Phyllo meat pie is somewhat of a legend in the Balkan area. Each country has their own version of it and we all claim that our recipe for Byrek is the best. Since I was born in Albania, my phyllo recipes are heavily influenced by my Albanian upbringing.
What is Byrek?
Byrek is a phyllo pie, usually savory made with flaky layers of phyllo dough. Most Balkan countries have byrek in their traditional food category.
The origins of byrek come from the Ottoman Empire (modern day Turkey). Byrek is known by other names in the Balkan and Mediterranean regions such as Borek, Bõrek, Burek, Boureki etc etc. If you know of any other names feel free to add to comments:).
Usually byrek is filled with a meat/tomato/onion filling, or spinach and feta, leeks and feta, onions and tomatoes, potato filling or even beans filling. Really the combinations are endless and they’re also seasonal which is the basis o Mediterranean cuisine.
What type of phyllo do you use to make byrek?
You can make byrek or baklava or anything that requires phyllo layers with two methods
- Homemade phyllo layers
- Frozen phyllo layers
While I was growing up in Albania, we only could make the homemade phyllo. There was no frozen phyllo layers in the market. While I do prefer the homemade phyllo for the taste, frozen phyllo layers have come a long way and they’re getting better all the time. Plus they’re so convenient, so no judgment from me on which method you use to make your byrek:)).
In USA markets, the most famous frozen phyllo brands are as follows (affiliate links): Athens Fillo Dough & Pepperidge Farm Phyllo Sheets. Specialty stores or Mediterranean markets usually carry a variety of brands, maybe do some trial and error to see which you like best.
I make these phyllo feta sticks with frozen phyllo layers, so you can check how easy they’re to use and additional tips.
How do you make homemade phyllo?
Homemade phyllo dough for byrek is very simple. It only requires flour, water and salt. That’s it!! You can make more elaborate dough for baklava for example like I did for my Albanian Baklava with Phyllo Layers from Scratch. You’ll also need cornstarch to use while stretching the phyllo layers.
- Dough – Start by mixing flour, salt and lukewarm water. Make dough and let rest for about half an hour in a glass bowl covered by a kitchen towel.
- Knead – Knead dough and cut into about 14 equal dough pieces.
- Dough Balls – Knead each dough piece and make it into a ball.
- Stretch Phyllo – Stretch each dough ball into a phyllo layer using a rolling pin (okllai or pec).
Filling for Byrek
This specific recipe is Byrek Me Mish, which basically means Phyllo Meat Pie. Meat for byrek can be minced or ground, I mostly make byrek with ground beef because it’s easier for me to find. But back home, minced beef was easy too so that’s why we alternated between the two.
Filling doesn’t have a huge number of ingredients, it’s rather simple and you can add more flavor to it if you so desire. However, the most important part of the filling is its consistency. You can’t make the filling too thin because byrek layers will get soggy and not bake properly, but you can’t make the meat sauce too thick either because then byrek will be dry.
I prefer to use soft tomatoes for the meat filling, you’d need about 4 of them so you can blend them. In the absence of soft tomatoes, use tomato sauce about 1 can of 14 ozs would be enough.
When using tomatoes instead of tomato sauce in a recipe, there’s some variability to the amount of blended tomatoes you get. Sometimes the tomatoes are not soft enough, or some of them are bigger then usual etc. You can adjust for all this by either adding some water to the skillet or letting it simmer longer.
Work the phyllo layers one by one and add them to the baking tray. Sprinkle with olive oil in between. Once you are halfway through the layers, add the filling over and spread evenly. Make sure filling is not hot or too thin.
Work on the remaining layers of phyllo, top off the tray and close the edges. I usually tuck them in in a circular motion. Add more olive oil on top and then bake. After baking, cover byrek and let it sit for about 30 minutes before cutting into it. Those 30 minutes are hard because I want to cut right away, but believe me the wait is part of the process.
If you like byrek to be crispy and crunchy, then you just wait after it’s baked for the heat to do its magic on the inner layers of phyllo. If you like byrek to be a bit softer, then drizzle some water over it as soon as you get it out of the oven. Then cover byrek and wait 30 minutes. Steam from water will soften the edges.
