Meat pie (Australia and New Zealand)

Meat pie

A typical meat pie with tomato sauce
Type	Meat pie
Place of origin	Australia and New Zealand
Main ingredients	Diced or minced meat, gravy
Media: Meat pie

In Australia and New Zealand, a meat pie is a hand-sized pie containing diced or minced meat and gravy, sometimes with onion, mushrooms or cheese and is often consumed as a takeaway food snack.

This variant of the standard meat pie is considered iconic.^[1] It was described by New South Wales Premier Bob Carr in 2003 as Australia's "national dish".^[2][3] New Zealanders regard the meat pie as a part of New Zealand cuisine, and it forms part of the New Zealand national identity.^[4]

Meat pies are made in numerous neighbourhood bakery shops in Australia and New Zealand.

According to a 2003 study, the average Australian eats more than 12 meat pies each year.^[5] According to a 2004 study, the average New Zealander eats 15 meat pies a year.^[6]

Manufacturers of pies in Australia tend to be state-based, reflecting the long distances involved with interstate transport and lack of refrigeration capabilities in the early years of pie production.^{[citation needed]} Many pies are sold ready-to-eat at smaller outlets and are sold unbranded although some may be locally produced by a brand-name vendor, or even imported. Frozen pies are heated prior to serving.^[7]

An Australian meat pie, first produced in 1947, by L. T. McClure in a small bakery in Bendigo, became the well-known Four'n Twenty pie. Due to its association with Australian rules football, Four'n Twenty has iconic status in Victoria.^[5] Other manufacturers well predate this brand.

Sargents—once the dominant meat pie brand of New South Wales, but not made since 2022—could trace its pie making back to 1891.^[8][9][10]

In South Australia, Balfours have been making pies for over a century,^[11] but Vili's began in the post-war era. Both of these pie makers supply pies to various venues hosting Australian rules football games.^[12]

Produced in Western Australia, Mrs Mac's Pies are sold nationwide, found mostly in service stations and corner stores, competing with other brands in the contested takeaway hotbox market on the basis of quality and fillings other than the normal fare.^[13]

In Victoria, some of the well known and famous pie makers include the makers of two of Australia's most famous pies—Four'n Twenty and Patties—both manufactured by Patties Foods in Bairnsdale.^{[citation needed]}

In Tasmania, the main manufacturer of pies is National Pies.^[14] National Pies make typical beef mince pies, as well as "Cottage Pies", which are topped with mashed potato. National Pies' mince pies are rectangular in shape, as opposed to most other brands, which are round.

'Railway pies', once served on country trains and at refreshment rooms of the NSWGR, achieved a reputation for their high meat content and flavour.^[15] In 1942, it was reported that 2.3 million of these pies were consumed over a 12-month period.^[16] All the pies were baked in a facility under Central Station, until around 1980.^[15][17] The long trip from Sydney and absence of refrigeration were possibly why there were reports of pies that were past their prime condition, when served to customers in railway refreshment rooms in the regions.^[18][19]

Australian meat pies were introduced into the United States in 1994 by Mark Allen, of Boort, Victoria, when he and his wife, Wendy, began operation of Pacific Products, Inc. in Marietta, Georgia.^[20][21] Pacific Products was a wholesale only business, selling their pies to chain retailers throughout the United States. Although Pacific Products is no longer in business, Allen and his partner Neville Steele opened the Australian Bakery Cafe in Marietta, a retail bakery which also ships its products throughout the US.^[22]

Big Ben Pies have been making pies since 1969 in Auckland, New Zealand and sells 13 million pies per year.^[23]

In 1977, during the time that American fast food restaurants moved into New Zealand, Progressive Enterprises created Georgie Pie, a fast food restaurant with a menu based on meat pies. The pies were batch made and frozen at Progressive's Māngere plant. The first Georgie Pie restaurant opened in Kelston, Auckland, and at its peak in the mid-1990s had become a chain of 32 restaurants across New Zealand. However, after a major expansion, Georgie Pie became uneconomic to run and was eventually sold to McDonald's New Zealand in 1996. The last restaurant at Mission Bay, Auckland, closed in 1998. In June 2013, McDonald's started a trial relaunch of Georgie Pie, selling one flavour of pie (Steak Mince 'n' Cheese) through eleven of its restaurants in Auckland and Hamilton.^[24]

The meats allowed by FSANZ to make up at least 25% of a meat pie are beef, buffalo, camel, venison, goat, hare, pork, poultry, rabbit and sheep. Kangaroo meat, a leaner alternative, is also sometimes used. However, most pie manufacturers specify 'beef' in their ingredients list; typically, those using other types of meat will simply put 'meat' in the list instead. FSANZ requires that a meat pie must contain a minimum of 25% "meat flesh". Meat flesh includes the skeletal muscle of any slaughtered animal as well as any attached animal rind, fat, connective tissue, nerve, blood and blood vessels.^[25] Offal (such as brain, heart, kidney, liver, tongue, tripe) must be specified on the label.^[26]

The annual Great Aussie Pie Contest began in 1990 to find commercially produced meat pie produced in Australia, to promote higher quality pie production, and to attempt to increase media attention upon the foodstuff, with the meat pie often dwarfed by the omnipresent advertising of fast food chains.^[27]

The contest attracts various pie-makers from all over Australia;^[28] the pies for the contest are judged anonymously to avoid bias towards or against specific bakeries or states. Run in parallel to the main contest is one for gourmet pies, with categories for such fillings as chicken, seafood and even vegetarian pies. As well as the main prize, certificates of excellence are awarded for entries that reach set quality standards. The main award is coveted due to the increased sales it generates, with many people travelling interstate to sample the winning pie.^[29]

In New Zealand an annual pie competition has been held since 1997. The Bakels New Zealand Supreme Pie Awards to recognises quality pie manufacturers in New Zealand, assisting them in producing award-winning pies and continuing to help foster and encourage developments within this category of baking.^[30]

They were entered in 11 categories– mince and gravy; chicken and vegetables; gourmet meat; bacon and egg; gourmet fruit; steak, vegetable and gravy; steak and cheese; vegetarian; mince and cheese; seafood and commercial wholesale pies. The pies were judged on presentation, the pastry on the top and bottom, the filling and the profile.^[31]

In the 1970s, meat pies were mentioned in a jingle^[32] for General Motors Holden Australia, adapted from General Motors’ Chevrolet jingles in the United States.

Fair-Go Dibbler, citizen of Fourecks (The Last Continent) in Terry Pratchett's Discworld series, is famous for selling the archetypal pie floaters to his unsuspecting customers.^[33]

• The Great Aussie Meat Pie Contest
• Choice Magazine – Meat Pies
• Bye-bye American Pie, The Age, 21 July 2003