STEAK AND ALE SLOW BRAISED PIES

THESE ARE THE MOST GORGEOUS AWESOME LITTLE PIES ON THE PLANET...

Slow braised grass feed chuck steak with a mira paw of vegetables, roasted beef bone stock reduction and old fashioned Doom Bar Ale left to do their stuff in the oven for around six hours, then left for a further day to rest and improve their flavours.  You could serve this with buttery mashed potato as my Nan always did and a healthier option but if you want to make this even better then stuff the filling into my gorgeous old fashioned hand raised short crust pastry and lovingly bake until crisp and golden, then just enjoy the gorgeousness you have braised and baked...

Have fun and be rustic it's really all about the flavour!  In fact the best pies are where the gravy seeps out and caramelise on the outside of some of the pastry, these are truly the tastiest pies :-)

Make these as mini pies, a pie slice or as a large sharing family size pie.  I often make the pie filling and pastry a day or three before, then as it is just sitting in the fridge it is a quick assembly when required for a fabulous dinner or snacks.

Prep Time Pastry 10 minutes / Pie Filling 10 minutes / Cooking Time 6 hours

Making the Pie 15 minutes / Cooking 45 minutes

Ingredients

(makes 1 large pie or 24 mini pies)

The Pastry 

450g plain flour

110g lard cubed

100g butter grated

5g sea salt

160ml cold water

1 beaten egg for glaze

The Pie Filling

1kg diced chuck steak

2 tbsp coconut oil or olive oil

2 carrots finely diced

1 leek finely diced

1 onion finely diced

1 celery finely diced

500ml beef stock

2 bottles real ale

500ml water

1 bay leaf

2 sprigs of thyme

sea salt & black pepper

pinch cayenne pepper

1 tsp red current jelly optional

First I like to get the braised chuck steak underway, pre heat your oven to 160 degrees C / 300 F, then in a large pan, place a dollop of coconut oil, you can use any oil, this is just my preference, gently soften the onions, carrots, celery and leeks for around 20 minutes remove from the pan and leave to one side, add more oil then the beef and sear until all sides are browned, add back the onion, carrot leek and celery mix and all the other ingredients, bring to a almost simmer and skim off any froth and discard, then place on a lid and pop in the oven for 4-6 hours until the meat is still in shape but will just melt and fall apart with a hint of pressure, take out of the oven and leave to cool on the side, then I like to pop in the fridge until needed at this point, this helps to develop and deepen the flavours of the beef, but you do not have to do this.

THE PASTRY (BEST EVER)

This pastry recipe was given to me by a lady in Cornwall who is famous for making Cornish Pasty's and boy oh boy this pastry is the bee's knee's...

Place the flour in a large bowl, add the diced lard, grated butter and salt cut through roughly, any lumps are great in the finished pastry as when they cook they add a puff in the pastry quality.  Add the water and mix for a few seconds, you do not want a formed mass, then only just bring the dough together to form a ball, wrap in grease proof paper and leave in the fridge for a minimum of one hour or until needed, you can freeze this dough and use when required.

TO ASSEMBLE YOUR PIE

You kinda of already know what your doing now!  Roll out your chilled pastry and line your baking tin, fill with the chilled braised beef and  the brush with a egg wash and bake for 45 minutes at 180 degrees F / 350 C, then enjoy enjoy enjoy.