RECIPES: Make full-size versions of Heaps’ savory meat pies at home
As Jake Harvey, founder of Heaps, made his way from Wellington, New Zealand, to Atlanta, with a stop in New York City in between, it was the hand-held double-crusted meat pies of home that he missed most.
“What’s fabulous about New Zealand pies is that they are pies you can eat with your hands. They need a flaky crust and the filling should have just the right amount of gravy with the meat. And you eat them with chutney. You pop some in a bag to enjoy by the beach or in the park. These are the pies that just warm my soul,” said Harvey.
New Zealand meat pies are generally a purchased item. “Every little dairy (convenience store) and bodega has a warmer with pies in it. That’s where tradesmen go to get their lunch. Or you can get really high-end bakery pies. There are pies and sausage rolls everywhere and most of us eat one at least every day.”
While in New York, he took a job at Tuck Shop, a now-defunct pie shop in the East Village, ultimately becoming general manager. Armed with skills and ideas on how he could put his own spin on his favorite pies, he moved to Atlanta six years ago, bought a portable pie warmer and began doing pop-ups in breweries.
He went from pop-ups to selling pies wholesale to breweries, restaurants and retail shops. He now makes his pies in the commercial kitchen at Boggs Social & Supply, and they’re sold around the city at breweries as well as Chop Shop on Memorial Drive and the Twelve Eighty Lounge at the High Museum of Art.
He also sells directly to customers at local farmers markets including Oakhurst, Morningside and Grant Park. At the markets, hot pies are available to eat on the spot or enjoy in a park the way Harvey would have done at home, and there are frozen pies as well. Coming soon is an option for online preorders with pickup at Boggs Social and the farmers markets.
Each week, Harvey and his crew of Asa Wochatz and Drew Vandiver make at least 10 different pies with meat, vegetables and fruit sourced from local farmers. “Each week is different depending on what we can get from our local sources, but we always have three vegetarian pies and a vegan pie. Our beef and cheddar pie is the most traditional, although in New Zealand, we’d call it ‘mince and cheese.’ We also make classic sausage rolls and we’re experimenting with rolls like the beef marinara sausage roll Asa came up with. We always have chutneys like green tomato, peach, mango and apple, and we started making seasonal fruit pies like peach cobbler pie and apple,” said Harvey.
The team prides itself on using every bit of the products they source. Carrot greens are cooked and added to the lamb and vegetable pie. They make their ground beef by grinding scraps of beef from their butcher sources.
Being surrounded by meat pies every day makes Harvey happy. “I still love the pies. Recently I’ve been enjoying our tomato pie, which is definitely more American. It’s so good with the sharp cheddar in it. But of the classic pies, the lamb pie might be my favorite. It’s my mom’s roast lamb dinner in a pie.”
RECIPES
Enjoy two classic New Zealand meat pies and apple chutney, adapted from recipes provided by Jake Harvey of Heaps. Although Heaps sells 4 1/2-inch pies, Harvey provided recipes to make 9-inch pies, each serving eight, a more practical choice for most home cooks. If using Morton kosher salt, reduce the measured salt by half.
Beef and Cheddar Pie
- 1 1/2 pounds 90/10 ground beef
- 1 large onion, finely diced
- 2 tablespoons chili powder
- 2 tablespoons paprika
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt, plus more if needed
- 1 1/2 teaspoons pepper, plus more if needed
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 12 ounces stout beer, such as Guinness
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 10 sprigs thyme
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 cups beef stock, plus more if needed
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1 recipe Butter Shortcrust (see recipe)
- 1 cup grated sharp cheddar
- Put ground beef in a large saucepan over low heat. Begin cooking beef and, as it releases liquid, raise heat to medium-low. Cook beef until it is cooked through, about 4 minutes, using a tool such as a potato masher to break up the ground beef so there are no lumps. When beef is cooked through, remove it to a colander to drain off accumulated liquid and fat. Set aside.
- Return saucepan to cooktop without rinsing it. Add diced onion and turn heat to low. Stir in chili powder, paprika, salt and pepper. Once the onions are translucent, about 3 minutes, stir in garlic. Add beer and Worcestershire sauce. Tie thyme sprigs into a bundle with kitchen twine and add to saucepan. Raise heat to medium and cook 2 minutes. Return heat to low and return drained ground beef to saucepan. Cook 2 minutes, then remove from heat and discard thyme sprigs.
