Meat – What kind of meats are good for quick or cook ahead preparation, and are reasonably priced

Your filling is basically a beef stew/casserole, so any cuts that suite long slow cooking are fine. They get cooked again while the pie is baked, so premium cuts will just be wasted

The lower grade and 'off cut' parts are what are most commonly used. Like rump, brisket, chuck, shank, neck etc

Using a bench top slow cooker makes cooking this all very easy. The beef needs to be fully cooked before making the pie. An eight hour slow cook is fine

You want the pieces to be a variety of sizes to fill out the pie shape, but make sure you have some at least the height of the pie filling. The larger pieces tend to be better, but that could be a matter of taste and culture

You need to get rid of plenty of fat before and after cooking. A mouth full of fat in a pie is not nice. There is already plenty of fat in the gravy and pastry, so trim off all you can

A good meat pie should have a solid layer of meat connected with gravy, not swimming. It should also not be so full as you can't eat it with your hands (for a single serve pie) without loosing half the contents

Puff/flakey pastry works best and holds everything together

Avoid overly strong flavoured gravies, you don't want to hide the beef and pastry taste

Before you attach the lid, place a slice of tasty cheese, or an extra generous serving of cracked pepper on top of the filling

A respectable pie looks like this - thanks to Ponsonby Pies (not made in Ponsonby anymore)

Beef (and Lamb): The surface of beef is often contaminated with pathogens such as e-coli. However, the meat is very dense and the bacteria cannot migrate from the surface into the flesh. Therefore, beef is safe to consume once the external temperature exceeds, 160 degrees F. The internal uncontaminated meat is safe to eat raw.

Pork: Like beef the surface of pork needs to be fully cooked. Unlike beef, pigs harbor a parasitic roundworm called Trichinella spiralis. Infection with the worm is called trichinosis and can be fatal. This worm is killed when the flesh reaches 150 degrees F and is held there for several minutes. Therefore pork is safe to consume when cooked to medium. (Commercial pork in North America almost never has the roundworm present. Almost every case (all?) of trichinosis in the last 15-20 years have come from undercooked wild boar or bear meat). Trichinella spiralis can also be killed by freezing (time and temperature dependent).

Chicken: Almost all chickens have Salmonella or Campylobacter present on the surface (at least). However, chickens have a less dense flesh than pigs, sheep or cows. Therefore, the bacteria can migrate deep into the flesh. Also, the processing of chickens is much more invasive than the previously mentioned animals which also means the interior meat can get contaminated. This means the meat must be cooked to well done throughout.

Duck: With duck it seems to come down to a matter of processing verses chicken. Also, they are raised in a much less confined manor, which helps prevent the spread of pathogens. There is still a chance of getting a salmonella infection from undercooked duck but cooking the breast well done basically ruins it, so people take the (small) risk.

Ground meat: Grinding meat, by its nature, implies the surface and the interior is mixed. Therefore, one must assume the meat is fully contaminated and must be entirely cooked to well done.