Category: The Newfie Kitchen

Image from blog, All Day I Dream about Food
Hamburger Pie

Hamburger Pie

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Another recipe from Blatch.It came from one of the kitchen cookbooks called ‘Recipes to Celebrate’. It’s really good, but difficult if you don’t know how to make a good pie crust.  I had to get an assist both times I made this recipe. Once in Blatch, when Lousie, a housemate, helped me out. And again when I made it in Labrador and my mom came to the rescue.

This recipe was well received each time I made it. I find some nice mashed potatoes would go well here with the pie. I would have cooked it more often over the years, but for a couple of obstacles. For one, I seldom had the time required to make this while I was in school, and more importantly, I dread pastry. To this day I still struggle with it, sadly it’s something I can’t really do well at all. So each time I made this recipe I got help with this part, once from a housemate while in Blatch, and once from my mother when I made this recipe again back home in Labrador. The second Hamburger Pie actually became a part of my family lore, a story my father loves to re-tell even ten years later with demented giddiness. I’ll share the story.

The second time around, I actually made two pies. One was as given above while the other was a meatless variation. The meatless one was very simple to make. I just substituted crumbled tofu for the beef and I cooked it with the onions and 4 cups of stock which I let boil down until I figured 1 cup evaporated. I then used some gravy browning until the colour was close enough to that of ‘browned ground’. I added the breadcrumbs and from there everything else followed the same as what I wrote above. When the pies finished they were laid side by side on the countertop. Without thinking, Mom grabbed a slice of the meatless pie and started eating. Now, my mother is a carnivore who hates tofu. My father actually makes his own tofu, and in all the years since tofu has graced our kitchen, never once did Mom partake of it, and may God help you if you pressed the matter. Not a slice, nor cube, nor crumb ever passed her lips until she tried the meatless pie. Mom ate it up, noting it was good but the beef tasted different, must have been all that bread I guess. By the time she got to the end crust she had a revelation. She screamed, “AHHHHHH!!! THAT’S … NOT MEAT!!!!!!” to my father’s delight. But it was too late, all that remained was the crust. It was the first, and to date, only time she ever ate tofu.

Hamburger Pie

Filling
  • 1.5 cups lightly toasted bread cubes
  • 1.5 lb ground beef
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp pepper
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg
  • 1 tsp savoury
  • 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 8 oz (1 cup) consommé
  • 2 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 small onion
Pastry
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup shortening
  • 1/2 cup finely grated cheese
  • 1 egg
  • 2 Tbsp vinegar
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2 Tbsp ice water
  • 1/2 tsp paprika
  • a dash of cayenne
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1/4 tsp dry mustard

Start by preparing the ingredients for the filling. You can cut up the bread and toast it in the oven, or you can save time by using croutons, which will also suffice. Next, combine the bread cubes and consommé in a large bowl and set aside.  Chop the onion finely because you don’t want big chunks of onion in the pie.  Set the burner to medium and heat the oil in a pan, My mother taught me a nice trick for checking the oil temperature. Add a drop of water to the pan and if the oil starts to crackle, it’s ready.   Once the oil is hot enough, add the beef and onion. Cook gently, stirring to break the beef apart just until it loses its pink colour. Remove from heat and add the beef to the consommé mixture along with the other filling ingredients. Set aside and preheat the oven to 375°F. It’s time to start the pastry.

Start the pastry by combining the flour, salt cheese, paprika, cayenne, and mustard. Cut the shortening into the mixture with a pastry blender. It should resemble coarse oatmeal. Mix the eggs, vinegar and water together in a cup, and pour it into the pastry in a circular motion. Stir with a fork until the entire mixture is moistened. Divide the dough into two equal balls.

Roll one ball thin enough to cover the bottom and sides of a 9-inch pie pan (1.5 inches deep should do). Cut off the excess pastry and add it to the other ball. Add the meat mixture to the pie pan. Roll the other pastry ball thin enough to cover the top. Again cut off the excess. Cut slits into the crust (this will allow steam to escape). Bake at 375°F for about 45 minutes or until the crust is golden.

*The featured image used in this post came from the blog ‘All Day I Dream about Food’