New Zealand meat pies

ingredients

• • 60 ml (¼ cup) vegetable oil
  • 500 gm minced beef
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, very finely chopped
  • 7 gm sea salt flakes
  • 20 gm cornflour
  • 1.2 kg butter puff pastry (see note)
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten
  • 120 gm coarsely grated cheddar

• Rich beef stock

  • 1 1/2 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 300 gm beef scraps (see note), cut into cubes
  • 100 gm piece of belly bacon, cut into 3cm cubes
  • 1 onion, unpeeled, thinly sliced
  • 5 garlic cloves, unpeeled, halved
  • 6 thyme sprigs
  • 3 fresh bay leaves
  • 1 tsp black peppercorns
  • 65 ml brandy
  • 65 ml Worcestershire sauce
  • 1.5 litres butcher-quality chicken stock
  
  

  Instructions

  For made broth, heat a pot over high heat, add oil (it ought to smoke slightly once added), then add beef and bacon, and brown well on all sides, scraping usually to stay from catching on rock bottom of the pan (8-10 minutes). Add onion, garlic, herbs and peppercorns and cook, stirring often, till onion is tender (6-8 minutes; cut back heat to medium if necessary thus you don’t burn rock bottom of the pan). Deglaze the pan with hard liquor and Worcester sauce, scraping the bottom of the pan, and cut back till liquid is nearly gaseous (4-5 minutes). Add 250ml stock, cut back till gaseous (10-15 minutes), then add another 250ml stock and repeat. Add remaining stock and simmer over low heat till well seasoned (45-50 minutes). Strain through a fine sieve into a clean pan (discard solids) and simmer over medium heat till reduced to 275ml (8-10 minutes). Set aside.
  
  
  Heat oil in a very giant pan over high heat, add minced beef and stir often till medium through (8-10 minutes), then drain in a very sieve, reserving 1½ tbsp of fat. come reserved fat to the pan, add onion and garlic and sauté till tender (8-10 minutes), then add beef, made broth and salt and convey to the boil. Meanwhile, stir starch and 25ml cold water in a very little bowl till sleek, increase beef mixture and stir unendingly till sauce thickens (4-5 minutes), take away from heat and funky fully. Beef mixture will be created 1-2 days ahead and hold on within the white goods.
  
  
  heat up kitchen appliance to 180C. Roll out pastry on a gently floured surface to 4mm thick (if you’re victimisation pre-rolled pastry, it'll most likely already be the right thickness). Place on trays and refrigerate to rest (30 minutes). Cut out twelve eight.5cm rounds (these are the tops) and twelve 13cm rounds from pastry (re-roll scraps and use for larger rounds if necessary). Line twelve 125ml gem tins with larger rounds and divide 0.5 the cheese among lined tins. Spoon in beef mixture (freeze any leftovers for future use) and high with remaining cheese. high with remaining pastry rounds, press edges along to seal and crimp with a fork. Brush with eggwash and bake till golden and puffed (25-30 minutes). Serve hot.