I suppose after the recent " What tomato sauce ? " buying survey the humble meat pie would be an obvious choice to get some buying preference feed back on .
The freezers at the supermarkets have a broad selection varying in price from $3.55 for Aldis frozen six - pack classic meat to , at selected Coles and Woolies , some gourmet offerings from celebrity chefs .
What do you prefer to buy .?
I buy the Aldi’s " Elmsbury Classic Meat " frozen six pack . @ $3.55 a pack
My butcher makes a great shepherds pie , family size , so I buy from him . Nice fresh great flavour .
There are quite a few pie making appliances on the market such as the Kmart Pie Maker. If you make your own let us know . If time permits and you are that way inclined list your filling recipes .
You can list here or click on the magnifying glass top right of page and enter the word " Comfort ". This will take you to a Comfort food post where your input would be much appreciated regarding your recipe .
I had never bought frozen meat pies until a friend recommended the Herbert Adams ones. I prefer the most basic and wont buy unless they are on special. Since that, I’ve discovered that a few other brands are OK, also. I don’t recall which brands because its a rare event that I’ll buy (knowing that I also need to have a giant dose of insulin before I ever eat one). The Herbert Adams pies are just very nice And they have real meat, too. Chunks of it.
Totally agree re Herbert Adams (also only purchased when on special…). I have tried all of the range, but prefer the Chunky Slow Cooked Beef & King Island Beef, with an occasional Slow Cooked Beef & Pepper for variety… They microwave from frozen excellently (2m 40s in a 1000w oven, on a paper towel, plus 1m standing time - per single pie); a ‘fast’ meal of good quality & taste.
We rarely buy frozen meat pies…find the contents of many brands, which were tried many years ago, do not agree with my digestive system.
If we do have a pie on a rare occasion for a meal, we try and buy the non-frozen varieties (e.g. a good bakery pie). We also add vegetables when we have them such as mushy peas, mashed potato and carrot (for a bit of ying and yang).
We prefer now tend to make empanadas instead and add our own fillings. These are also good cold for lunch.
“Meat” is mentioned both in the title of the topic and in the question posed by the person who created this topic so technically it is not an assumption on my part.
Specific vegetarian brands are likely to be a bit more niche, worthy of a separate survey.
Sorry I took the title to mean a more inclusive variety of pies including Meat or fresh or frozen rather than just meat pies.
Given that the standard of meat content as per the FSANZ codes stated in the CHOICE 2018 review of “Meat Pies” says it " must contain a minimum of 25% “meat flesh”. Meat flesh includes the skeletal muscle of any slaughtered animal as well as any attached animal rind, fat, connective tissue, nerve, blood and blood vessels. While pretty poor eating, the code still allows this kind of gristle to be labelled as meat", I think a Vegetarian/Vegan Pie might be a very suitable substitute.
Also from the CHOICE article came this tidbit “he meat in your “meat pie” doesn’t have to be beef. Muscle meat from buffalo, camel, cattle, deer, goat, hare, pig, poultry or sheep can be used to manufacture meat pies, and the type of animal doesn’t need to be specified on the label”, that I think gets even further from what most of us would think when someone mentions “meat pies”…takes me back to a ditty my father would say “Hot pies, hot pies, full of flies, maggots in the corner”.
The meat in meat pies can be pretty dubious. All the more reason to make a careful choice. A minimum doesn’t necessarily mean that all pies are of that (low) standard. None in the freezer at the moment otherwise I would check those.
The best frozen pies we have ever eaten are National Pies made in Tassie.
We first saw them in the pie heater in the shop near Cradle Mountain Lodge when we stayed there for a week in 1996 and we ate them for lunch every day, and after returning home, I used to but frozen packs of them from Woollies.
I had not seen them for the past 20 years but spotted one in the bain marie at our local Supa IGA the other day and enjoyed it.
I asked a freezer section staff member if they stocked them but he had never heard of them but said he would ask his boss if they could get them into stock.
Asd far as bakery pies go, we have encountered many fantastic offerings but I would rate the best 2 as Traveller’s Rest in Gin Gin, Qld and Wardell Cafe & Takeaway in Wardell, NSW. The scallop pie at the Traveller’s Rest was unbelievably delicious.
For those who like Four N Twenty Angus Beef Pies, Woollies have them at half-price this week.
And for those who commit sacrilege by putting tomato sauce instead of worchestershire sauce on their pies, Woollies also have Masterfoods Tomato Sauce for half-price.
Unless the listed ingredients specifically identity the type of meat as beef?
Having a look in the freezer section of a local supermarket:
The low end product says “25% mutton and/or beef”, which to my mind means it could contain no beef at all (25% mutton).
Slightly better will say “25% beef”.
I also saw “27% Australian beef”.
The best I found is “29% Australian beef”.
Noone expects 100% meat, regardless of the type of meat, because otherwise it wouldn’t be a pie.
I would guess that commercially made pies use minced meat, which allows it to hide a multitude of sins. Pure meat of the best cut it isn’t. If a customer wants that, the pie would have to be home made, I would think.
I started buying Herbert Adams frozen meat pies when I noticed they had a Green Curry Chicken pie. Of all the Herbert Adams pies stocked at my local Coles supermarket, it was the only one that was usually sold out or depleted stock. After a few months, this variety disappears, never to be seen again. Go figure.
PS. If you travel to the far south coast of NSW, stop in at the Organic Bakery in Pambula. You can get a fantastic Lamb Rogan Josh pie - if you are lucky.
And they have real meat, too. Chunks of it.
I guess we many times automatically assume the meat.
