I never knew how diverse hand pies could be until I started looking around for them. Turns out hand pies can be made savory or sweet, depending on what you fancy. In theory, you could have hand pies for dinner AND dessert if you so desired. You can definitely get creative with these recipes, but hopefully not as creative as Sweeney Todd (sorry). These are actually a lot of fun to make though they are a bit labor intensive. Probably best for a weekend project since it will take you a couple hours assembling the dough and pies together. The process of making the filling made the kitchen smell amazing and after this I resolved to start cooking with Guinness more often! The alcohol burns off and what you’re left with is a wonderful flavor from the Guinness. The filling is also flavored with Worcestershire, thyme and aged white cheddar. The outside of the crust is made with pastry dough which gets nice and flaky after baking.
Beef & Guinness Hand Pies
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp butter or olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion diced
- 2 stalks celery diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tbsp fresh thyme minced
- 12 oz Guinness
- 3 tbsp worcestershire
- 2 medium russet potatoes peeled and diced
- 3/4 cup green peas
- 1 lb ground beef
- 6 Pastry Crusts 9 inch
- 4 oz aged English white cheddar shredded
- salt and pepper to taste
- water
Instructions
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Heat the oil or butter in a sauce pot and add the onion, celery and potatoes. Cook, covered, until the potato is just fork tender, about 10-15 minutes.
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Stir in the garlic, worcestershire and thyme, cook for 1 minute until fragrant.
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Add the ground beef, brown and crumble apart as it cooks. About 3-5 minutes on medium heat.
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Pour in the Guinness and turn up the heat but only bring to a low simmer, about 5 minutes uncovered. Stir in the green peas.
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Turn to the lowest setting, cook covered while you prepare the pastry dough.
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Preheat the oven to 375F.
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Meanwhile, roll out the pastry dough and cut into 12 5 inch rounds. Cut 12 rounds into larger circles, about 5.5 inches for easier pie making but this is optional. Feel free to use up any extra dough for smaller pies.
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Stir in the cheese until incorporated with the beef.
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Spoon filling onto the 5 inch rounds and brush the edges with a little water. Cover with the 5.5 inch round. Press the edges of a fork to seal.
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Bake for 12-15 minutes on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
