Serious Steak Ale Pie Recipes

THE BEST STEAK & ALE PIE

Steps:

• Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large non-stick frying pan. Fry the bacon and onions until pale golden in colour and then add the garlic and fry for a further 2 minutes, stirring regularly. Set aside using a slotted spoon.
• Season the steak with salt and pepper and dredge with flour. Now heat 1-2 tbsp of oil to the frying pan and add the steak, you may have to do this in batches. Fry the meat until it is well browned all over. Add more oil if necessary. Set aside.
• Deglaze the frying pan with half of the ale. Bring the ale to the boil and stir hard to remove all the sediment from the base of the pan. Transfer the steak and bacon to the frying pan then add the remaining ale, stock, tomato puree, horseradish and herbs to the dish. Bring to the boil and then cover, simmer for 1 ½ hour or until the meat is very tender. Mix the corn flour with 2tbsp of cold water and add to the pan. Continue to simmer uncovered for a further 5 minutes or until the juices are thick. Season to taste and allow to cool.
• In the meantime preheat the oven to 200°C/Fan 180°C/Gas 6. Remove the bay leaves and then strain the liquid from the meat but add some of the gravy to the meat suit your taste. Set aside the rest of the gravy to serve with the pie.
• Roll out the short crust pastry to 4mm thick and line a 1.2 litre pie dish, leave the excess pastry hanging over the edge. Spoon the cooled beef mixture into the dish, brush the edge of the pastry with the beaten egg.
• Roll out the puff pastry to 4mm thick and large enough to cover the pie. Place the pastry over the pie and press the edges firmly together to seal and trim neatly. Brush the top of the pastry with the beaten egg. Decorate with trimmings and brush with more egg to glaze. Bake in the oven for 40-45 minutes until the pastry has puffed and is golden brown. Serve with mash, seasonal vegetables and the remaining gravy. Enjoy!

HOW TO MAKE STEAK AND ALE PIE

Steps:

• For the pastry, sift the flour and the salt into a large mixing bowl, then put into the fridge for a few minutes to chill. (Keeping the flour and bowl cold will help you to get a better result later and create nice separate layers or pastry.)
• Meanwhile, cut the butter into small cubes. Using a round-bladed knife, stir it into the bowl until each piece is well coated with flour. Pour in the water, then, working quickly, use the knife to bring everything together to a rough dough.
• Gather the dough in the bowl using one hand, then turn it onto a work surface. Squash the dough into a fat, flat sausage, without kneading. Wrap in cling film then chill it in the fridge for 15 minutes.
• Lightly flour the work surface and the pastry. Roll out the pastry in one direction until it's about 1cm thick and three times as long as it is wide, or about 45x15cm/18x6in. Straighten up the sides using your hands now and again, and try to keep the top and bottom edges as square as possible.
• Fold the bottom third of the pastry up, then the top third down, to make a block about 15x15cm/6x6in. It doesn't matter if the pastry isn't exactly the right size, the important thing is that the corners are square.
• Turn the dough so that its open edge is facing to the right, like a book. Press the edges of the pastry together using the rolling pin.
• Roll out and fold the pastry again, repeating this four times in all to make a smooth dough, with buttery streaks here and there. If the pastry feels greasy at any point, or starts to spring back when as you roll, then cover and chill it for 10 minutes before continuing. Chill the finished pastry for an hour, or ideally overnight, before using.
• For the filling, mix the beef with the flour and some salt and pepper. An easy way to do this without making too much mess is to put everything into a large food bag, seal, then shake well.
• Heat a tablespoon of the oil in a large heatproof casserole up to a medium heat, then add half the beef, shaking off the excess flour and keeping the chunks well spaced so they fry rather than sweat. Brown for about 10 minutes, until golden-brown all over.
• Transfer the first batch of meat to a bowl, then add a splash of brown ale or water to the pan and scrape up any meaty bits. Tip the liquid into the bowl of meat. Wipe out the pan, then add a tablespoon of oil and brown the second batch of beef. When the beef is golden-brown transfer it to the bowl and set aside.
• Add the final spoon of oil to the pan and heat gently. Add the garlic, onions, carrots, celery and herbs to the pan and fry for a few minutes, until softened.
• Put the beef back into the pan. Pour in the stock and brown ale, then add the tomato purée and balsamic vinegar. If necessary, add a little more stock or hot water to ensure the meat is covered in liquid (this will prevent the beef from drying out). Bring to the boil, then cover and simmer the stew for 1-1½ hours until the beef is almost tender and the sauce has thickened. Set aside to cool, overnight if possible.
• Melt the butter in a large frying pan, then add the mushrooms. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, then fry over a high heat for 5 minutes, or until golden-brown. Mix with the cooled pie filling and add to the pie dish.
• To make the pie, preheat the oven to 200C/Fan 180C/Gas 6. Flour the work surface, then roll out the pastry to the thickness of two £1 coins and wide enough to cover a family-size pie dish with some excess. Brush the edge of the pie dish with a little water or beaten egg.
• Use a sharp knife to cut the pastry to fit the top of the dish - if it's too big it doesn't matter. Lift on top of the pie, laying the pastry over a rolling pin to lift it. Press down gently to seal.
• Holding the knife blade horizontally, make a patterned edge by pressing down gently all around the edge of the pastry (this will help the layers in the pastry to puff up).
• Cut a couple of slits in the top of the pie to release steam. Brush the top of the pie with the beaten egg - taking care to avoid getting egg on the edges of the pastry as it will stick the layers together. Chill for 10 minutes, or until the pastry is firm. Bake for 30 minutes, or until the filling is bubbling and the pastry is golden-brown and puffed all over.

