How to make the Nigerian Meat Pie (VIDEO)

These Nigerian Meat Pies are flaky, buttery pastries filled with a deliciously seasoned meat and veggie filling. Our readers love this recipe. Simply learn the evaluations!

Meat pie freshly baked with a crispy crust and flavorful filling

Nigerian Meat Pie Recipe

Whether or not you’re craving a tasty snack, getting ready for a celebration, or simply need to carry a style of Nigeria into your kitchen, this recipe is for you.

My model stays near the normal recipe, however I’ve made a number of tweaks to make the crust barely extra tender and flaky by utilizing a mixture of butter and margarine.

What’s Nigerian Meat Pie?

Nigerian Meat Pie is a savory, mild, and barely flaky pastry full of a flavorful combination of Floor beef (minced beef), potatoes, and carrots, seasoned with curry, thyme, and bouillon.

The crust is golden and barely crisp on the surface, smooth and tender inside, produced from the mixture of margarine, butter, and flour.

It’s not a lot of a shock that the West African meat pie has quite a bit in frequent with the British pasty as a result of that’s the place it originates from. Although through the years we (Nigerians) have discovered a method of creating our personal Pies to our style.

This snack shouldn’t be solely satisfying but in addition versatile and transportable, making it a go-to possibility for individuals on the transfer. They may be eaten as breakfast, brunch, or as a snack.

Savory meat pie filled with tender chunks of meat and vegetables

Why must you strive it?

Scrumptious – The mix of veggies and beef offers the filling a healthful depth.
Excellent for make-ahead – Meat pies freeze nicely, so that they’re nice for meal prepping.
Common enchantment – Whether or not you’re Nigerian or simply exploring world cuisines, meat pies are sure to turn out to be a favourite.
Excellent for any time of day: breakfast, lunch, snack, and even as a celebration appetizer.

If you’re a fan of comforting pastries like Rooster Pie or Fish Roll, you’ll completely love this meat pie!

Why I Use Butter and Margarine in Nigerian Meat Pies

Nigerian meat pies are normally made with margarine as a result of it’s extra reasonably priced and simpler to search out. Nevertheless, pies made with solely margarine aren’t as flaky as these made with butter.

That’s why I began including a little bit of butter to my recipe—to provide the pies a contact of flakiness with out going overboard. I don’t advocate utilizing solely butter, although, as a result of it may possibly make the crust very flaky, like an American-style pie. It is a handheld pie, you’ll not need it to crumble on you whereas consuming it.

So, right here’s the breakdown:

Solely margarine? Sure, it really works superb.
Margarine + butter? Completely—better of each worlds!
Solely butter? Not really helpful.

I wrote a publish on butter vs margarine. You possibly can learn this as much as find out how butter and margarine work in recipes.

Hope that clears issues up!

A delicious homemade meat pie with a golden brown crust and savory filling.

Fundamental Elements for a Tasty Nigerian Meat Pie

Making a very good pie crust doesn’t must be difficult. Listed below are the important thing components you will have, and why every one is necessary:

All-Function Flour
I at all times use all-purpose flour as a result of it offers the crust simply the suitable texture. Not too smooth, not too powerful.
Chilly Margarine
I make certain my butter/margarine is chilly earlier than I begin. It does not likely must be freezer chilly, however positively not at room temperature.
Salt
A bit salt is necessary. It helps carry out the flavour of the crust and makes it style higher.
Sugar (Optionally available)
A small quantity of sugar may also help stability the flavour. It doesn’t make the crust candy, nevertheless it provides a pleasant contact.
Chilly Water
The water you utilize ought to be chilly. Add it little by little, simply sufficient to carry the dough collectively.

How you can make Nigerian meat pie in 3 steps:

Make the Filling:
Sauté onions, prepare dinner floor beef until browned, season, add carrots & potatoes, prepare dinner until tender, thicken with flour-water combine, then cool.
Make the Dough:
Combine dry components, rub in butter/margarine, add chilly water to type dough, knead, refrigerate 30 minutes (non-compulsory for flakiness).
Assemble & Bake:
Roll dough, minimize circles, fill with beef combine, seal edges, vent, brush with egg wash, bake at 350°F for 20–30 minutes till golden.

I’ve written the detailed recipe beneath. Remember to test it out.

Don’t be intimidated by the concept of creating Nigerian meat pies.

The Nigerian Meatpie has an unjustifiable repute for being laborious to make. I’ll examine making the Nigerian pie to studying easy methods to drive a Automobile. Consider it like studying easy methods to drive. At first, dealing with a automotive feels overwhelming. However when you get the hold of it, it turns into second nature, and also you would possibly even surprise why you ever thought it was laborious. Pie-making is rather like that. When you strive it a few instances, your confidence will develop.

