Steak And Ale Recipes

STEAK N ALE PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Heat a large skillet over high heat. Add lard, then meat. Toss to coat meat, and saute just long enough to brown meat on all sides. Remove from heat. Place meat in a 1 quart baking dish. Add carrots, turnip, potatoes, and onion. Mix well.
• Place 1 cup water and ale in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer. Mix cornstarch with 1/4 cup cold water until smooth. Slowly pour cornstarch mixture into simmering ale mixture, whisking constantly. Continue to simmer until mixture has thickened. Add salt and pepper to taste. Pour mixture over meat and vegetables. Trim puff pastry to fit over top of filling.
• Bake in preheated oven for 45 to 50 minutes, until pastry is deep golden brown.

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.

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.

BRITISH STEAK AND ALE PIE

Steps:

• To make the pastry in a food processor: Add the flour and salt and butter. Pulse until you get the texture of fine breadcrumbs. With the processor running, slowly drizzle in cold water until it forms a ball. You may need more or less water depending on the dough.
• To make the pastry by hand: Add the flour, salt and butter to a large bowl. Using your fingertips (or a pastry cutter) rub the butter and flour until it resembles breadcrumbs. Drizzle in the water and mix using a fork until the it starts to come together and holds together when pressed in your hand.. You may not need all of the water.
• Remove and shape into a ball on a floured board. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate.
• For the filling:
• Add the vegetable oil and butter to a large, heavy, ovenproof saucepan or braising pan over medium high heat. Add the beef and cook, turning the pieces until brown on all sides. Remove and set aside.
• To the same pan, add the onion and carrots and cook until the onions soften, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, tomato paste and Worcestershire sauce. Stir to mix well and cook for 1 minute.
• Sprinkle in the flour and stir well until all the flour is well mixed. Cook for 2 minutes, then add the ale and stir until it starts to thicken. Stir in the beef, beef stock, thyme, rosemary, salt and pepper.
• Cover with a lid and allow to come to a low simmer for 35-45 minutes. Remove the lid and simmer for 15 more minutes to thicken the liquid. You do not want the liquid too runny, it should be thick. The meat should be quite tender, but will also continue cooking in the oven.
• Preheat oven to 425°F/220°C with rack in the center of the oven. Lightly butter a 9 or 10-inch (23 or 25.5 cm) pie dish.
• Remove the dough from the refrigerator and cut in half. Wrap one half back in the plastic wrap and refrigerate.
• Roll out the other half onto a floured surface to a thickness of 1/8 of an inch. Cut a circle from the dough 1/2 inch larger than your pan and place into the pie dish allowing the edge to hang over.
• Cut a large circle of parchment paper or foil larger than the pan or and place on top of the pastry in the pie dish. Pour the dried beans to the center to weigh down the dough. Or, place a piece of foil on top of the dough and weigh down with an oven-proof dish that will fit inside. Bake for 12 minutes until you start to see the edges get a little golden brown.
• Remove the crust from the oven, grab the corners of the paper or foil and remove the beans. Make holes in the bottom of the pastry with a fork to prevent it puffing. If it puffs, it should go down. Return the crust to the oven for 5 more minutes to cook the bottom of the pastry.
• Once the crust is out of the oven take the rest of the dough and roll out onto a floured surface and cut a 10-inch circle.
• Fill the cooked crust with the beef filling.
• Brush the edges of the cooked pastry with the egg. Roll the pastry circle over your rolling pin, lift and place on top of the pie with the egg washed edges down so they stick to the other dough, pinch the edges or press with a fork.
• Brush with the entire top with egg wash and cut a couple of slits in the center of the crust. Bake for 15 minutes until golden brown. The time will vary depending on your oven.

STEAK AND ALE

Steps:

• Season steaks on both sides with salt, pepper and butter. Put onto a hot grill and brown on both sides.
• In a Dutch oven or cast iron fry pan, add 1/2 stick of butter, onions, mushrooms and salt. Place lid on top and allow them to sweat.
• Add beer and place steaks in pan. Allow to stew until tender.
• Combine the thyme, parsley, nutmeg, remaining butter and flour together. Use this to thicken the sauce so as to be able to coat the back of a spoon.