NEXT LEVEL STEAK & ALE PIE

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Heat the vegetable oil in a large casserole dish and gently fry the bacon for 5 mins until lightly browned. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. In the same pan, brown the beef well in batches for 5-8 mins, adding a drizzle more oil if you need to, then set aside.
• Add the onions and carrots to the pan and cook on a low heat for 5 mins. Stir in the flour, then add the tomato purée, vinegar and miso, if using. Tip the beef and bacon, along with any juices, back into the pan and give it all a good stir. Pour in the ale and stock, and nestle in the thyme stalks and bay. Season generously and bring to a simmer. Cover with a lid and cook in the oven for about 2 hrs or until the meat is really tender. Leave everything to cool slightly, then strain off about half the braising liquid into another container. Leave to cool completely. Can be made up to two days ahead and kept chilled in the fridge - the pie will be better if the filling is fridge-cold when added. Can also be frozen for up to three months.
• To make the pastry, mix the flour, mustard powder, lard and butter with a generous pinch of sea salt until completely combined, then gradually add up to 250ml ice-cold water to make a soft dough. This can be done in a food processor if you prefer. Knead the thyme leaves into the pastry, then cover and leave to rest in the fridge for at least 1 hr. Can be made up to two days ahead and kept chilled, or frozen for up to a month.
• Heat the oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7 and put a baking tray in the oven. Heavily butter a 26-28cm pie dish and dust well with flour. Cut off a third of the pastry and set aside. Roll out the remaining pastry to a thick round that will easily line the pie dish with an overhang, then line the tin. Tip in the beef mixture. You want the filling to be slightly higher than the rim of the dish. Brush the edges with egg yolk. Roll out the remaining pastry to a thick round, big enough to cover the pie, then lift onto the pie dish. Trim the edges, crimp together, then re-roll the trimmings and cut into decorative shapes, such as leaves. Brush the top with more yolk. Make a hole in the centre of the pie with a knife, and put it on the hot baking tray.
• Bake for 20 mins, remove, brush again with yolk, scatter with sea salt and bake for 20-25 mins until golden. Leave to rest for 10 mins while you heat up the extra gravy.

