the top of the dough. Pull the top of the dough and fold it over the filling. If any of the filling starts to come out of the sides, push it back into the center. Press the dough down with the sides of your hands all around the filling to create a seal and then press outward until all of the surrounding dough is nicely sealed.
8. Trim off any excess dough, leaving at least 2” on each side and 2½-3” on the rounded end. This extra dough helps with crimping. To crimp the edges, lightly flour the work surface so the dough can move freely as you crimp. Place your thumb on the right (or left) upper side and using your other hand, pull the dough over your thumb and then remove your thumb and press the dough down close to the filling. This will leave a little crimp of dough. Place your thumb in the place that was just pressed down and using the other hand, pull the dough over your thumb, remove your thumb and press the dough down close to the filling. Repeat the process all around the edge until it is all crimped. Repeat for all 6 pies.
9. Make 1-3 slits with a sharp knife in the top of the hand pies to vent the steam.

Oven Baking Directions

10. Preheat the oven to 190°C375°F. Place the hand pies on a parchment lined tray. You can brush the crust with an egg wash if desired.

    Our tip Steps 10 to 13 are the oven and air fryer methods. On the Combi, go straight to step 14.

11. Bake at 190°C375°F for 40-45 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and the filling is around 93°C200°F. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a cooling rack. These are best when they sit about 15 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

Air Fryer Directions

12. Preheat the air fryer on 175°C350°F for 10 minutes with the crisping plate or basket inside the appliance. Brush the tops of each hand pie that you are cooking with egg wash and make one slit in the top to allow steam to escape. Cut a piece of parchment that fits under the hand pie without excess around the sides. *Because of how drying the airfryer is, I recommend using the egg wash when using this cooking method.
13. Air Fry on 175°C350°F for 35-40 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and the filling temp is around 93°C200°F. Remove from the air fryer and allow to cool for at least 15 minutes on a cooling rack. Depending on the size of your air fryer, you may need to air fry in batches.

Steam Crisp or Combi Crisp Directions

14. If you have the Ninja Combi, Ninja Speedi, or Ninja Foodi with steam/crisp than you will want to use this method over baking or air frying. The instructions are the same in each of the different appliances, but with the Speedi and Foodi you may need to flip the hand pie over the last 5 minutes of cooking to crisp the bottom a little more.
15. Place 60 ml¼ cup of water in the combi pan or inner pot of the Speedi/Foodi. Place the rack into the combi pan, use the rack in low on the Speedi and the basket or crisping plate in the Foodi.
16. You do not need an egg wash when using steam/crisp or combi crisp. Place the hand pies on a piece of parchment paper cut to fit. You don’t want any excess around the edges or it folds over and impedes the crisping. Place the tray or rack into the Combi, Speedi, or Foodi. Select the Combi Crisp or the Steam Crisp function and set the temperature to 175°C350°F and the time for 30 minutes.

    Our tip If they don't all fit in one go, keep the waiting pies in the fridge: the filling is raw beef, and cold pastry holds its crimp better.

17. They are done when the pastry crust is golden brown and the filling is around 93°C200°F. Remove and allow to cool at least 15 minutes before serving. Enjoy!