I have never been to Australia, but feel a very strong connection with the country and its people. Having worked in the food tourism industry here in New York for well over a decade, I have met more Australians than anybody else. Seriously, we had an Australian (at least one) on every single tour.
You may not realize that Australians have a strong culture of travel, adventure, and food. They’re lovely people and after meeting so many of them (and now making their iconic meat pie), I’m more eager to visit than ever.
THE CUISINE
Traditional Australian food is not so different from our western British-influenced cuisine. When it comes to old school recipes, the British have had the most influence over the cuisine. There is a huge cattle industry and they eat a lot of wheat, dairy, and lamb. Barbecue might be the cooking method of choice for many Australians.
But the British (and the Irish) were just the first who came to this somewhat isolated island surrounded by both the Pacific and Indian Ocean. The country is definitely a land of immigrants and the food and cultures of Australia are as diverse as anywhere else.
The Italians, Greeks, Turkish, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Thai are just a small number of the groups who have influenced the food and culture.
Thank the Italians for a dish the Australians calls “Spag Bol” or spaghetti bolognese. It’s truly one of the most popular pub dishes in the country. Crazy to think about!
The Italians are also responsible for the huge coffee culture in Australia. Many Americans don’t realize just how serious the Aussies take their caffeine. They practically ran Starbucks out of the country. Much of the modern third wave coffee culture in the United States is influenced by the Australians. In fact, I spent many hours of my food tours convincing Australians that we had good coffee in New York. And then I proved it to them!
Melbourne seems to be the modern center of gastronomy in the country and all day cafés specializing in brunch and coffee are ubiquitous. Thank the Aussies for the overpriced avocado toast!!
But just like they find our peanut butter and jelly or chicken and waffles unusual, there are some food traditions (namely Vegemite) that are a bit more foreign than you might expect. However you may never have heard of Tim Tams (candy bar) or Anzac Bikkies (an oatmeal cookie), but you should definitely seek them out!
Of course, I would be remiss and offensive if I didn’t mention the indigenous population who have cultivated the local flowers and hunted the local animals (yes, the kangaroo but also emu and wallaby). These people are sometimes referred to as “bush tucker” and this kind of food has recently had a resurgence in Australia. It might be popular to drink “billy tea” or snack on damper (soda bread) and witchetty grub (a local moth larvae). Maybe not so much that last one.
AUSTRALIAN FOOD IN NEW YORK
So actually modern Australian food has taken New York City by storm. Brunch with a brekkie bowl, flat white, and smashed avo can be found all over the city nowadays. Especially in the downtown Manhattan areas of Nolita and Tribeca.
Stop in to Ruby’s or Two Hands or Dudley’s to get a sense of what that culture is like. They’re a bit overpriced but it’s fresh and delicious.
Australian style coffee is in no short supply. You can get a flat white, cold brew, and a range of traditional Aussie pastries (like lamingtons and Anzac biscuits). The most famous is Bluestone Lane, but I quite like Taylor Street Baristas and Little Collins.
For pies (and sausage rolls), the best place is probably at Bourke Street Bakery which is a recent import from Sydney. I also really like Dub Pies (Down Under Bakery Pies) which is actually owned by a Kiwi but the pies are just as good. They have a location in Brooklyn and a food truck.
And then I have to give a shout out to our local place in Jersey City called Frankie’s which serves incredible wine, cocktails, and a diverse array of dishes with international influences. You’ll find Short Rib Pasta, Thai Green Curry, and plenty of pies and sausage rolls. We like that place.
THE VIDEO
Give a child some dough and a rolling pin and you can entertain them for hours.
Sam loved rolling out the dough. These really came out well thanks to his efforts. We also do lots of talking about wildlife in the Outback and do a little taste test of an Australian specialty. You don’t want to miss Sam’s honest review of Vegemite.
Also, I apologize in advance for my terrible cheesy Australian dialect.
THE DISH
While there are dozens of classic Australian dishes, I knew which one we had to do. There was no way we were doing Australia and not making a meat pie.
The only question is which filling to include? Chunky steak and mushroom, chicken, curried vegetable, lamb, kidney???
At the end of the day, we had to go with the most classic (I also thought it was the most likely for Sam to try) which is beef mince or chopped meat as we call it.Meat pies, of course, are found all over the world. Americans even make our famous chicken pot pie, of course.
Australia met the meat pie thanks to the British (who have a very similar dish), but the popularity took off so much in Australia that is more popular there than possibly anywhere else.
One big thing that is different is that the Australians usually make their pies much smaller. They can be held in the hand and you can eat one as a snack or a few for a meal. You can find them everywhere in the country from grocery stores to gas stations to bars to sporting events. In fact, as traditional as it is to have a hot dog at a baseball game, it’s even more so to have a pie at a footy (AFL football game).
SPECIAL INGREDIENTS
The only ingredient that might be difficult for Americans to get is the infamous Vegemite. This is not featured in all the recipes I discovered, but I knew if we were going to go all the way, we had to have some Vegemite. I even got poor unsuspecting Sam to try it.