STEAK AND ALE PIE WITH MUSHROOMS

Steps:

• Place the beef stew meat, onion, and ale in a large saucepan. Simmer over low heat until the meat is tender, about 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Season the beef with garlic, thyme, parsley, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper. Mix in the potatoes and mushrooms. Cover and simmer over medium heat until potatoes are just tender enough to pierce with a fork, 10 to 15 minutes. Whisk a small amount of the sauce together with the flour in a small bowl, and stir into the beef. Simmer until slightly thickened.
• Fit one pie crust into the bottom and up the sides of a 9 inch pie plate. Spoon the hot beef mixture into the crust and top with the remaining pie crust. Cut slits in the top crust to vent steam and crimp the edges to seal them together.
• Bake in preheated oven until the crust is golden brown and gravy is bubbling, 35 to 40 minutes.

SERIOUS STEAK & ALE PIE

Steps:

• Heat the oil in the pan with the onion and garlic for 1 mintue.
• Add the steak - I usually cut the steak gradually into the pan. Cook until the meat is seared all over and there is no pink left. By this time there will be some juice in the pan and this should be sizzling.
• Pour in half the Ale and allow to simmer for a minute, then pour in the rest with the thyme, chilli powder salt and pepper.
• Crumble in the oxo cubes- both the beef and the vegetables. (you may want to use more or less cubes depending on how thick you like the gravy). Add in the chopped vegetables.
• Simmer for 10 mintues and then transfer to a large casserol pot. If the gravy doesnt cover the meat then add some water and mix in.
• Pop the dish into the oven at gas mark 3 or 4 and leave for at least 1 hour 30 mins.
• 20 minutes before you want to serve, roll out the pastry and cut appropriate size tops for your pie dishes. Take the dish out of the oven and ladel the meat into the individual dishes. Pop on the tops on the dishes and put back in the oven for 20 mins (gas 4). You could make one large pie using the casserol disk if desiered.
• Take out of the oven and leave to cool for a while- as the filling can be extremely hot! Enjoy!

STEAK PIE WITH SAUSAGES AND MUSHROOMS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325° F. You'll need a 9 x 13 inch oven safe casserole dish.
• Cut the chuck roast into cubes about 1 1/2-2 inches
• Place the chopped beef and flour into a bowl.
• Toss the beef until covered evenly in the flour.
• Heat half of the oil in a large pan- at least 10 inch wide- over a high heat.
• Gently drop in half of the beef and sear on each side until brown and crispy around the edges (about 2 minutes per side).
• Transfer the seared beef to a plate and repeat with the remaining meat. Set beef aside.
• To the same pan as you seared the beef, fadd the onion and garlic. Cook until the onion starts to get soft over a medium heat, about two minutes.
• Add ½ cup of the beer and deglaze the pan by scraping the bottom with a wooden spoon. Simmer for 2 minutes.
• Add the Worcestershire Sauce, tomato paste, sugar, rosemary and stir.
• Add the remaining beer and the beef broth. Season with the salt and pepper.
• Add the mushrooms, bratwurst and the seared beef and stir to combine.
• Transfer the filling to the pie dish.
• Bake in the oven for 2 hours, covered with foil.
• After 2 hours, cook for a further 30 minutes uncovered.
• Take the pie out of the oven and dissolve the cornstarch with the water. Add it to the pie filling and gently stir through.
• Raise the oven temperature to 400 degrees F.
• Unroll the pastry from its package into a rectangle that will be large enough to sit on top of the filling.
• Lift the pastry onto the pie and brush it with the beaten egg. Score lightly with a knife in a diagonal form to make a cross hatch pattern.
• Place the pie back into the oven and bake for another 20-30 minutes or until the pastry is a deep golden color and has risen up a little. Don't worry if you take it out earlier, the filling is already cooked so it just depends on how dark and crispy you want your puff pastry.
• Let rest for 5 minutes before serving.