Meat Pies aka Forfar Bridies

The dough is flaky and delicate, but strong enough to be eaten straight from the hand - no need for plates or forks. Makes 8 pies. There should be plenty of dough to cut out 8 pies without having to reroll any dough scraps. If you want to make smaller pies, just cut out smaller circles of dough and use less filling.


Pastry

• 3 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus extra for work surface
• 1 Tablespoon sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt or 1 t regular table salt
• 12 Tablespoons (1.5 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2" cubes
• 1 cup ice water

Meat Filling

• 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 lb (90% lean) ground beef (or any mixture of beef, sausage, veal, etc)
• 1 onion, minced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 Tablespoon minced fresh thyme leaves, or 2 teaspoons dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon dried mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 Tablespoon unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup dark beer
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 egg, beaten

1. FOR THE PASTRY: Process flour, sugar, and salt together in the food processor. Scatter butter pieces over the flour mixture and pulse until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Transfer mixture to large mixing bowl. Working with 1/4 cup of water at a time, sprinkle the water over flour mixture and stir, pressing mixture against sides of bowl to form a dough. Add enough water that no small bits of flour remain. Dough should be moist enough to form a ball, but not sticky. Divide dough into 2 pieces, flatten each piece into a 6-inch disk and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.
2. FOR THE FILLING: Melt butter in a 12-inch skillet over med-high heat. Add beef, onion, garlic, and thyme, and season with salt and pepper. Cook, breaking up meat with a wooden spoon, until the meat is no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Stir in the mustard, nutmeg, and flour and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in beer and simmer 1 minute. Stir in cream and simmer until thickened, about 1 minute. Off the heat, stir in Worcestershire sauce and season with salt and pepper to taste.
3. ASSEMBLY: Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Roll dough to 1/4" thickness. Using a bowl to trace, cut dough into 8-inch circles. Fill dough circles with 1/4-1/2 cup of filling. Fold over dough and seal with water. Pinch edges to crimp dough closed. Brush each with beaten egg. Place on non-stick or parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake 25-30 minutes or until meat pies are golden brown. Let cool 10 minutes before serving.