Albanian Phyllo Meat Pie (Byrek me Mish)
Equipment
- 1 14 inch round baking dish
- 1 Rolling Pin
- large skillet
Ingredients
Phyllo Dough
- 4 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tbsp salt
- 1 cup water lukewarm
Ingredients needed for making phyllo layers
- 0.5 cup cornstarch for stretching the phyllo layers and preventing sticking
- 0.5 cup olive oil extra virgin
Meat Filling
- 3 tbsps olive oil extra virgin
- 1 yellow onion
- 2 lbs ground beef minced beef would work too
- 4 tomatoes medium size, they have to be soft
- 0.5 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 2 bay leaves
Instructions
Phyllo Dough
- Add flour to a glass mixing bowl. Create a crate in the middle, add salt and then water. Using your hands work the mix into a dough ball. Place the dough ball into the glass bowl, cover with a kitchen towel and set it aside.
Meat Filling
- Dice onion and blend tomatoes. Set skillet in medium heat on the stovetop. Add olive oil. Once oil shimmers, add onions in. Saute until translucent. Then add ground beef.
- Use a wooden spoon to break the ground beef and stir as it browns. Once beef is browned, add seasonings (salt, pepper, paprika and bay leaves). Then add blended tomatoes. Mix well and lower heat to simmer. If meat sauce is too thick, then you can add some water or even beef broth to make the meat filling thinner. Let it cook for few minutes, then taste for seasonings and if no adjustments are needed turn heat off and let the sauce cool off.
Stretching phyllo layers
- There are several methods to stretch the phyllo layers. For this recipe, I'm using the method I grew up with and feel more comfortable with when making phyllo dishes. It requires a rolling pin and stretching each layer one by one.
- Clean the work surface well and dry. Dust with cornstarch and start stretching the first dough ball into a thin layer. Continue working the layer until it can't stretch anymore and it is very thin.
- Drizzle olive oil over baking dish. Add the first phyllo layer on the baking dish. Alternate between drizzling olive oil and adding layers of phyllo on top of each other. Halfway through working on the layers, add the meat filling over the phyllo layers. Continue layering the phyllo layers on top and don't forget drizzles of olive oil.
- Once you are done with all the layers, tuck the corners in to close the edges so filling doesn't spill out.
- Bake on a preheated oven (350 degrees F or about 180 degrees C) for about 30 minutes or so until byrek looks golden brown. Turn oven off, cover byrek to keep heat in for another 30 minutes or so. If you like byrek to be crunchy and crispy, you don't have to do anything else at this point. If you like byrek to be a little softer, then drizzle some water over byrek before covering it. Steam will help soften the crust.
- Cut in your favorite shape and serve with yogurt or ayran (dhalle). Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- While I do prefer to use fresh tomatoes, it’s understable that they’re not always available. So use about 12-14 ozs of tomato sauce if you don’t have any soft tomatoes.
- You can add additional seasonings to taste to the meat filling.
Nutrition Label
Nutrition
I usually use All Purpose Flour with high protein content to make phyllo dough. This type of flour is easier to stretch.
When you serve byrek as main dish, you usually start with a light soup then follow with byrek. It can be served with salad and a side of yogurt as well. If it’s a light meal on the go, we usually have byrek with a yogurt drink called dhalle in Albanian (basically same as Turkish Ayran).
If you would like to save this recipe for another time, please save the below picture to your boards in Pinterest so you can easily find it later. Let me know in comments if you have any questions or if you make byrek me mish differently. I welcome all feedback:). Feel free to tag me in social media with your pictures of byrek based on this recipe. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading my blog!!
Instagram: mediterranean_latin_love or Facebook: Mediterranean Latin Love Affair.
Other Traditional Albanian Recipes
I have many more Albanian recipes in my blog, if you can’t find something feel free to comment with the name of the recipe and I’ll do my best to publish that for you:).
Here are some of my most searched for Albanian recipes.
- Fasule me mish (Pressure cooker beans cooked with bone in meat)
- Tave me Presh (Leeks Casserole)
- Albanian Qofte (Baked meatballs)
- Homemade Strained Yogurt (Salcë Kosi)
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