Individual pies....

Trow

..... made in a muffin tin... has anyone tried this?

I am contemplating trying it today for the first time - benefits are you can make them in bulk, and freeze the ones you don't need, only taking out as much as you need (i.e. less when kids are away or I am working late etc), and there won't be obvious leftovers that I would keep for lunch the next day - but OH decides to have as a midnight snack instead (despite the fact he doesn't really need any more food...)

They will also be much cheaper than the bakery individual pies that OH and the kids love.

I reckon the muffin tins will be perfect for the job, and am contemplating fillings. At the moment I am thinking:

Savoury mince
Cheese, bean and tattie
Chicken in white sauce

For another time I might get stewing steak and slow cook that, and possibly veg in a cheese sauce.

Any more ideas?

boo81

Chicken with vag and gravy
Steak
Cheese and onion
Mince and beans (my absolute favorite)
Chicken and bacon or chicken and leek
Turkey and veg
Bacon, cheese and bean
Curry pie
sauagemeat or sausages and top it off with mash instead of a pastry top
Thai chicken
Fish - white fish and cheese and sweetcorn or salmon and spinach


You could also make sweet ones with pie fillings if you dont have fruit, or mincemeat

thriftlady_2

I've done this I found though, that wet fillings seemed to make the pies collapse a bit. Muffin tins are quite deep so the pastry has to be quite tough to stand up (I used puff, so maybe that was the problem), or the filling needs to be firm like sausagemeat, or at least not very wet.

I tried them once with a scone dough (American 'biscuit' dough actually-it was from a US site) -roll out circles and press in the tins, fill with BBQ mince mixture, and bake. You could try this with lids added.

lil_me

I find it ends up too much pie and not enough filling. I was thinking of doing some without lids which might help with my 'soggy bottoms' amd the too much pastry issue.

newbiemum05

I use 2 yorkshire pudding tins to batch cook individual sized quiches.
Our fave filling is bacon, leek and cheese. I would use shortcrust pastry. I usually shake in some semolina and shake it around to coat the pastry, you don't taste it or even know it's in the quiche/pie but it absorbs some of the moisture so you don't end up with a soggy bottom (I mean the pie/quiche LOL)

GreenNinja

thriftlady wrote: »

I've done this I found though, that wet fillings seemed to make the pies collapse a bit. Muffin tins are quite deep so the pastry has to be quite tough to stand up (I used puff, so maybe that was the problem), or the filling needs to be firm like sausagemeat, or at least not very wet.

I tried them once with a scone dough (American 'biscuit' dough actually-it was from a US site) -roll out circles and press in the tins, fill with BBQ mince mixture, and bake. You could try this with lids added.

Sausagemeat pie with a strip of ketchup running through it! Gorgeous, reminds me of when I was a kid.

:T

Nicki

thriftlady wrote: »

I've done this I found though, that wet fillings seemed to make the pies collapse a bit. Muffin tins are quite deep so the pastry has to be quite tough to stand up (I used puff, so maybe that was the problem), or the filling needs to be firm like sausagemeat, or at least not very wet.

I tried them once with a scone dough (American 'biscuit' dough actually-it was from a US site) -roll out circles and press in the tins, fill with BBQ mince mixture, and bake. You could try this with lids added.

Would Yorkshire Pudding trays which are wider and not so deep solve the soggy bottom/collapsing pie problem? Would these also pies also be too much pastry, as they aren't very deep to pile in loads of filling?

I'm quite keen to do the batch cook pies idea too, so if anyone has done it successfully with any particular kind of tin, I'd be really interested in knowing.

Pooky

Keep a look out at Lidl - they do pasty moulds from time to time - I've got a set of 3 sizes - basically just a hinged shaped mould - lay the pastry on - a couple of spoon fulls of filling and close tight - it seals the edges nicely - I freeze on a baking tray and then bag up into portions.

Sometimes I'll make a selection of individual ones using up left overs - left over beef stew, chicken and veg, chilli and cheese, veg and cheese - great way of using up any left over roast veg and a spot of gravy.

lil_me

I've seen those on Ebay and I think in the Kleeneze/Bettaware catalogue aswell Pooky.

Found the Ebay ones, are these the same? http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/pasty-maker-pasties-dough-press-NEW-set-3-turnover_W0QQitemZ270136032726QQihZ017QQcategoryZ20651QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItem

Trow

Well, I have done my first batch. I made 6 mince and bean, 6 mince and 8 cheese, bean and tattie, using shortcrust pastry. I also made 4 cheese and onion, and 5 mince pasties.

4 of the pies and 2 of the pasties have been eaten, the rest are in the freezer.

I also made a shepherd pie for tomorrow, and have two batches of mince in the freezer (both to serve 4).

Verdict on the pies - as the tins are relatively small, I did roll the pastry as thin as I could get away with. I cheated and used frozen, but for good reason - my pastry usually breaks up a bit as I roll it, and I never have the same problem with frozen, so it means I can roll it thinner. I think they came out pretty darn good!.

Now - do I make muffins tonight or wait till Sunday...... hmm.....

Trow

Thise pastry moulds look interesting - I might have to invest in some!