Has anyone got a deep-filled pie maker?

General Cooking tips

Moderators: KG Steve, Chantal, Tigger, peter

Stravaig
KG Regular
Posts: 862
Joined: Thu Jul 18, 2019 8:59 am
Location: Kent, UK
Has thanked: 156 times
Been thanked: 104 times

You know the type of thing - like a toastie-making or panini machine but it makes deep-filled little pies.

I fancy getting one but most models I've looked at have a number of very poor reviews. Sometimes people give poor reviews because the thing didn't work well for them. Perhaps they're not very good cooks. But it didn't fill me with confidence.

Another thing is that the two models I liked the look of most have since been discontinued (that kinda tells me something) or are otherwise unavailable.

I don't want to buy one and then be disappointed with it as it would be extremely difficult for me to return it.

Has anyone here ever used one and if so what did you think of it?

Thanks in advance.
User avatar
Chantal
KG Regular
Posts: 5665
Joined: Thu Nov 24, 2005 9:53 am
Location: Rugby, Warwickshire
Been thanked: 1 time

Hi Stravaig, my mum bought one a few years ago. I will enquire for you.
Chantal

I know this corner of the earth, it smiles for me...
Monika
KG Regular
Posts: 4546
Joined: Thu Jul 06, 2006 8:13 pm
Location: Yorkshire Dales

Somehow, I can't really see the point of a machine like this. Unless you are making loads of pies and lots of the time, would it not be easier to do it by hand?
User avatar
Chantal
KG Regular
Posts: 5665
Joined: Thu Nov 24, 2005 9:53 am
Location: Rugby, Warwickshire
Been thanked: 1 time

My mum has got back to me to say she "doesn't get on with it and hasn't used it in a long time". However, she knows someone who uses one a lot. Sorry, that's no help at all!

Personally, I agree with Monika.
Chantal

I know this corner of the earth, it smiles for me...
Stravaig
KG Regular
Posts: 862
Joined: Thu Jul 18, 2019 8:59 am
Location: Kent, UK
Has thanked: 156 times
Been thanked: 104 times

Thanks for your help.

I think the idea of it is to make things easier, especially to avoid "soggy bottom".

I'm quite happy to make my own pastry and usually do make pies by hand but I'm planning an event (socially distanced, of course) in April where I will be required to make a heck of a lot of pies and I was thinking that one of these machines might make my life easier. At this point I'm not feeling encouraged to buy one, though.
User avatar
Primrose
KG Regular
Posts: 8054
Joined: Tue Aug 29, 2006 8:50 pm
Location: Bucks.
Has thanked: 37 times
Been thanked: 281 times

Don't, suppose yiu have a restaurant near yiu which is closed due to Covid who might be able to loan you one to experiment with?
Westi
KG Regular
Posts: 5908
Joined: Thu Oct 30, 2008 4:46 pm
Location: Christchurch, Dorset
Has thanked: 671 times
Been thanked: 238 times

I suspect they are one of those things that to get good results you have to invest in a decent one but the market seems pretty overloaded. How about prep & freeze in foil pie dishes (maybe pre-cook some) & then could heat or cook loads more in the oven with a bit of shelf rotation. Now if no room in your oven with other things some of those mini counter top ovens seem to get good reviews & would store away until your next little soiree! Who knows might become your regular go to with just the 2 of you if you get one with the hobs on top.
Westi
Stravaig
KG Regular
Posts: 862
Joined: Thu Jul 18, 2019 8:59 am
Location: Kent, UK
Has thanked: 156 times
Been thanked: 104 times

Due to various circumstances I wasn't able to have my event in April, but was able to use a large garden for it in early May. The weather was glorious so we were very lucky in the middle of what had been very variable.

I solved my pie dilemma by not making pies. I made "rat-onna-stick" instead! :lol: And some salads. People seemed to enjoy it. The thing that most people were very curious about was the rats' tails - were they edible and what were they made of? I might tell you if you ask nicely. :twisted:
User avatar
Primrose
KG Regular
Posts: 8054
Joined: Tue Aug 29, 2006 8:50 pm
Location: Bucks.
Has thanked: 37 times
Been thanked: 281 times

Go on, tell! I,m curious. Not criapened bacon rinds .?
Stravaig
KG Regular
Posts: 862
Joined: Thu Jul 18, 2019 8:59 am
Location: Kent, UK
Has thanked: 156 times
Been thanked: 104 times

OK, Primrose, since you asked nicely (thanks!), here's how I made my "rat-onna-stick", except that I ran out of time before the party started and had to ask one of the guests to finish them off. And I forgot to add the stick (ie bamboo skewer). :roll:

The "rats" were actually made out of pork tenderloin, cut into medallions and batted out with a meat hammer. Then panéd - like schnitzel, in other words. I next cooked them and cut them into shapes that looked vaguely like a flattened rat. I had capers for eyeballs and the tails were... wait for it.

