Beefsteak Minced Pie Recipes

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add beef stew meat, and cook until browned on the outside. Add the onion; cook and stir until tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in the mushroom gravy mix and 1 cup of water. Season with Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper. Turn heat to low, and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Transfer the beef mixture to a casserole dish. Roll out the puff pastry to cover the top of the casserole dish. Press edges onto the rim of the dish to seal. Whisk together the egg and 1 tablespoon of water in a small cup using a fork. Brush over the top of the pastry.
• Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, until the pastry is puffed and golden brown.

Steps:

• To make the filling, heat the oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Heat half the oil in a large casserole dish, brown the meat really well in batches, then set aside. Add the onions adding a drizzle more oil, then cook on a low heat for 5 mins until coloured.
• Scatter over the flour, stirring until the flour turns brown. Tip the meat and any juices back into the pan along with the ketchup and give it all a good stir. Pour over the stock, season, and bring to a simmer then cover with a lid and put in the oven for about 2 hrs, until the meat is tender. The filling can be made up to three days ahead and chilled or frozen for up to three months.
• To make the pie, heat the oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Tip the filling into a 24-26cm rimmed pie dish and brush the rim of the dish with some yolk. Unravel the pastry, drape over the dish and use a knife to trim and press the edges against the side of the dish. Re-roll your trimmings to make a decoration if you like. Brush the pie heavily with egg yolk. Make a few little slits in the centre of the pie and bake for 40 mins until golden. Leave to stand for a few minutes before serving.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• To make crust, combine flour and salt in a large bowl. Add butter, and with a pastry cutter or two forks, cut butter into flour until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Add ice water spoon by spoon, mixing between additions, only until the dough holds together. Remove from bowl, cut in half and cover one piece with plastic wrap and refrigerate.
• On a lightly floured board, roll the other half into a circle large enough to fit a 9-inch deep-dish pan. Place the dough in pan, line with foil and weigh down with beans to keep crust from puffing up. Bake until light golden brown, about 30 minutes. Remove from oven, remove beans and set aside. Keep oven on.
• To make filling, brown shallots and garlic in butter in large skillet over medium heat. Add raisins, apples, lemon and orange zest, and cook 3 minutes. Add cinnamon, mace, cloves and sherry. Bring to boil. Add sugar, stir well, cook 5 minutes and set aside.
• Remove the refrigerated pie dough and allow it to soften. Dredge beef in the flour, then set it aside on wax paper. Reserve any remaining flour to thicken gravy, if necessary.
• Melt the lard in a large skillet. When hot, brown the beef. Add the onions and cook over medium heat until they are slightly golden. Add the thyme, broth and the reserved fruit mixture and simmer for 7 minutes, or until the mixture begins to thicken. Add two tablespoons flour if the gravy is too thin. Remove from heat.
• Spoon mixture into baked pie shell. Roll out remaining dough and cut into strips 9 by 1 1/2 inches. Cover pie in a lattice pattern. Bake 35 minutes, or until top is golden.

Steps:

• Mince pies freeze very well, taking some of the headache out of all that Christmas preparation. If I make lots of these before Christmas, I freeze them raw and then cook them on the day. Cooked mince pies can be stored in a biscuit tin or airtight box and warmed through gently before serving. They are perfect with a glass of spicy mulled wine or a cup of coffee for a festive snack.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F/200 degrees C/Gas mark 6. Brush the tin with melted butter.
• On a floured work surface, roll out the pastry to 1/8-inch/3 mm thick and, using the 2 1/2-inches/6 cm cutter, cut out 24 circles for the bases. Then use the smaller plain/fluted cutter or star cutter to cut-out 24 circles/stars for the lids. Re-roll the trimmings, if necessary.
• Line the holes of the cake tin with the larger pastry rounds. Fill each base with a teaspoon mincemeat and top with one of the smaller rounds or stars. Brush the tops of the mince pies with the beaten egg.
• Bake in the oven for 10 to 13 minutes until pale golden. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from the tin and transfer to a wire rack to cool. Dust with icing sugar (confectioners') to serve.
• This basic pastry is used in many popular recipes, from mince pies to quiches; it's also one of the easiest pastries to start with. The uncooked dough can be frozen or kept in the refrigerator for a couple of days.
• Shortcrust Pastry:
• Put the flour, salt and butter in a food processor and whiz briefly. Add half the beaten egg and continue to whiz. You might add a little more egg, but not too much as the mixture should be just moist enough to come together. If making by hand, rub the butter into the flour until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs then, using your hands, add just enough egg to bring it together. With your hands, flatten out the ball of dough until it is about 3/4-inch/2 cm thick, then wrap in cling film or place in a plastic bag and leave in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes or, if you are pushed for time, in the freezer for 10 to 15 minutes. Variations: Sweet Shortcrust Pastry: In place of the pinch of salt, use 1 tablespoon icing sugar (confectioners'). Soured cream shortcrust pastry: Replace the egg with 2 tablespoons sour cream or creme fraiche, adding just enough to bring it together.
• This delicious mincemeat will keep happily in a cool dark place for at least a year. If you are making your own suet (the fat that surrounds the beef kidney), make sure that every trace of blood has been removed before you whiz it in the food processor, otherwise it will cause the mincemeat to go off.
• Mincemeat:
• Put the apple chunks in a small saucepan with 1 teaspoon water, cover and cook over low heat for about 8 to 10 minutes until the apples are cooked down to a pulp. Allow to cool.
• Mix the apples with the orange zest, orange juice, lemon zest, lemon juice, suet, raisins, sultanas, currants, candied peel, dark brown sugar, almonds, mixed spice, and whiskey in a large bowl and put into sterilized jars.* Leave to mature, if possible for at least 2 weeks before using.
• Cut the fruit in 1/2 and squeeze out the juice. (Reserve the juice for another use, perhaps home-made lemonade.) Put the peel into a large bowl, add the salt and cover with cold water. Leave to soak for 24 hours.
• Next day, throw away the soaking water; put the peel in a large saucepan and cover with fresh cold water. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer very gently for about 3 hours or until the peel is soft.
• Remove the peel from the pan and discard the water. Scrape out any remaining flesh and membrane from inside the cut fruit, using a teaspoon, leaving the white pith and rind intact.
• In a clean large saucepan, dissolve the sugar in 1 3/4 pints/1 litre of water, then bring to the boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Add the peel and simmer gently for 30 to 60 minutes until it looks translucent (shiny and 'candied') and the syrup forms a thread when the last drop falls off a metal spoon. Remove from the heat and allow to stand for 20 to 30 minutes to slightly cool.
• Put the candied peel into sterilized glass jars* and pour the syrup over. Cover and store in a cold place or in the refrigerator. It should keep, stored like this, for at least 3 months.