Beef and Black Sheep Pale Ale Pie

Beef and beer – a classic. No doubt about it, the Hairy Bikers' steak and ale pie recipe is more British than Vera Lynn. Make sure you use steak that's well marbled with fat for flavour.

You will need a casserole dish and a 1.2-litre (2.5-pint) pie dish for this recipe.

loveFOOD recommends: you can't go wrong with a Le Creuset signature cast-iron casserole and a KitchenCraft pie dish – and don't forget a pie bird to help the steam escape.

Ingredients

• 500 g home-made or ready-made puff pastry
• 5 tbsp sunflower oil
• 200 g smoked streaky bacon rashers, cut into 1cm/0.5inch strips
• 2 medium onions, sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 850 g well-marbled braising steak, trimmed of hard fat or gristle
• 500 ml bottle of real ale
• 500 ml good-quality beef stock
• 1 tbsp tomato purée
• 4 sprigs of thyme, leaves stripped from stalks
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 tbsp cornflour, blended with 2 tbsp cold water
• 250 g small chestnut mushrooms, wiped and halved or quartered if large
• 1 pinch flaked sea salt
• 1 pinch freshly ground black pepper

Details

• Cuisine: British
• Recipe Type: Main
• Difficulty: Medium
• Preparation Time: 30 mins
• Cooking Time: 180 mins
• Serves: 6

Step-by-step

1. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a frying pan. Fry the bacon strips with the onions until pale golden brown, stirring regularly. Add the garlic and fry for a minute or two until softened. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the onions, garlic and bacon to a flameproof casserole dish.
2. Cut the steak into rough 2.5cm/1inch cubes and season with salt and pepper. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in the frying pan and fry the meat over a medium heat in 2 or 3 batches until well browned all over. Add extra oil if the pan seems dry. Transfer the beef to the casserole dish as it is browned.
3. Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/350°F/gas mark 4.
4. Deglaze the frying pan with half the ale. Bring it to the boil while stirring hard to lift all the sediment from the bottom of the pan. Pour this over the beef in the casserole dish.
5. Add the remaining ale, then the stock, tomato purée and herbs to the casserole dish. Bring everything to the boil, then cover and cook in the oven for 2 hours, or until the meat is very tender. Remove the dish from the oven, stir in the cornflour paste, then put it back for 5 minutes or until the juices are thick. Adjust the seasoning to taste, remove the bay leaves and leave to cool. Turn the oven up to 200°C/fan 180°C/400°F/gas mark 6.
6. Heat the remaining oil in a frying pan and fry the mushrooms over a high heat for about 5 minutes until golden, then add them to the meat. Spoon everything into the pie dish around a pie bird or funnel.
7. Roll out the puff pastry on a well-floured surface until about 5mm thick and at least 5cm/2inch larger than your pie dish. Cut some strips, about 1cm/0.5inch wider than the rim of the dish, from around the edge. Brush the rim of the pie dish with beaten egg and fix the strips in place, overlapping a little where necessary, then brush with more egg.
8. Place the pastry lid carefully over the filling. Trim off the excess pastry with a sharp knife and knock up the edges. Brush the top with beaten egg.
9. Place the dish on a baking sheet and bake in the centre of the oven for 30–35 minutes until puffed up and golden brown.

Recipe from The Hairy Bikers' Perfect Pies.

More great pie recipes:

Mary Berry's chicken pot pie

James Martin's chicken and wild mushroom pie recipe

Quick Italian ham and cheese pie

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Source: https://www.lovefood.com/recipes/60335/the-hairy-bikers-superb-steak--ale-pie

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