Vegemite
Vegemite is one of those things you really have the grow up in Australia to fully appreciate. And even then, there are many Aussies who absolutely despise it.
But everyone knows it and has an opinion.
Vegemite is a salty spread made from leftover brewer’s yeast extract. Beer is also big in Australia (really big!)
It might resemble peanut butter in some ways but it is not peanut butter. Not even close. This stuff is strong. Along with salty notes, it’s malty, funky, cheesy, and high in umami.
The big mistake most Vegemite novices make is they take a big clump and spread it on toast. Big mistake. A small amount goes along way and so my first time trying it, I spread just a tiny bit (less than a shmear) on a buttered piece of toast.
It’s not really my thing, but I can appreciate it in small amounts. And I think it did add a nice salty richness to these pies.
Sam was all into it. He’ll try anything in a package. And he liked it at first, but as you’ll see in the video he changed his mind very fast!
THE RECIPE
Meat Pies from Australia
You can't really go anywhere in Australia without running into the classic meat pie. These delectable little pies can be found at gas stations, restaurants, sporting events, or just about anywhere else. They come in many different fillings, but this beef mince version is probably the most classic.
Meat Filling
- 1 pound ground beef
- 2-3 tbspn olive oil
- 1 onion (diced)
- 2 garlic cloves (minced)
- 2/4 cup beef stock
- 1/4 cup ketchup
- 2 tbspn worcestershire sauce
- 2 tspn black pepper
- 1/3 cup barbecue sauce
- 1/5 cup red wine
- 1 tspn vegemite (if available)
- 1 bay leaf
Thickener
- 1 tbspn corn starch
- 1-2 tspn beef stock
Shortcrust Pastry
- 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 tspn salt
- 7 tbspn butter (cut into cubes)
Assembly
- 1 sheet puff pastry (homemade or store-bought)
- 1 egg (beaten)
- ketchup (for serving)
Shortcrust Pastry
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Mix flour and salt in a large bowl.
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Add cubes of butter and work in with your clean hands. Alternatively, pulse in a food processor.
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Cut in the butter until it resembles coarse meal.
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Add 2-3 tbspns of ice water and mix carefully to form a soft dough. Don't work for more than 30 seconds.
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Form dough into a ball and then flatten into a disc. Wrap tightly with plastic and chill for at least 2 hours.
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Flour dough and counter and gently roll out into 12 inch round or so.
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Using a glass, cut rounds of dough and place into muffin or small pie tins.
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Preheat oven to 350° F.
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Put pieces of parchment paper on the uncooke dough. Place pie weights or uncooked rice on top of paper.
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Bake dough for about 20 minutes to pre-bake.
Meat Filling
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Season beef with salt and pepper.
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Heat 2 tbspn olive oil in large pan on high. Brown beef well working in batches if necessary. Make sure it gets very hot but don't overcrowd the pan.
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Remove beef and let drain.
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Lower heat and add more olive oil. Add onions and garlic and cook until softened. About 3 minutes. Season with salt.
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Meanwhile, mix corn starch with a little beef stock to make a paste. Set aside.
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Add beef stock, ketchup, worcestshire sauce, black pepper, barbecue sauce, red wine, and vegemite. Stir well. Add bay leaf and corn starch mixture. Stir well and cook for 1-2 minutes.
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Add beef back to the pan. Stir well. Reduce heat and simmer until thickened about 1 hour and 20 minutes.
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After thickened, remove from heat and cool.
Assembly
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Preheat oven to 425° F.
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Add cooled meat filling to each pie tin.
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Cut rounds of puff pastry and carefully fit to the top of each pie tin to cover the meat filling.
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Brush each top with beaten egg.
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Poke a hole in the puff pastry to allow air to escape.
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Bake for 25-30 minutes until browned.
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Top with ketchup to serve,
This recipe calls for purchasing frozen puff pastry to use. If you’d like to attempt to make it yourself, even better.
HOW I SCREWED IT UP
I think it was all those days with Australians because I got this one pretty much right on.
Normally I would have docked myself points for not making my own puff pastry, but it seems that nobody does in Australia (I’m sure that’s not true).
My skills at folding the puff pastry onto the shortcrust was a bit lacking. They weren’t the prettiest meat pies, but they came out beautifully browned and might tasty.
Maybe I also put a little too much puff pastry onto of each one. It was rather thick, but who is going to complain about too much puff pastry?
SAM’S REACTION
This kid loves pastries like croissants and elephant ears. Anything with flour and butter, he’ll eat. And like.
He’s also a very normal three year old who is happy to put ketchup on anything. So I thought the would be a home run.
Well, it mostly was. He loved the pastry (and the ketchup), but when I cut it open for easier eating, he took one look at the meat mixture and freaked out. I think he actually would have really liked the meat filling, but he refused.
Just let him stick to his bread and butter!
NEXT WEEK
Amazingly we come to the first country that I have actually visited myself. So I will have a better sense if we get the food anywhere near close to what it’s supposed to taste like.
I had the pleasure to visit Austria a number of years ago for a friend’s wedding and I ate more than a few schnitzels. Excited to eat one again…
