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Steak, ale & mushroom pie

• Barney Desmazery

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Serves 6

A challenge

Prep: 1 hr

Cook: 3 hrs

Prep and cooking time is staggered

A star rating of 4.8 out of 5.179 ratingsRate

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Spend a weekend afternoon making this classic beef and ale pie with porcini mushrooms and homemade pastry. It's even better made a couple of days in advance.

Freezable

Nut-free

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Ingredients

Nutrition

Units:

MetricUS

For the beef

• small handful dried porcini mushrooms

  (about 10g) – not essential but very tasty

• 2 tbsp vegetable oil

• 1kg braising steak

  (buy this as a whole piece and cut it yourself into large chunks)

• 2 large onions

  roughly chopped

• 4 large carrots

  chopped into large chunks

• 2 tsp golden caster sugar

• 4 tbsp plain flour

• 300ml dark ale

• 2 beef stock cubes

  mixed with 400ml boiling water

• small bunch each thyme

  bay leaf and parsley, tied together

• 200g smoked bacon lardons

  or chopped rashers

• 200g chestnut mushrooms

  halved

For the pastry

• 650g plain flour

  plus extra for dusting

• 250g lard or cold butter

  (or half of each), diced, plus extra for greasing

• 1 egg yolk

  beaten, to glaze

Keep the screen awake with cook mode on the Good Food app.

Nutrition: per serving

• kcal1282

• fat68g

• saturates25g

• carbs107g

• sugars12g

  low

• fibre9g

  high

• protein54g

• salt2.16g

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Method

• step 1

  If you’re using the porcini mushrooms, cover 10g of mushrooms in boiling water for 20 mins, then squeeze out but keep the soaking water.

• step 2

  Heat the oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Heat 1 tbsp vegetable oil in a large casserole dish, brown 1kg large chunks of braising steak really well in batches, then set aside.

• step 3

  Add 2 large onions, roughly chopped, and 4 large carrots, chopped into large chunks, to the pan. Add a drizzle more vegetable oil, then cook on a low heat for 5 mins until coloured.

• step 4

  Add the soaked porcini mushrooms, sizzle for 1 min more, then scatter over 2 tsp golden caster sugar and 4 tbsp plain flour, stirring until the flour turns brown.

• step 5

  Tip the braising steak and any juices back into the pan and give it all a good stir.

• step 6

  Pour over 300ml dark ale, 2 beef stock cubes mixed with 400ml boiling water and the porcini mushroom soaking liquid, discarding the last few drops.

• step 7

  Season the stew, tuck in a small tied-together bunch of thyme, bay leaf and parsley, and bring everything to a simmer.

• step 8

  Cover with a lid and place in the oven for about 2 hrs, until the braising steak is really tender.

• step 9

  While the stew is cooking, heat a drop more vegetable oil in a frying pan and sizzle 200g smoked bacon lardons for 3 mins until crisp.

• step 10

  Turn up the heat, add 200g halved chestnut mushrooms and cook for 4 mins until golden. Remove from the heat and, when the stew is cooked, stir them through.

• step 11

  Leave everything to cool completely – better still, make this up to 2 days in advance and keep it in the fridge as the pie will be better if the filling is fridge-cold when added. Can also be frozen for up to 3 months and defrosted when needed.

• step 12

  Make the pastry up to 2 days before you want to assemble the pie. Crumble 650g plain flour and 250g cold diced lard or butter, together with a generous pinch of sea salt until completely combined, then add up to 200ml ice-cold water to make a soft dough. This can be done in a food processor if you want.

• step 13

  Knead the pastry, then wrap in cling film and leave to rest in the fridge for at least 1 hr. The pastry can be made up to 2 days ahead and kept in the fridge or frozen for up to a month.

• step 14

  When you want to make the pie, heat oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7 and place a flat baking tray in the oven. Heavily grease a 24-28cm pie dish and dust well with flour.

• step 15

  Cut a third off the pastry and set aside. Roll out the pastry to a thickish round that will easily line the pie dish with an overhang, then line the tin.

• step 16

  Add the braising steak to the dish using a slotted spoon so some gravy is left in the container, as you don’t want too much sauce in the pie. You want the filling to be slightly higher than the rim of the dish. If you have a bit too much, set it aside.

• step 17

  Roll out the remaining pastry to a thick round big enough to cover the dish. Brush the edges of the pastry in the dish with 1 beaten egg yolk, then cover with the pastry lid.

• step 18

  Trim the edges, crimp the pastry, then re-roll your trimmings to make a decoration, for example, pastry leaves. Brush the top heavily with egg. Make a few little slits in the centre of the pie, place on the hot baking tray.

• step 19

  Bake for 40 mins until golden. Leave the pie to rest for 10 mins while you heat up the gravy left in the container. Serve the pie at the table with a jug of gravy and a big pile of greens.

RECIPE TIPS

GET AHEAD

For the best results, this is a two-day process and I tend to make a big batch of stew (double the amounts given here) so I have one batch in the freezer ready to make a pie when I need one. I’ve been generous with the filling as pie dishes differ but any leftover can be served as a stew or used to make a pie for one, and then frozen.

Recipe from Good Food magazine, February 2010

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A star rating of 4.8 out of 5.179 ratings

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