- While filling is cooking, make roux: In a medium saucepan, melt butter over low heat. When butter has melted, about 1 minute, make a roux by adding flour and whisking butter and flour together to eliminate any lumps of flour. Cook the roux 30 seconds or until it thickens. Stir in stock.
- Return large saucepan to cooktop and turn heat to medium-low. Gradually add roux to the beef mixture, stirring constantly to be sure no lumps are formed. Stir in apple cider vinegar and simmer 5 minutes. If the mixture seems too thick, add more stock as needed. Remove from heat and taste the mixture and add more salt and pepper, if needed. Allow mixture to come to room temperature before filling pie. Filling may be made ahead of time, covered and refrigerated for up to 2 days. Bring to room temperature when ready to bake.
- When ready to bake, heat oven to 375 degrees.Make egg wash: Whisk together egg and water.
- If pie crust has been refrigerated, remove disks from the refrigerator 15 minutes in advance. Roll one portion into a 12-inch circle and fit into a 9-inch pie plate, being careful not to stretch the dough. Trim edges of crust even with outside of pie plate. Use a fork to prick holes in the bottom of the crust. Add the filling, then sprinkle with grated cheddar.
- Brush egg wash on the edges of the crust.
- Roll the second portion of crust into an 11-inch circle and lay it over the filled pie. Press the edges together and trim the excess crust from around the pie. Use a fork to crimp the bottom and top crusts together, then lightly brush the top crust with egg wash. Use a sharp knife to cut vents in the top of the pie in the shape of a large plus sign.
- Bake pie in the lower third of the oven for 25 minutes or until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbling. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes before serving to make neater slices.
Nutritional information
Per serving: Per serving: 665 calories (percent of calories from fat, 46), 35 grams protein, 54 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams total sugars, 3 grams fiber, 33 grams total fat (19 grams saturated), 153 milligrams cholesterol, 845 milligrams sodium.
Lamb and Vegetable Pie
At Heaps, this pie is often made with lamb shanks and cooked carrot greens. We tested the recipe with bone-in lamb shoulder chops, which were easier to find than shanks, and used finely chopped kale for the greens.
- 2 medium peeled carrots, divided
- 2 celery ribs, divided
- 1 large onion, roughly diced
- 1 to 1 1/4-pound bone-in lamb shoulder chops
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt, plus more if needed
- 1 1/2 teaspoons pepper, plus more if needed
- 4 sprigs thyme
- 4 sprigs rosemary
- 4 cups beef stock
- 1 cup red wine
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 small Japanese sweet potato or russet potato, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice
- 1/2 cup finely chopped greens (see note)
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup loosely packed mint leaves
- 1/2 cup frozen peas
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1 recipe Butter Shortcrust (see recipe)
- Heat oven to 400 degrees.
- Roughly chop 1 carrot and 1 celery rib. Line a Dutch oven with onion and chopped carrot and celery. Arrange lamb on top of vegetables and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place in oven, uncovered, and roast 20 minutes or until the lamb begins to brown.
- Use kitchen twine to tie thyme and rosemary sprigs into a bundle and add to roasted lamb. Pour in stock and red wine and add garlic. Cover Dutch oven, turn heat down to 325 degrees, and roast 3 hours or until the lamb is tender and falls off the bone easily.
- While the lamb is roasting, put sweet potato or russet potato on a rimmed baking sheet sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Add to oven and roast until pieces are fork tender, about 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let rest while waiting for the lamb to finish roasting.
- When lamb is tender, remove from oven and place Dutch oven on cooktop. Remove lamb and place on a plate to cool. Discard herb bundle. Cut remaining carrot and celery rib into 1/4-inch dice and add to braising liquid in Dutch oven. Stir in chopped greens. Turn heat to medium low and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes.
- While vegetables are cooking, make roux: In a small saucepan, melt butter over low heat. When butter has melted, about 1 minute, add flour and whisk butter and flour together to eliminate any lumps of flour. Cook the roux 30 seconds until it thickens.
