Beefredwinepies Recipes

BEEF POT PIES

Steps:

• Melt the butter with the olive oil in a heavy pot. Sear the meat over medium-high heat in batches until brown, 4 to 5 minutes; remove to a plate.
• Add the carrots, celery and shallots and saute until the vegetables start to wilt, about 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium low, add the mustard, garlic and 1 tablespoon of the flour and saute for 1 minute. Add the mushrooms and cook for 2 minutes. Pour in the wine, beef broth and 1 cup water. Add salt and pepper to taste and stir. Bring to a boil. Return the browned meat to the pot and reduce the heat to low. Add the bay leaves and thyme sprigs, then cover and simmer for 30 to 45 minutes.
• After 45 minutes, mix the remaining 2 tablespoons flour with a little water and pour into the stew. Cook and thicken for 10 more minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool completely.
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the puff pastry sheets one by one to get rid of the creases. Set a 6- to 8-inch ovensafe skillet upside down on a pastry sheet and cut a circle around it, making it 1/2 inch larger than the dish. Repeat with the remaining 5 skillets using all of the pastry sheets; discard the scraps.
• Put the 6 skillets onto 2 baking sheets and fill the skillets with the cooled beef mixture. Sprinkle over some chopped bacon and 1/2 teaspoon chopped parsley on each.
• Top each skillet with a pastry circle, pressing along the edges to seal. Mix together the egg and 1 tablespoon water in a small bowl to make an egg wash. Brush each pastry lid with the egg wash. Bake until the pastry is puffed and golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes.

BEEF AND RED WINE PIE WITH CHEESY POTATO TOP

Steps:

• For the beef and gravy: Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Trim excess fat from the beef and cut it into about 3-inch cubes.
• Measure out all the dry spices (garlic powder, mustard powder, onion powder, salt, celery seed, ginger powder and pepper) and mix together in a large mixing bowl. Coat the beef cubes liberally in the spice mix.
• Bring a saute pan to medium heat and add the oil (a sufficient amount to shallow fry the beef). Fry the beef cubes, 2 or 3 pieces at a time, turning onto each side, until a deep golden brown. Place the browned beef in a deep casserole dish.
• Sprinkle 1/4 cup of the leftover spice mix over the cooked beef (omit this step if all the spice mix was used to coat the beef before cooking).
• Roughly chop the garlic and onion and add to the casserole dish with the beef. Tie the thyme, bay leaves and rosemary together with kitchen string (or you can use one of the thyme sprigs to do this).
• Pour the red wine over the beef (enough to submerge all the beef, and reserving 1/3 cup for later). Wrap plastic film over the casserole dish and then wrap in aluminum foil and ensure a tight seal all around. Place the beef in the oven and cook until tender, about 3 hours.
• Remove the beef and roughly chop into about 1/2-inch cubes. Remove the fresh herbs and discard.
• Place the liquid from the casserole dish, including the onions and garlic, into a food processor and blend until smooth; this will become the gravy for the pies. Return the liquid to a saucepan and bring to a slow boil. Add the cornstarch to the water and whisk. Add to the boiling gravy, whisking while adding to avoid lumps forming. Add the reserved 1/3 cup red wine and cook the gravy, stirring regularly to avoid burning, for about 10 minutes. The gravy should be relatively thick in consistency. Add more cornstarch and water mixture if the gravy is not thick enough.
• Pour the gravy over the chopped beef to liberally coat the beef cubes; you may not need all the gravy you have made. Allow to cool.
• Meanwhile, for the pie dough: Add the flour and salt to an electric food mixer with a paddle attachment. Mix on slow speed so the flour doesn't spray out of the bowl, about 1 minute.
• Cut the butter into 1/2-inch cubes and add several cubes at a time to the flour with the mixer on slow speed. Mix until pea-size crumbs have formed.
• Mix the water and vinegar together in a small bowl. Change the attachment to the dough hook on the mixer and mix on slow speed while pouring in the water and vinegar mixture. Continue mixing until a dough ball has formed on the hook, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove the dough ball, wrap in plastic film and chill in the refrigerator at least 30 minutes.
• Remove the dough ball and sprinkle liberally with flour, as well as the work surface (countertop). Roll out the dough with a rolling pin until it is approximately 1/16-inch thick.
• Use a 10-inch ring cutter to cut out circles of dough. Take the dough circles and place into six to eight 4 1/2-to- 5-inch foil pie tins (at least 1-inch deep). Work the dough around to ensure it is neatly covering the pie tin and slightly overlaps the edges.
• For the cheesy potato top: Peel and cube the potatoes. Boil until soft, then drain the water and mash while adding the cubed butter. When at a smooth consistency, add the cheeses and mix thoroughly to incorporate. Add some cream if needed to ensure the mash is of a smooth consistency. Add salt to desired taste.
• Spoon the beef and gravy into the dough-lined pie tins.
• Using a large cooking spoon, spoon the mashed potato over the filled pies, scraping down against the rim of the foil pie tin to ensure a smooth surface of the potato topping.
• Place the pies onto a baking tray and place the oven on fan or convection setting (if available) and cook for 15 minutes. Turn the tray and continue cooking until the pastry is cooked all the way through, 10 to 15 minutes (gently lift the pie out of the foil pie tin to check that the bottom of the pastry is fully cooked).

