the biggest problem when cooking meatpies is that they are either too wet and make the pastry soggy or the filling is too dry. yuk!

this oval pie dish is in two halves like an oyster but slightly rounder; hinged on one side and with a fastening clip on the other side.

the pastry is laid in each half and moistened at the edges. the filling is added to the bottom half, seasoned and the dampened pastry edges are automatically crimped by the edges when you close by bringing the two halves together and clip shut.

there is a smallish heat-resistant handle in each corner of the piedish to allow the cook to handle the dish when hot.

protruding from the front is a flattened sphere shape with an opening allowing the chef easy access to add gravy during the cooking process as and when necessary and this front part is complete with two small apertures to allow the steam to escape directly from the centre of the pie.

if by any chance, you add too much gravy at any one time, lift the dish slightly up at the front end and the surplus gravy will run out through the small overflow pipe at the back.

steakpie – mmmmm.
-- po, Jan 18 2005

Pie Iron http://www.plowhear...ur_index=&pcode=881
Makes tasty pies with your choice of fillings [Klaatu, Jan 18 2005]

What's a meat pie? http://www.fourntwenty.com.au/
"I never met a pie I didn't like!" [ConsulFlaminicus, Jan 19 2005]

Perfect Pies http://www.lakeland...StwsAAADj%2eHKEgEQP
Pie tin to prevent soggy bottoms. [oneoffdave, Jan 19 2005]

Pie Bird http://www.piebirds...0a%20pie%20bird.htm
Supports pastry lid, lets excess steam out. [prufrax, Jan 19 2005]

Pie and Mash http://www.gkellypieandmash.co.uk/
I quite enjoy nipping down the Roman every now and then to sample one of these rather tasty pies. I don't know if they use any kind of gravy overflow contraptions, but the quality of their pies is second to none. [zen_tom, Jul 19 2007]

Sounds like a pie-breville. I'm hungry now.
-- wagster, Jan 18 2005


o.k. auto-boner. feeling a bit crusty about this?
-- po, Jan 18 2005


Sounds like a hot-pocket.
-- contracts, Jan 18 2005


what's with the sound like? think of the *look* like...
-- po, Jan 18 2005


The biggest problem I have when cooking meat pies is that I'm not sure that I know what meat pies are.

Anything like what we call "pot pies"? Sounds kinda fussy, what with having to add and remove gravy during cooking. Sounds like something I'd like though.
-- half, Jan 18 2005


read idea! meat between 2 layers of pastry...
-- po, Jan 18 2005


Call me crazy, but meatpie sounds about as tasty as a cowpie. (Never had either, before some smarty pants asks how I know.) Still if it could be adapted to fruit pie, +.
-- blissmiss, Jan 18 2005


I did read the idea. Meat between 2 layers of pastry...so, you're pouring gravy inside the pastry shell? How do you know when there's too much/little in there?
-- half, Jan 18 2005


us chefs just *know*

anyway cooking is more about the look of food rather than the taste.

cowpie eh? desperate dan? wish I'd met a desperate man, I mean dan.
-- po, Jan 18 2005


I do have one question [po]. How do you prevent the pastry getting soggy if it's trapped in a clamshell with a whole load of simmering gravy?
-- wagster, Jan 18 2005


//if by any chance, you add too much gravy at any one time, lift the dish slightly up at the front end and the surplus gravy will run out through the small overflow pipe at the back// what about overflow pipe do you not understand?

not a plumber then?
-- po, Jan 18 2005


The overflow pipe's a good 'un, but the upper crust of most pies is baked nice and crispy in a hot, dry oven. I'm concerned that the build up of steam within the clamshell may soggify the top crust a little, requiring some form of ventilation to be added. I'm fairly clear on the liquid/steam issues but less so on the pastry, but then I'm a better plumber than a cook.
-- wagster, Jan 18 2005


Sounds like a dastardly plan to eradicate soggy pastry. I'm not happy about this. Soggy pastry is the very best kind of pastry.
-- salachair, Jan 19 2005


feel free to soggy it up afterwards but crusty is the name of the game...
-- po, Jan 19 2005


Maybe add a hygrometer to check the gravy and sound an alarm when more is needed. To save the chef's labor, the hygrometer could activate motors to automatically open a valve to let more gravy in from a reservoir.

The lid part of the clamshell could emboss a design into the upper crust (family crest, happy birthday, etc) for extra eye appeal when the pie is brought to the table.

This reminds me of a George Foreman Grill, but those are marketed for lean, lowfat cooking, which isn't the point of pie at all.
-- robinism, Jan 19 2005


I get hungry every time I read this, even if I've just eaten...damn you.
-- tiromancer, Jan 19 2005


"Hot damn, that's pie's good!"

-Toad, Twin Peaks.
-- wagster, Jan 19 2005


Meat pies? Are you Sweeny Todd's landlady?
-- supercat, Jan 19 2005


Pies are good, Pies are good, He's Ebernieser Goode!
-- wagster, Jan 19 2005


[Po] - Before you add the filling, try brushing the inside of the pastry with clarified butter. This will provide a moisture barrier that will prevent it from getting soggy.
-- nomocrow, Jul 13 2007


Or briefly blindbake first, brushed with egg.

Forgive me, [po], if I am being dense, but if your intention is, indeed, to retain crispness of pastry by minimising contact with gravy, wouldn't this design produce a pie with a huge gaping void between filling and upper crust? Furthermore, how do you get the top piece of pastry to keep stuck to the uppermost pie tin? It'd just flop down.

What you could do, of course is to blindbake both top and bottom previous to adding filling and sticking together. Don't know how effective the seal would then be.

O.K. I'll stop now. Pie subject causing gastrointestinal rumblings.
-- squeak, Jul 18 2007


who knows squeak, the joke is 2 years old and no-one solved it.
-- po, Jul 18 2007



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