- Whisk the roux into the braising liquid and vegetables, raise heat to medium, and cook until the liquid thickens and coats the back of a spoon, about 3 minutes.
- While sauce is thickening, remove lamb from bones and discard any fat and bone. Using your hands, tear lamb into bite-size pieces.
- When sauce is ready, return lamb to the sauce and add roasted potatoes and mint. Cook 1 minute, then taste for seasoning, adding salt and pepper as needed. Stir in peas and remove saucepan from heat. Allow mixture to cool to room temperature before filling pie. Filling may be made ahead of time, covered and refrigerated for up to 2 days. Bring to room temperature when ready to bake.
- When ready to bake, heat oven to 375 degrees.
- Make egg wash: Whisk together egg and water.
- If pie crust has been refrigerated, remove disks from the refrigerator 15 minutes in advance. Roll one portion into a 12-inch circle and fit into a 9-inch pie plate, being careful not to stretch the dough. Trim edges of crust even with outside of pie plate. Use a fork to prick holes in the bottom of the crust. Add the filling.
- Brush egg wash on the edges of the crust.
- Roll the second portion into an 11-inch circle and lay it over the filled pie. Press the edges together and trim the excess crust from around the pie. Use a fork to crimp the bottom and top crusts together, then lightly brush the top crust with egg wash. Use a sharp knife to cut vents in the top of the pie in the shape of a large plus sign.
- Bake pie in the lower third of the oven for 25 minutes or until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbling. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes before serving to make neater slices.
Nutritional information
Per serving: Per serving: 517 calories (percent of calories from fat, 40), 21 grams protein, 55 grams carbohydrates, 3 grams total sugars, 3 grams fiber, 22 grams total fat (13 grams saturated), 86 milligrams cholesterol, 658 milligrams sodium.Butter Shortcrust
This recipe makes the traditional sturdy New Zealand pie crust, designed particularly for small double-crusted pies that will be eaten out of hand.
- 10 tablespoons cold unsalted butter
- 3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 10 tablespoons ice water, or as needed
- Using a box grater or grater attachment on a food processor, grate butter and lay it on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Freeze 30 minutes.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine flour and salt and mix on low speed for 30 seconds. Turn off mixer and add frozen grated butter. Turn mixer on low and slowly add ice water until mixture just begins to start forming a dough. Stop the mixer while flour mixture still looks dry and crumbly. Touch the dough. If it sticks together but doesn’t stick to your fingers, it’s ready. If not, turn mixer back to low and add a little more water until dough has formed. Be careful not to overmix.
- Remove dough from mixer and form into 2 flat disks about 6 inches in diameter. Wrap disks in plastic wrap and allow to rest at least 1 hour. If making ahead of time, refrigerate disks until needed up to 2 days ahead.
Nutritional information
Per serving: Per serving: 316 calories (percent of calories from fat, 42), 6 grams protein, 40 grams carbohydrates, trace total sugars, 1 gram fiber, 15 grams total fat (9 grams saturated), 38 milligrams cholesterol, 143 milligrams sodium.
Simple Apple Chutney
Chutneys are a traditional part of the New Zealand meat pie experience. The bright, sharp flavor complements the savory filling in the same way as condiments like ketchup or mustard. But no Kiwi would substitute ketchup! Enjoy a spoonful of this sweet, tangy chutney alongside each mouthful of a slice of pie or as a dollop on top of a hand-held pie.
- 1 pound Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and diced
- 1 cup golden raisins
- 1 cup apple cider vinegar
- 2/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons lightly packed light brown sugar
- 1 medium red onion, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon brown mustard seeds
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- In a large saucepan, combine apples, raisins, vinegar, brown sugar, onion, mustard seeds, ginger and salt. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, then reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, 30 minutes or until mixture has thickened to the consistency you prefer.
- Remove from heat and allow to cool before putting it in jars. Store, covered, in the refrigerator for up to a month, until ready to use.
Nutritional information
Per serving: Per tablespoon: 25 calories (percent of calories from fat, 1), trace protein, 6 grams carbohydrates, 5 grams total sugars, trace fiber, trace total fat (trace saturated), no cholesterol, 8 milligrams sodium.Sign up for the AJC Food and Dining Newsletter
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