BIG BEEF IN RED WINE PIE

Steps:

• If you have time, place the beef in a large bowl with the herbs and star anis and season well with pepper. Pour over all the wine, cover with cling film and chill for up to 24 hrs. The next day sit a colander over another bowl and drain the beef well. Pick out the herbs and star anis and set aside. If you don't have time just start with all the ingredients prepared and ready to cook.
• Heat oven to 170C/150C fan/gas 3 - 4. Heat a drizzle of oil in a large casserole until very hot then brown the meat well in batches. For each batch, heat more oil and brown for around 10 mins before transferring to a plate and repeating the process. When all the meat is done add the vegetables and cook for 5 mins until starting to colour then add the herbs and star anis and cook for a minute more.
• Sprinkle sugar over the vegetables, then scatter over the flour and stir together. Cook for a few minutes until starting to brown, stir in the tomato purée then pour over the wine, scraping the bottom of the pan with your spoon. Tip in the beef and any juices then crumble in the stock cubes. Pour over just enough boiling water from the kettle to cover the meat and vegetables. Season with salt and pepper and bring everything to the boil, stir well, cover and place in the oven for 2 1/2 hrs until the meat is really tender. This can be done up to 3 days in advance and chilled until ready to make the pie or frozen for up to 3 months.
• To make the pie heat oven to 200C/180C fan/ gas 6. Tip the filling into a 2-litre pie or baking dish. Roll the pastry out on a lightly floured surface to fit the pie dish with a slight overhang and drape over the dish. Crimp the edges if you are able to and poke a couple of little steam holes in the middle. Brush the pastry with the beaten egg and sprinkle with flaky sea salt. Bake for 30 mins until golden brown. This is goes well with mash and buttered green beans.

EASY BEEF PIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425°. Drain beef, reserving 1/4 cup juices; shred meat with 2 forks. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and pepper; cook and stir until tender, 1-2 minutes. Add garlic; cook 30 seconds longer. Remove from heat; stir in beef and reserved juices., Unroll 1 pie crust; cut in half. Layer 1/4 cup shredded cheese and about 1/3 cup beef mixture over each crust half to within 1/2 in. of edge. Fold crusts over filling; press edges with a fork to seal. Place on a greased baking sheet. Repeat with remaining crust and filling., Bake until golden brown, 15-18 minutes. If desired, serve with queso dip. Freeze option: Freeze cooled pies in a freezer container. To use, reheat pies on a greased baking sheet in a preheated 350° oven until heated through.

BEEF IN RED WINE WITH MELTING ONIONS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 150C/130C fan/gas 2. In a large, heavy-based flameproof casserole dish with a lid, melt the butter over a medium heat. Add the onions and garlic, cook for 10 mins until starting to brown, then transfer to a small plate.
• Put the flour in a large plastic food bag with plenty of black pepper. Add half the beef, shake to coat, then remove, leaving some flour in the bag. Add the rest of the beef and shake to coat in the remaining flour.
• Heat the oil in the same casserole dish you cooked the onions in (there's no need to clean it first). Add the beef and bay leaves, and fry until the meat is browned all over. Pour in the wine and return the onions to the dish. Add the tomato purée and stock, stir and return to a simmer. Cover with the lid and put in the oven to stew for 1 hr.
• After 1 hr, add the mushrooms and return to the oven for another hour. Taste the meat - if it's tender, remove from the oven. If it's still a little firm, cook for 30 mins more and test again. Serve scattered with parsley, if you like.