Beef Stout Pie Recipes

BEEF POTPIES WITH CHEDDAR-STOUT CRUST

Steps:

• Make the dough: Pulse the flour and fine salt in a food processor to combine. Add the butter and cheese and pulse until the mixture looks like coarse meal with some pea-size bits of butter. Drizzle in 6 tablespoons beer and pulse to combine. Squeeze the dough between your fingers; if it does not hold its shape, pulse in up to 1 more tablespoon beer. Pat the dough into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour or overnight.
• Meanwhile, make the filling: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Toss the beef, flour, 1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt, and pepper to taste in a large bowl. Melt the butter in a Dutch oven or large ovenproof pot over medium-high heat. Add the beef and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned all over, about 7 minutes. Add the beer and 2 cups water, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Bring to a simmer, then cover, transfer to the oven and braise, 30 minutes. Add the leeks, carrots and celery to the pot and continue braising, 1 more hour.
• Meanwhile, put six 10-ounce ramekins on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Roll out the dough between 2 lightly floured sheets of parchment into a 10-by-15-inch rectangle; cut into six 5-inch squares. Make a few slits in the middle of each square to let steam escape. Remove the filling from the oven and increase the temperature to 375 degrees F. Season the filling with salt and pepper and divide among the ramekins (there may be some filling left over). Top each with a square of dough, pressing the edges into the ramekin. Brush with the beaten egg. Bake until the crust is crisp and golden brown, 35 to 40 minutes. Let rest about 10 minutes before serving. Photograph by Anna Williams

STEAK AND IRISH STOUT PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
• Place steak cubes onto a plate and sprinkle with flour.
• Place lard and bacon into a large skillet over medium heat; heat until lard melts and bacon begins to sizzle. Stir floured steak cubes into bacon and hot lard and cook, stirring frequently, until steak and bacon are browned, 10 to 15 minutes.
• Transfer steak mixture to a large casserole dish.
• Cook and stir onion and mushrooms in the same skillet over medium heat until onions are lightly browned and mushrooms are tender, about 10 minutes. Transfer to casserole dish with steak mixture.
• Stir Irish stout beer, parsley, raisins, and brown sugar into steak mixture. Cover dish tightly with aluminum foil.
• Bake in the preheated oven, stirring occasionally, until gravy has thickened and steak is tender, about 2 1/2 hours.
• Remove casserole dish from oven and increase temperature to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Line a deep-dish 9-inch pie plate with a pie crust and bake in the preheated oven until crust is partially cooked and lightly browned, about 10 minutes.
• Spoon cooked steak filling into the partially-baked pie crust.
• Cover steak filling with second pie crust; pinch the top crust against the bottom crust to seal tightly.
• Bake pie until top crust is golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes.

BEEF, MUSHROOM AND GUINNESS® PIE

Steps:

• Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pot over medium heat, and brown the beef stew meat on all sides, about 10 minutes; set aside. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil, and cook the bacon just until it begins to brown; stir in the onion, carrot, mushrooms, garlic, and sugar. Cook the vegetables until soft and browned, 10 to 15 more minutes.
• Stir in the flour until smoothly incorporated, and gradually mix in the Irish stout beer and beef stock. Mix in the thyme, bay leaves, and the reserved cooked beef. Cover, and bring the mixture to a boil; reduce heat to a simmer until the meat is tender, about 1 hour and 15 minutes; stir occasionally. Remove the cover, turn the heat up to medium, and let the stew boil until slightly thickened, about 15 more minutes. Mix cornstarch with water, and stir into the stew; let simmer for 30 more minutes to blend flavors. Remove from heat; discard bay leaves.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Spread the filling into a 9-inch pie dish; trim the puff pastry into a 10-inch circle, and place on top of the filling. Pinch and crimp the edges of the pastry with a fork, sealing it to the dish; cut 2 steam vents into the pastry with a sharp knife. Brush the top of the pie with beaten egg.
• Bake in the preheated oven until the crust is browned, 30 to 40 minutes.

BEEF AND STOUT PIE

Steps:

• In food processor, combine the flour, salt, sugar and pulse until blended, about 5 pulses. Add butter and process until the mixture resembles coarse meal, about 10 pulses. Add 1/3 cup of the ice water and pulse 2 or 3 times. The dough should hold together when squeezed with your fingers but should not be sticky. if it is crumbly, add more water 1 tablespoon at a time, pulsing twice after each addition. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and shape into a disk. Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour. Remove dough from refrigerator and let stand 5 minutes. Sprinkle top of dough lightly with flour, place on lightly floured parchment sheet and roll out into a 12 x 16" rectangle. Sprinkle cheese over half of dough, then fold other half over the cheese. Roll out dough into a 16 1/2" square. Using paring knife, trim dough into a 16" round. Refrigerate dough until firm, about 10 minutes, then lay dough on top of pie and bake as directed in that recipe. Makes enough dough fora 16" round. In 5 1/2 quart Dutch oven over medium-high heat, warm 1 tablespoon oil. Cook mushrooms, onions, salt and pepper 12 minutes. Transfer to bowl. Season beef with salt and pepper. Dredge in flour. In same pot over medium high heat, warm 2 tablespoons oil . Sear 1/3 of beef 7 minutes; transfer to separate bowl. Add 1/2 cup water to pot; scrape up browned bits. Pour into separate bowl. Repeat twice with rest of beef. Return pot to medium-high heat. Add garlic and tomato paste; stir 30 seconds. Add beef, stout, broth and reserved liquid; scrape up browned bits. Add mushrooms, onions, carrots, potatoes and thyme; bring to a boil. Cover; simmer over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, 3 hours. Preheat oven to 400F. Brush rim of pot with water. Lay pastry on top; let it droop onto filling. Trim dough to 1"; crimp to seal. Brush with egg mixture. Cut 4 slits. Bake 30 minutes.

GUINNESS PIE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
• In a large, ovenproof pan fitted with a lid, heat 2 tablespoons of the butter over medium-low heat. Add the onions and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until soft, about 10 minutes.
• Add the carrots, celery, mushrooms and remaining 2 tablespoons butter and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the mushrooms are dark in color and the moisture released by them has evaporated, about 15 minutes.
• Season the beef pieces all over with salt and pepper. Add the beef, flour and rosemary to the pan and cook over high heat, stirring often, for about 5 minutes.
• Add enough Guinness to just cover the beef. Cover the pan and put it in the oven for 1 1/2 hours. Remove from the oven and stir. If using trotter gear, stir it in now. Return to the oven and cook for 1 hour more. If it remains thin, set the pan over medium-low heat, remove the lid and reduce the liquid. Season to taste with salt and pepper. If using Cheddar, fold in about half.
• While the stew is cooking, prepare the pastry: sift together the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Using a pastry cutter or your hands, quickly work the butter into the dough until it is the texture of coarse meal. Add ice water, a splash at a time, until a firm dough forms. Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
• Place the dough between two sheets of plastic wrap and, using a rolling pin, roll to the thickness of a computer mouse pad. Pour the stew into an 8-inch-square, 2-inch-high Pyrex dish or a deep 9-inch pie pan. If using Cheddar, scatter the remaining cheese across the top. Place the dough on top of the pie and pinch it closed around the edges using the tines of a fork, then slash the center lightly with a knife. Brush with the egg yolk, place on a baking sheet and bake for 45 minutes, or until the pastry is puffy and golden.