What Makes Australian Meat Pie Unique?

Do you come from the land down under? If you do, then your meat pies probably look and taste a bit different from other pies. There are many dishes from many cultures' cookbooks that could be classified as a meat pie, such as pot pie, shepherd's pie, or even quiche. But few of the savory pies from around the world taste quite like an Australian meat pie, whose unique flavor can be attributed to the nation's most notorious food product: Vegemite. 

This ominous, dark brown spread certainly has a stigma attached to it, but perhaps that's because if you don't live in Australia, you don't know exactly what Vegemite is and what it tastes like. Vegemite is a thick, savory paste made from a mixture of yeast extract left over from beer production, vegetable extract, and malt extract from barley. It is salty, bitter, and reminiscent of concentrated soy sauce. Because its flavor is so strong, only a small amount is needed in an Australian meat pie — about one tablespoon per four servings. This, along with ground or diced beef, chopped onions, tomato paste, and Worcestershire sauce, makes the meaty filling. The surroundings are made of flaky pie pastry. These individual meat pies make the perfect hand-held meal — usually eaten for lunch — and are often topped with ketchup. 

While Vegemite is a flavorful addition to meat pies and is best known for being spread on toast along with butter for breakfast in Australia, its unique taste can be added to many dishes, with some more surprising than others. Along the lines of using it to flavor meat pies, it can be used to add oomph to soup stocks, stews, gravies, and beans in lieu of bouillon. It also complements the sweetness of barbecue sauce while adding depth, which puts an Australian spin on chicken wings or pulled pork. 

Vegemite's website offers numerous unexpected ways to incorporate this yeasty ingredient into everyday dishes. They have recipes for pasta dishes, such as spaghetti bolognese, macaroni and cheese, or bowtie pasta with tomato and spinach, and also advocate adding it to savory muffins and cheese twists. Asian cuisine can benefit too, for example in honey-glazed chicken bánh mì. And the spread even gets added to sweeter choices like brownies and cocoa and cream popsicles (called "icy poles" down under). Regardless of the recipe you choose, the big flavors of Vegemite are sure to give your recipe a unique boost.