Steak and Ale Pie

I make savoury things too, contrary to my figure I don't just sit around eating cakes all day but that would be a dream. So I made this pie using my own rough puff pastry to cheer up my boyfriend one day when he was pretending he was ill. It's comforting and tasty and great for a chilly day. This recipe does take a while to cook but to be honest, you don't actually need to do anything whilst it's cooking so great for a film day.

Serves 4-6 people   Prep Time 1hr   Cooking Time 4.5-5.5hrs

Ingredients:

For the filling:

25g Butter

2 tbsp Oil (olive, sunflower or vegetable)

600-800g Stewing steak, cut into 4cm chunks

100g Plain Flour

Salt and pepper

2/3 Rashers of smoked back bacon, cut into small dice

4 Carrots

2 White/yellow onions

1 Sprig of thyme

1 Sprig of rosemary

1 550ml bottle Newcastle Brown Ale (or preferred dark ale of your choice)

6 Oxo Cubes (or stock concentrate of your choice)

You may need 2/3 tbsp of Cornflour

For the rough puff pastry:

500g Strong plain flour

2tsp Sea salt (preferably the finer variety)

500g Unsalted butter, at room temperature, but not soft

Approx 150ml cold water

1 Egg

Equipment:

Large frying pan

Large saucepan or casserole dish

Approx 23-25cm pie dish/tin

Wooden spoon

Chopping board

Sharp knife

Rolling pin

Large mixing bowl
Large baking try

The filling will take around 3.5-4 hours to become tender so start with this. Start by peeling and chopping your carrots and onions. I usually slice the onions and chop the peeled carrots into rounds. Then you can get started  browning the meat. 

Put the flour into a large bowl and season with salt and pepper, toss the stewing steak chunks in the flour and tap off the excess before frying in batches in your frying pan with the vegetable oil. Once all the meat is browned on all side but not cooked through, leave this aside on a plat whilst you get on with the base. 

The heart of any stew or pie filling is getting a good flavour base. I start by frying the diced smoked bacon in the butter in the saucepan/casserole pan with the onions on a medium heat. This will take around 10-12 minutes to become browned and allow the onions to soften, then you can add the beef to the pan along with the carrots. 

Whilst the heat is still high add the full bottle of ale to the pan and boil for a few minutes whilst adding the thyme and rosemary and a little extra salt and pepper. At this stage you can prepare the Oxo/stock concentrate. 

I crush the Oxo cubes into a mug and cover with boiling water from the kettle, stir this into a paste and add to the pan. Now the lid can be placed on, the heat lowered to the lowest setting and it can be left along pretty much for 3.5-4 hours. You can stir occasionally to ensure nothing is catching on the bottom of the pan. 

Now you can get started on your rough puff; Sift the flour and salt into a large bowl. Roughly break the butter in small chunks, add them to the bowl and rub them in loosely using your fingers. You need to see bits of butter. 

Make a well in the bowl and pour in about two-thirds of the cold water, mixing until you have a firm rough dough adding extra water if needed. Cover with cling film and leave to rest for 20 mins in the fridge. 

Turn out onto a lightly floured board, knead gently and form into a smooth rectangle. Roll the dough in one direction only, until 3 times the width, about 40 x 70cm. Keep edges straight and even. Don’t overwork the butter streaks; you should have a marbled effect.

Fold the top third down to the centre, then the bottom third up and over that. Give the dough a quarter turn (to the left or right) and roll out again to three times the length. Fold as before, cover with cling film and chill for at least 20 mins before rolling to use. This can now sit in the fridge until your filling is done!

Once the 3.5-4 hours is up you should have a thick saucy beef stew which to be honest is great eaten as it is with mash. If your sauce is not thick enough to act as a pie filling you can thicken this would 2 or 3 tablespoons of cornflour, let down with some cold water and stirred into the stew off the heat and then brought back up to the boil to thicken. Allow the filling to cool a little before putting it into the pastry case. 

Preheat the oven to 190°c/fan 170°c/gas 5 - place a try on the middle shelf to preheat

Once you're ready, cut your pastry in half and roll the first half out for the base, making it big enough to cover the base and sides of your pie dish, place this into your dish which should be lightly buttered and pop this back into the fridge for 10 mins. 

This is when you can fill your pie with your slightly cooled filling (around blood temp should be cool enough). Use a slotted spoon to get all the chunky bits - this will leave you with gravy in the pan which you can heat up later to serve with the pie. Then roll out the second half of your pastry and place on top; crimping all the way around with your fingers and decorating with any spare pastry. You will also need to make a hole in the top of the pastry for the steam to escape and ensure you don't get soggy pastry. 

Brush the pie with 1 beaten egg to glaze and place the pie on the preheated tray and bake for around 30-25mins or until the pie is golden and slightly puffed up. 

Once cooked I love to serve this with broccoli, peas, mash and the leftover gravy. But whatever you like...