I just chose a guest at random and asked, "Please can you make some rats for me as I don't have time?". He readily agreed and even had a couple of willing helpers. They did a fair enough job although not what I'd necessarily have done.

People willingly scoffed up the rats but were a bit suspicious of the black tails. :lol: Were they edible? Were they shoe laces, or what? Actually they were made of squid ink spaghetti and perfectly edible. I don't approve of adding inedible so-called garnishes to food. :D
User avatar
Primrose
KG Regular
Posts: 8054
Joined: Tue Aug 29, 2006 8:50 pm
Location: Bucks.
Has thanked: 37 times
Been thanked: 281 times

Oh the squid ink is not something I would have thought of but it would probably work well for a Halloween party !
You're right about not adding inedible decorations to food. The legal "compensation" culture has become too strong these days. You' probabky need a high personal liability insurance policy, especially if you' used peanuts for their eyes.

There always seems to be somebody with a food allergy these days,
User avatar
peter
KG Regular
Posts: 5842
Joined: Fri Nov 25, 2005 1:54 pm
Location: Near Stansted airport
Has thanked: 18 times
Been thanked: 33 times
Contact:

Stravaig wrote:Due to various circumstances I wasn't able to have my event in April, but was able to use a large garden for it in early May. The weather was glorious so we were very lucky in the middle of what had been very variable.

I solved my pie dilemma by not making pies. I made "rat-onna-stick" instead! :lol: And some salads. People seemed to enjoy it. The thing that most people were very curious about was the rats' tails - were they edible and what were they made of? I might tell you if you ask nicely. :twisted:



CMOT Dibbler!
Do not put off thanking people when they have helped you, as they may not be there to thank later.

I support http://www.hearingdogs.org.uk/
Stravaig
KG Regular
Posts: 862
Joined: Thu Jul 18, 2019 8:59 am
Location: Kent, UK
Has thanked: 156 times
Been thanked: 104 times

Ha ha, Peter!

I did wonder if we might have any Discworld fans here. Yes, I was going to be CMOT Dibbler, but changed my mind at the last minute and abandoned the pie idea and decided to do Gimlet's Hole Food Emporium instead. I'm quite short in stature so it worked fine. :D (I even got a Gimlet apron from the Discworld Emporium.)

To be honest, the party was a bit chaotic because I didn't realise how much I'd need to organise beforehand. But I just told the guests that it was only a rehearsal and we'd do it for real in September.

The main thing is that people enjoyed getting out and doing something different, even if it was a bit daft.
User avatar
Kayburton
KG Regular
Posts: 49
Joined: Fri Jul 24, 2020 10:47 am

Stravaig wrote:You know the type of thing - like a toastie-making or panini machine but it makes deep-filled little pies.

I fancy getting one but most models I've looked at have a number of very poor reviews. Sometimes people give poor reviews because the thing didn't work well for them. Perhaps they're not very good cooks. But it didn't fill me with confidence.

Another thing is that the two models I liked the look of most have since been discontinued (that kinda tells me something) or are otherwise unavailable.

I don't want to buy one and then be disappointed with it as it would be extremely difficult for me to return it.

Has anyone here ever used one and if so what did you think of it?

Thanks in advance.


It seems to me that this is a crazy thing. You can make a cake like this much faster and better by hand.
Fauzan
KG Regular
Posts: 1
Joined: Tue Jul 27, 2021 7:57 am

Hi, I've never bought a pie maker but a bread cutter. Honestly, the machine was difficult to use at first, so I gave the product a bad rating. However, after studying using manuals and tutorials on Youtube, now I can use it much more quickly and easily so sometimes a bad score on a product doesn't necessarily mean that the product is bad.
Post Reply Previous topicNext topic