Ingredients
- 2 Homemade Discs Filo PastryIf you do not have homemade you will need 12-16 sheets of premade filo pastry
- 750g Mince Beef
- 1 Diced Onions
- 2 Finely Diced Potatoes
- 3 Tbsp Tomato Puree
- 1/2 Pint Beef Stock
- 1 Tsp Paprika
- Salt
- Pepper
- Olive Oil
- 220ml Water
Directions
Nothing fills you up more then one of Albania’s most tasty and comforting classic dishes. This flaky pastry pie is stuffed full of mince, onion and potatoes with a warming hint of paprika.
What’s makes it so appealing to my family is the ability to make it ahead of time, eat it hot or cold and serving it straight to the table makes a great as a centre piece to impress family and friends.
Albanian Meat Byrek is another popular and traditional byrek dish known as Albanian Byrek me Mish or Pite me Mish. The meat is simmered into a thick mixture which is cooked in between layers of filo pastry (I recommend that you make this with homemade filo pastry). The pastry is flakey and the filing soft. It can be eaten fresh and hot but will mostly be served when it is cooled and the water has soaked into the pastry. Great the next day for lunch.
Steps
1 Done | Prepare the fillingIn a saucepan add the olive oil and fry the onions for 2 minutes before adding the mince and browning. |
2 Done | Add the tomotoe puree, salt, pepper, paprika, potatoes and beef stock. Bring to the boil, leave to simmer for 10 minutes/ When the mixture has thickered and water boiled away turn off the heat and leave to cool for 10 minutes. |
3 Done | For homemade filo pasty:Place a filo pastry disc in a large baking tray and add filling on top. |
4 Done | Add the second disc on top and seal the edges by tucking them down. |
5 Done | Put a thin layer of oil over the top |
6 Done | For premade filo pastry:Layer sheets of filo pastry on top of each other brushing a layer of olive oil after each one before the next one is place down. Once 6/8 sheet are laid add the filling on top. |
7 Done | Repeat the layering until a further 6/8 sheets are on top of the filling - olive oil brushed on each one. |
8 Done | Put a thin layer of oil over the top. |
9 Done | CookingBake in the oven at 180 degrees for 1 hour or until golden brown. |
10 Done | Preperation for ServingOnce removed from the oven, pour half a cup of water over the top and half a cup of water around the edges. Cover the meat byrek with two tea towels and leave to stand for 1 hour before serving. You can skip this step if you prefer a crisper pie. |
16 Comments Hide Comments
Very delicious I love it ❤️
that’s not how its supposed to look like
Hi Dita,
Thank you for your comment. Byrek comes in many different shapes and slices, there is no right or wrong appearances of it. You could for example make square slices (more common) or swirls and horseshoes for example. We make one big circle for our meat Byrek as then we can slice it in triangles, sometimes we will have this with mash potato and meat gravy.
How do you normally have your Albanian Byrek?
i wouldn’t have it flaky but crispy and flat and you wouldn’t have it with mash potatoes and gravy
Thank you for describing your byrek.
This photo is of the byrek with no water soak, this is why the top is flakey – its not had the traditional soak. (I find this much better for lunch boxes!). Had I added water the top would be as you described. We add water when we eat the byrek as it is which is mainly when we are in Albania. Everyone eats byrek in different ways, you don’t always have to be traditional and in England pies are traditionally eaten with gravy. Instead of buying pies or making English pies we make byrek (meat and / or potato ones only) and then have this in place of an English pie.
Byrek is made and eaten and different ways all over the Balkans and places in the Mediterranean, gravy and mash potato may sound strange to you when you think about traditional byrek, however it works well and is how we have ours.
Thanks for the time to come to me.
is it okay if i use puff pastry instead of filo
I have never tried it, but you would only need one layer if you did, not multiple layers.
oh in Kosovo it’s different where are you from?
Hi Dita,
I am from London and my husband is from Shkoder, Albania. So it’s a mix of two cultures. He loves Byrek with feta cheese, salad and in the summer melon too. I love byrek on it’s one unless it’s meat – i prefer some gravy – it must be a British thing ha ha!
Thanks a lot!!! It look delicious … my mom prepares it and I love it…. now I will try by myself
thank you so much for your reply i’d like to know your by the way the food still looks amazing yum yum!
name sorry
My Name is Michelle 🙂
happy belated valentines and Kosovo pavarsi (independence)
hi, happy womens day
The cottage cheese Bryek I miss a lot