What I’ve discovered to this point with my African Meat Pie components:

Flour: I exploit unbleached all-purpose flour. You should utilize any model you want, simply don’t use bread flour, it has a lot gluten, and that won’t assist give the pie the tender crust you need.

Butter & Margarine: I combine butter and margarine in equal components (50:50). Butter provides an important style and texture. You should utilize simply margarine or simply butter should you choose. Simply keep in mind: the extra butter you utilize, the extra crumbly the crust might be—nevertheless it’ll style wonderful!

Salt and Sugar: I’ve at all times used solely salt for the longest time. Now, I exploit each salt and sugar. It actually makes a distinction within the taste of the pie.

Between, have you ever tried the Jamaican beef patties? They’re so good. It has quite a bit in frequent with the Nigerian Meatpie, nevertheless, it has its personal uniqueness.

Additionally, should you don’t need beef in your pies, be at liberty to make the Nigerian Rooster pies. They’re full of rooster as an alternative! It’s also possible to test extra Nigerian recipes right here.

Professional Suggestions for Success

Don’t overwork the dough – This helps maintain it tender and flaky.
Chill the dough – Helps it keep agency and simpler to roll.
Style the filling earlier than utilizing – Regulate salt and seasoning accordingly.
Seal nicely – To forestall leaks throughout baking.

For those who like this recipe, you would possibly like these too:

For the Nigerian Meat pie filling:

1½ tbsp vegetable oil
½ cup onion peeled and diced
1 lb floor beef
1 cup carrots diced
1 cup potatoes diced
1 tsp curry powder
½ tsp thyme
2 bouillon cubes
1¼ tsp salt
purple chili flakes or cayenne pepper to style
1½ – 2 cups water

Slurry – For Thickening

2 tbsp flour
4 tbsp water

For the Nigerian Meat Pie pastry:

4 cups all objective flour
1 tsp baking Powder non-compulsory
½ tsp nutmeg non-compulsory
½ tbsp sugar non-compulsory
pinch salt
10 tbsp margarine
10 tbsp butter
5-7 tbsp water slightly Roughly
1 egg For egg wash

Instructions for making the Nigerian Meat pie filling

Add the oil to a pan over medium warmth. Add onions, and prepare dinner till translucent. About 3 minutes.
Add the bottom beef and prepare dinner till it is nicely browned. About 5 minutes.
Season with curry powder, thyme, bouillon powder (or dice), purple chili flakes for warmth, and salt. Combine nicely.
Stir within the carrots and potatoes. Add water and prepare dinner till tender. About 20 minutes.
In a separate bowl, combine the flour and water till clean and stir the combination with the filling (this can thicken the filling).
Take away from warmth and permit to chill.

Instructions for making the Meat Pie pastry

Mix the flour, baking powder, nutmeg, salt, and sugar, in a bowl. Combine nicely
Add the margarine and butter (or simply margarine if most popular) to the flour. Utilizing your fingers, gently rub them collectively till the combination resembles breadcrumbs. Then, regularly add chilly water, slightly at a time, mixing till a agency dough varieties.
Switch the dough to a piece floor and knead it gently for about 1 minute. Then, return it to the bowl, cowl with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for half-hour to let it relaxation. For those who choose a softer, much less flaky pie, you possibly can skip the refrigeration step.

Let’s put them collectively

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Divide the dough into 4 components. Roll out every cut-out dough to about ¼ of an inch thick, then use a 5-inch spherical pastry cutter to chop circles from the dough. Mix scraps, roll out, and minimize once more.
Spoon about 2 tablespoons of the meat combination into the middle of every pie crust circle. Do not overfill so you possibly can simply shut the Pie.
Fold the dough over and use a fork to seal the dough all alongside the curved edge. It’s also possible to use a pie cutter for this. Use a fork to create a few vents on the Pie (this can assist forestall air pockets in your pie).
Crack an egg in a small bowl, add 1 tablespoon of water and whisk collectively then use a pastry brush to brush the sides of the Pie.
Prepare the pies in a single layer on the parchment paper-lined tray.
Bake at 350°F for 20 to half-hour or until golden brown.
Depart to chill barely earlier than serving.

Some individuals like their meat pie spicy, so be at liberty so as to add any scorching pepper of your option to your filling.
For those who choose a pastry pie that’s fried as most individuals ask me, I’ll recommend you go for the Nigerian Fish Roll
I used a mix of Margarine and Butter for this recipe to be able to obtain a richer and slightly extra flakier Meat pie however you should utilize solely Margarine should you select to, it really works very nicely.
It’s not advisable to make use of solely Butter for the Nigerian Meat pie, will probably be method too flaky.
Be careful on your oven temperature. The time on this recipe is what works in my very own oven, nevertheless, regulate your pies to keep away from underbaking or overbaking the pies.

Extra Meat Pie Recipes