Steak and Guinness Pie
Servings 4
Ingredients
Pastry for a 9-inch pie
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup shortening
- 3 to 4 tablespoons ice water
Filling
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 pounds steak (cut into 1-inch cubes) chuck steak works well
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 onions thinly sliced
- 2 carrots chopped to 1/2-inch cubes
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 bottle Guinness (or other stout beer) about a pint
- 1 cup beef stock
Final Assembly
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1 egg yolk
Instructions
Prepare the Pastry
- Using a medium bowl, combine the flour and salt.
- Using a pastry blender, cut in the shortening. Combine until the mixture looks somewhat like small peas.
- A tablespoon at a time, sprinkle water over the mixture and mix it lightly with a fork. Use just enough water such that when you press the pastry into a ball, it holds together.
- Form the pastry into a flat disk, wrap it with plastic wrap and put in into your refrigerator.
Prepare the Filling
- Using a large bowl, mix the flour, salt, and pepper.
- Add the steak and toss until the meat is evenly coated
- Using a dutch oven, heat the butter and oil until the butter has melted. Add the meat and brown all sides lightly. Remove the meat with a slotted spoon and set it aside.
- Add the onions and carrots to the dutch oven and sauté gently until the onions are softened, about 5 minutes.
- Add the steak back into the dutch oven and give the mixture a stir.
- Add the Worcestershire sauce, tomato paste, Guinness stout, and beef stock. Stir and bring to a boil.
- Cover, reduce to a gentle simmer, and cook slowly for about 2 hours. Remove the cover after an hour and turn up the heat a little so some of the liquid boils off and you get a thick gravy. You may want to add a teaspoon or two cornstarch (mixed first in a tablespoon or two of cold water) to the mixture to help thicken the gravy.
- Remove from the heat.
- Pull the pastry out of your refrigerator and let it sit 10 or 15 minutes.
Assemble the pie and bake it
- Preheat your oven to 400 ºF.
- For the pie dish (or dishes), you can use a single 9-inch by 9-inch baking pan, or several oven proof ramekins, or onion soup bowls. Using a baking pan simplifies things and makes it easier to serve a group. Using separate bowls make things seem a bit more special.
- Roll out the pastry to about 1/8-inch (3-millimeter) thick and about an inch larger than the pie dish.
- Fill the pie dish about 1/2 full of filling.
- Place a a pie bird in the center of the filling. Then top off the dish with filling.
- Cut a little "X" in the pastry lid. This will go over the top of the pie bird.
- Brush the rim of the pie dish with water.
- Place the pastry lid over the top and press down to the wet rim of the pie dish and seal. Trim off excess pastry and crimp the edges with your fingers.
- Using a small bowl, beat an egg yolk with a tablespoon of water.
- Brush the top with the egg mixture.
- Bake for 30 to 35 minutes until the pastry is crisp and golden.
Notes
If you don't want to make your own pastry, you can use pre-made puff pastry or pie dough.
If you don't have a pie bird, cut a little hole in the center of the pastry top to vent the steam.