“Every jackass going the roads thinks he has ideas.”
James Joyce
Ingredients
For the filling
1 kg of welsh braising steak
1 punnet of mushrooms chopped into 1/4
1 large white onion, peeled and diced
1 clove of garlic, chopped
Good pinch of thyme
1 can or bottle of Guinness
1 beef stock cube
Good squirt of tomato puree
1 tbsp of Bovril
1 large carrot, peeled and chopped into chunks
Flour to seal the meat
1pt of boiled water.
For the pastry
150g self-raising flour
75g beef suet
A good pinch of thyme
A couple of tablespoons of cold water (no more than 100ml)
1 egg, lightly beaten
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 150C
- Put a little oil into a large saucepan over a medium heat, sweat the onions and garlic till soft then add the carrot, mushrooms and herbs. Fry the veg over a medium-high heat for a few minutes.
- Put the cubed meat and a little flour into a small bag with seasoning and shake it up, till the meat is covered, this helps the meat remain tender and succulent. Then put all the vegetables into a separate bowl and set aside. Turn the heat up and add the diced meat to the pan to seal it and colour on all sides.
- Once you have coloured the meat (it shouldn’t take long; remember you are just getting a colour on all sides, not cooking it) add the vegetables back to the pan, and stir. Keep the heat high and then add the Guinness. Now if you like a thick gravy ( which I do ) just crumble the beef stock cube into the pan and add a the water, bovril and tomato puree. Stirring, so it resembles a lovely rich pie filing.
- Transfer all the ingredients to a casserole dish with lid, and put it in the preheated oven, for 3hrs hours, cooking the meat this long will make it so tender.
- When the filling is cooked, take the pan out of the oven and check the juices. If you like the pie filling a little dryer, put the pan on the hob on a high heat and boil the mixture to reduce it.
Now to make the pastry
- Turn up the oven to 190C
- Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and add the water until you have a sticky dough consistency. Dust the dough with flour and wrap in cling film to rest for around 10 minutes.
- Select your pie dish, something big enough for four servings, and lightly butter the dish including the edges. Roll out the pastry out on a floured surface until you have a circle that will fit over the top of the pie dish. Add the filling to the pie dish and fit the pastry lid, pressing down round the edges to seal it.
- Roll up the edges of the pastry so that you have a thick crust. Don't trim it! Well you can if you want, egg-wash the pie. Put the pie in the oven on the middle shelf and bake for 30 minutes until the top is golden brown and the meat sauce is bubbling.
http://homecookingwithles.blogspot.co.uk/2011/03/steak-and-ale-pie-with-suet-crust.html
