These Beef and Vegetable Hand Pies make for a hearty snack and/or appetizer any time of the year, but especially on St. Patrick’s Day!
I can’t help but jump head first into celebrating St. Patrick’s Day. We have a lot of Irish going on in our house with my husband being half Irish and me having a bit going on, as well.
Perhaps that’s why I get all wrapped up in things like shamrocks, beer, anything with a leprechaun, potatoes, stew… and more beer. Can you tell that beer is key? Perhaps it’s because my very favorite beer of all time is Guinness. I’m crazy about the stuff. In fact, it’s actually the only beer that I do like. It probably come as no surprise to you that I try to cram Guinness into anything I can as soon as Valentine’s Day is over.
These Irish Beef and Vegetable Hand Pies are no exception.
I started making these savory little pies a few years ago when I was looking for new St. Paddy’s Day recipes. I had gotten a little burnt out on corned beef and cabbage and was looking to expand my Irish eating horizons.
These Irish Beef and Vegetable Hand Pies wrap up all of the savory goodness of Irish beef and potato stew into a flaky, delectable crust that is not only delicious, but adorably portable. I have jazzed up the beef filling over the years and this year, I decided to miniaturize my Irish Beef and Vegetable Hand Pies to make them the perfect St. Patty’s Day appetizer.
These Irish Beef and Vegetable Hand Pies are loaded with beef, potatoes, cabbage, carrots and of course, Guinness. Not only are these one of my favorite things about St. Patrick’s Day, they also help my menu planning because they can be assembled and frozen ahead of time and baked off right when you need them. This is a great time saver because you will be much too busy putting the finishing touches on your emerald green glitter shirt to be making hand pies the day of your party.
Or maybe that’s just me.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
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Beef and Vegetable Hand Pies Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
- clove Garlic minced
- 1 large Red Onion diced
- 1/2 cup Carrot
- 1/2 cup Celery
- 1/2 cup Parsnip diced
- 1 cup Baking Potato peeled and diced
- 1 1/2 cups Green Cabbage
- 1 pound Ground Sirloin
- 1 teaspoon Dried Thyme
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
- 3 tablespoons Tomato Paste
- 1/2 cup Guinness Draught
- 1/2 cup Beef Broth
- Salt to taste
- Black Pepper to taste
- 4 Refrigerated Pie Crust
Instructions
- In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic and stir for 1 minute or until just fragrant. Add onion, carrot, and celery; cook, stirring frequently, until vegetables start to become soft. Add parsnip, potato and cabbage and cook for 5-7 minutes, stirring often, until potatoes and cabbage begin to brown. Add ground sirloin and stir, breaking up meat with a wooden spoon, until it is evenly browned; about 5 more minutes.
- To the pan, add tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, and thyme. Cook for 2 minutes or until tomato paste begins to take on a golden hue. Pour in Guinness and beef broth; cover and allow mixture to simmer for 15 minutes or until all the vegetables are tender. Season mixture with salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat and use a potato masher to mash the mixture slightly. Allow the beef mixture to cool slightly while you prepare the crust.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Make sure oven racks are positioned in the upper and lower thirds of the oven. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the first pie crust until you have about a 14 inch circle. Use a 3-inch round cutter to cut rounds out of the dough, re-rolling the dough as needed. You should be able to get about 12-15 rounds out of each pie crust. Repeat with remaining pie crusts. Keep small rounds of dough under a slightly damp kitchen towel until ready to use.
- Assemble the Pies:
- Place a heaping tablespoon (close to two tablespoons) of beef mixture in the center of one dough round. Using a wet finger, lightly wet the edges of the dough. Place a second dough round on top of the mixture and gently press dough around and down to meet the bottom crust. Use your fingers or a fork to crimp the edges of the two dough rounds together, sealing in the beef filling. Repeat with remaining dough rounds and beef filling. Place assembled pies on prepared baking sheets. Using the sharp tip of a pairing knife, make three small slits or vents in the top of each pie.
- Bake pies for 12-15 minutes, or until golden brown, rotating sheets half way through baking time.
Notes
- Get all of the dough rolled and cut into rounds and keep it pliable under a damp kitchen towel. This allows you to work in an assembly line fashion and get all of the pies made quickly.
- These pies freeze beautifully. If planning to freeze the pies, complete pies all the way through the assembly, but do not bake. Place unbaked pies on a baking sheet, making sure they are not touching one another, and freeze until firm about 1-2 hours. Remove pies from the freezer and wrap individually in aluminum foil. Place foil wrapped pies in freezer bags and freeze up to 2 months. To bake from frozen, simply place frozen pies on a baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees for about 27-30 minutes.
- Extra beef and vegetable filling makes a perfect baked potato topping for a quick and easy meal.