Beef Sausage Hand Pie Recipe

This beef sausage hand pie recipe is a complete meal perfect for picnics as you can eat it at room temperature with your hands and without any mess. The filling is made with half beef and half pork mixed with diced carrot, celery, and onion and flavoured with a touch of Cognac.

Jump to:

• What are hand pies
• Origins of this hand pie recipe
• Before you make this hand pie recipe
• Freezing hand pies
• Making the pastry
• Making the filling
• Making the hand pies
• Bringing the hand pies to a picnic
• Tips for making this hand pie recipe
• More pie ideas
• More sausage recipes you can even have for breakfast
• More recipes with sausages
• 📋Beef Sausage Hand Pie Recipe

What are hand pies

The name hand pies originated in England in the 19th century. They were semi-oval minced pies called Pasties that the miners in Cornwall would bring to work for their lunch. As they had dirty hands, they would hold the pies from the outer round crust eating only the centre of the pie and throwing away the now dirty crust.

Although, since I don't like to throw away food, even if just a crust, I decided to make these hand pies in the shape of a long bread roll, like a sandwich. A thin crust is wrapping the filling made of meat and vegetables, making it easy to eat with your hand.

Origins of this hand pie recipe

Even if the concept of these hand pies is the same as the Cornish Pasty, this is not their recipe.

I adapted this recipe from the ‘The Hairy Bikers’, but I don't even remember the original name of the recipe. It got my attention as Cognac was added to the filling.

Their recipe was more of a Pork Pie with gelatine poured inside once the pie was cooked. I never tried to add the gelatine, not because I didn't want to try, but because I knew my boys would discard it.

I may try one day, but for the moment these are very popular with my boys and their friends.

For more recipes using sausage and minced beef you can check: Italian meatloaf polpettone and sausage stuffing with chestnuts.

Before you make this hand pie recipe

The secret of this recipe is to let the filling rest overnight in the fridge so the Cognac has time to combine all the flavour together. You can also make the pastry the day before.

If you decide to give it a try, get started the day before!

Freezing hand pies

The great thing about these hand pies is that they can be frozen uncooked so you can defrost and just bake. They are very practical for a busy day as you can simply serve them with some salad.

Prepare your pies, lay them on a parchment paper and close them into a airtight container.

Making the pastry

The ingredients are:

• 7 tablespoon - 100 g of butter at room temperature
• 2 cups - 300 g of flour
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ⅓ cup fresh water

1. Mix the ingredients for the pastry until you get a smooth dough.
2. Wrap in cling film and let it rest overnight.

Making the filling

Ingredients:

• 12 oz - 350 g freshly minced lean beef
• 12 oz - 350 g minced pork or sausage meat (casings removed)
• 2 carrots diced
• 1 onion diced
• 1 celery stalk diced
• ¼ cup freshly chopped parsley
• 1 egg
• 2 teaspoon salt
• ½ cup Cognac

1. Mix the ingredients for the filling in a bowl.
2. Cover with cling film and let it rest overnight so the flavours have time to amalgamate.

Making the hand pies

Before you start making the pies, make an egg wash by mixing an egg in a small bowl with a brush.

1. Divide the filling into 6 equal portions and shape them into balls.
2. Cut the dough into 6 equal sizes.
3. Roll the dough into rectangular shapes larger than 8x12 in - 20x30 cm with a thickness of 2 mm.
4. Place the filling in the centre making a large sausage.
5. Fold the pastry over the filling
   1. Turnover on one side of the pastry and brush the top with the egg wash
   2. Flip over on the other side of the pastry and brush with the egg wash the two ends.
6. Fold the two ends

7. Put the parcel on a parchment paper with the folded sides facing downward.

8. Lay them on the baking tin on top of the parchment paper.
9. Brush the top with egg wash.
10. Make 3 diagonal cuts on each parcel so that steam can evaporate during the cooking process.
11. Bake them in a hot oven at 355 F - 180C for 45 minutes.
12. Once they are ready let them cool down for at least for 1 hour before serving them.
13. They should be served at room temperature.

Bringing the hand pies to a picnic

These beef sausage hand pies are perfect to bring on a hiking trip or a skiing day. They should be eaten at room temperature so they do not need to be heated up. They are packed with energy, a full meal of meat and vegetables into a nice crunchy parcel.

I like to serve them with radishes and salt, a healthier option to french fries.

When my son Liam came with his 4 friends from university, I made these pies to have for lunch during their trip back to Grenoble. They never made it to the car, they were eaten immediately as soon as they saw them.

Tips for making this hand pie recipe

• You can make the filling and dough the day before, letting it rest overnight.
• Don't dice the vegetables too small as it is nice to have pieces of vegetables mixed with the meat.
• Use the egg wash to seal the pies.
• Make some cuts on the top of the pastry so that steam can escape while cooking.
• Once they are ready, let them cool down, they should be eaten at room temperature.
• If you are going for a picnic, put them into a sealed container just in case some juice comes out.

More pie ideas

• Beef Pie With Marsala Sauce And Mushrooms
• Chicken and Mushroom Pie Recipe
• Chelsea Market Heidi Pie With French Chevre
• Zucchini Mushroom Quiche Recipe
• Caramelized Squash Spinach Bacon Quiche

More sausage recipes you can even have for breakfast

If you are looking for a nice rich breakfast with sausage and eggs you can check the recipes:

• An Irish Breakfast in France
• Sausage rolls
• Baked frittata
• Fried pasta
• Ham Spread Terrine With Cognac

More recipes with sausages

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