Steak and Ale Pie
THIS pie uses a hot water crust pastry which is easy to make and handle but if you don’t have the time use a ready-made puff pastry.
Ingredients
Serves six
For the Hot Water Crust Pastry 160g Butter
160g Lard
340ml Water
4 Large Eggs
2 Tsps Salt
900g Plain flour
For the filling
800g Beef Chuck Steak diced and browned in small batches in a hot pan
1 Large Onion finely diced 2 Carrots sliced or diced
2 Cloves of garlic finely chopped or grated
4 Tbsp Sunflower oil
1 Can of Ale or Stout of choice Butter and Plain Flour to make a roux
Method
Make the stew filling a day ahead so that it can be added cold to the pastry.
Fry the onions in a large pan in the oil until lightly golden. Add the rest of the ingredients except the roux and add just enough water to cover. Bring up to the boil and then simmer until the meat is tender which should be around 2 hours. In the meantime make the roux.
Simply melt 3-4 tablespoons of butter gently and add 4 tablespoons of plain flour.
Mix well to make a paste.
When ready add 1 tablespoon of roux at a time into the stew until the sauce is as thick as you would like it. Season to taste with salt and pepper then refrigerate overnight once it is cool.
Place the butter and lard in a pan with the water and bring to the boil until the butter and lard are melted. Put the flour and salt in a large mixing bowl and form a well.
Beat 3 eggs in a jug and pour into the well and cover over with
flour. Pour over the water and fat mix and stir in well with a knife. Knead the dough until smooth about 10-20 minutes. Wrap in clingfilm and chill for at least 30 minutes.
Grease the inside of the baking dish with butter. Roll out two thirds of the pastry until about 4mm thick. Line the base and trim any excess. Add the filling leaving 1cm of pastry from the base around the rim.
Roll the last third of the pastry as before and lay on as the lid. Use a fork or your thumbs to press the topping around the edges. Wash the pastry with a beaten egg to glaze and bake at 180ºC until lovely and golden about 40-60 minutes.