If you grew up on garage pies*, this one's for you. I'll show you how to make pepper steak pies from scratch: a cheat's rough puff pastry that bakes into shattering golden layers (no pastry degree required), and a rich, glossy steak filling built on toasted black pepper and coriander — the same duo that seasons biltong**, so you know it's going somewhere good. Every step, every temperature, and the tricks that get you a pie that blisters and glistens like the ones from the pie warmer.
* Whatever “garage pies” are! Are those, perhaps, ready-made pies you stop in the filling station on the way home from work to buy for a quick dinner and save you standing over a hot stove when you get home after an exhausting day’s work, I wonder? 😊 — Mark Alexander
**Biltong: “Biltong is a traditional South African cured and air-dried meat. Similar in appearance to beef jerky but thicker and more tender, it is made by marinating premium cuts of meat in vinegar and spices (like coriander and black pepper) and then air-drying it slowly without heat.”
Google informs us that “the word biltong comes from the Dutch words bil (rump or hindquarter) and tong (strip). The method was developed in the 17th century by Dutch settlers (and adapted from indigenous Khoisan preservation methods) to keep meat from spoiling during long, hot journeys across Southern Africa.” [Source: Google AI]
