Beef Stilton And Guinness Pie Recipes

Steps:

• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F.
• Pat beef dry. Stir together flour, salt, and pepper in a shallow dish. Add beef, turning to coat, then shake off excess and transfer to a plate. Heat oil in a wide 5- to 6-quart ovenproof heavy pot over moderately high heat until just smoking, then brown meat in 3 batches, turning occasionally, about 5 minutes per batch, transferring to a bowl.
• Add onion, garlic, and water to pot and cook, scraping up any brown bits from bottom of pot and stirring frequently, until onion is softened, about 5 minutes. Add tomato paste and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Stir in beef with any juices accumulated in bowl, broth, beer, Worcestershire sauce, peppercorns, and thyme and bring to a simmer, then cover and transfer to oven. Braise until beef is very tender and sauce is thickened, about 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours. Discard thyme and cool stew completely, uncovered, about 30 minutes. (If stew is warm while assembling pies, it will melt uncooked pastry top.)
• Put a shallow baking pan on middle rack of oven and increase oven temperature to 425°F.
• Divide cooled stew among bowls (they won't be completely full). Roll out pastry dough on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin into a 13-inch square, about 1/8 inch thick. Trim edges and cut dough into quarters. Stir together egg and water and brush a 1-inch border of egg wash around each square. Invert 1 square over each bowl and drape, pressing sides lightly to help adhere. Brush pastry tops with some of remaining egg wash and freeze 15 minutes to thoroughly chill dough.
• Bake pies in preheated shallow baking pan until pastry is puffed and golden brown, about 20 minutes.
• Reduce oven temperature to 400°F and bake 5 minutes more to fully cook dough.

Steps:

• Season your beef generously with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with the flour and toss around until all pieces are well coated.
• Heat olive oil, over med.-high heat, in a large casserole type pan and brown the meat. Make sure to not crowd your meat. You may do this in two batches, if necessary.
• Add the onion and cook for 1 more minute. Then add the carrots, potatoes and fresh herbs. Cook for another 4 minutes. Add the Guinness and tomatoes and bring to a boil. Stir and turn down the heat to simmer. Simmer this mixture for about 2 hours or until the meat is very tender. The sauce should be thick and intensely flavored. Season if needed.
• To make pies:.
• Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.
• Put your meat filling into a large, round baking dish. You could also make individual pies. Any high-sided round ovenproof bowl is fine.
• Roll out the pastry, dusting with flour as you go, until it is about 1/4 inch thick. Cut out a large circle (or individual circles for smaller servings) - about 1/2 inch bigger than the top of your bowl. Brush the rim(s) of the bowl with the beaten egg, then place the pastry circle(s) on top, pushing the excess pastry down the outside of the bowl to secure. Lightly score the top of the pastry in a criss-cross manner and brush with more of the beaten egg.
• Bake in the middle of the preheated oven for about 45 minutes or until golden and bubbling.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
• In a large, ovenproof pan fitted with a lid, heat 2 tablespoons of the butter over medium-low heat. Add the onions and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until soft, about 10 minutes.
• Add the carrots, celery, mushrooms and remaining 2 tablespoons butter and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the mushrooms are dark in color and the moisture released by them has evaporated, about 15 minutes.
• Season the beef pieces all over with salt and pepper. Add the beef, flour and rosemary to the pan and cook over high heat, stirring often, for about 5 minutes.
• Add enough Guinness to just cover the beef. Cover the pan and put it in the oven for 1 1/2 hours. Remove from the oven and stir. If using trotter gear, stir it in now. Return to the oven and cook for 1 hour more. If it remains thin, set the pan over medium-low heat, remove the lid and reduce the liquid. Season to taste with salt and pepper. If using Cheddar, fold in about half.
• While the stew is cooking, prepare the pastry: sift together the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Using a pastry cutter or your hands, quickly work the butter into the dough until it is the texture of coarse meal. Add ice water, a splash at a time, until a firm dough forms. Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
• Place the dough between two sheets of plastic wrap and, using a rolling pin, roll to the thickness of a computer mouse pad. Pour the stew into an 8-inch-square, 2-inch-high Pyrex dish or a deep 9-inch pie pan. If using Cheddar, scatter the remaining cheese across the top. Place the dough on top of the pie and pinch it closed around the edges using the tines of a fork, then slash the center lightly with a knife. Brush with the egg yolk, place on a baking sheet and bake for 45 minutes, or until the pastry is puffy and golden.

Steps:

• Pre-heat oven to 200ºC. Heat oil in a frying pan.
• Add mince, onion & carrotand cook for 5 mins or until meat has browned.
• Add peas, Worcestershire sauce & flour and cook for for 1 min, stirring.
• Add Guinness and stock, bring to the boil, stirring, and cook for 5 minutes until just thickened.
• Season to taste with pepper.
• Divide mince between four 2-cup capacity ovenproof dishes.
• Cut pastry into circle to overlap ramekins & place on top of each pie.
• Bake for 20 mins or until golden.
• Serve with mashed potatoes & vegetables.

Steps:

• Use the pastry to line a medium sized oven proof pie dish.
• For the pie filling, place the beef, garlic, thyme, peppercorns and ale into a bowl. Cover with cling film and leave to marinate in the fridge for at least 2-3 hours, but preferably overnight.
• Remove the beef from the marinade, pat dry with kitchen paper and dredge in the seasoned flour. Strain the marinade through a fine sieve into a clean bowl and set aside.
• Heat the oil and 1 tbsp of the butter in a flameproof casserole dish and fry the beef in small batches for 2-3 minutes each time, or until browned all over. Once the meat is browned, remove from the casserole dish and set aside.
• Return the casserole dish to the heat and fry the mushrooms and shallots for 4-5 minutes, or until softened.
• Return the beef and the reserved marinating liquid to the casserole and add the beef stock. Cover with a lid and gently simmer for 1½ hours, or until the beef is tender.
• Strain off half of the cooking liquid from the casserole dish and set aside to make gravy for serving.
• Crumble the Stilton into the casserole and stir until melted. Season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper and set aside to cool.
• Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
• Put the pie filling into the pie shell and top with a layer of pastry. -Remember to cut slits in the top and crimp the edges together, then glaze with beaten egg.
• Cook for approx 40 mins until pastry is golden.
• Place the reserved cooking liquid into a clean pan and simmer for 8-10 minutes, or until reduced to a gravy consistency. Stir in the remaining tbsp of butter until melted, and the sauce is smooth and glossy. Keep warm.
• Serve the pie with the gravy and veg (celeriac mash goes well).