Guinness Pie Recipes

Steps:

• Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pot over medium heat, and brown the beef stew meat on all sides, about 10 minutes; set aside. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil, and cook the bacon just until it begins to brown; stir in the onion, carrot, mushrooms, garlic, and sugar. Cook the vegetables until soft and browned, 10 to 15 more minutes.
• Stir in the flour until smoothly incorporated, and gradually mix in the Irish stout beer and beef stock. Mix in the thyme, bay leaves, and the reserved cooked beef. Cover, and bring the mixture to a boil; reduce heat to a simmer until the meat is tender, about 1 hour and 15 minutes; stir occasionally. Remove the cover, turn the heat up to medium, and let the stew boil until slightly thickened, about 15 more minutes. Mix cornstarch with water, and stir into the stew; let simmer for 30 more minutes to blend flavors. Remove from heat; discard bay leaves.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Spread the filling into a 9-inch pie dish; trim the puff pastry into a 10-inch circle, and place on top of the filling. Pinch and crimp the edges of the pastry with a fork, sealing it to the dish; cut 2 steam vents into the pastry with a sharp knife. Brush the top of the pie with beaten egg.
• Bake in the preheated oven until the crust is browned, 30 to 40 minutes.

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:

• Crust: In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour and salt. Add butter and cheese and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal.
• With machine running, drizzle ice water in a slow, steady stream through feed tube. Pulse until dough holds together without being wet or sticky; be careful not to process more than 30 seconds. To test, squeeze a small amount together; if it is crumbly, add more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time.
• Gather dough into a ball and flatten into a disc. Wrap in plastic. Transfer to the refrigerator and chill at least 1 hour. Dough may be stored, frozen, up to 1 month.
• Filling: Heat oil in a large pot over medium. Add bacon and cook until crisp and browned, about 14 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Pour fat into a bowl and reserve.
• Wipe out pot with paper towels. Add 2 tablespoons reserved fat to pot and heat over medium-high until hot.
• Season beef with 2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. Working in 3 batches, cook beef until browned on all sides, about 4 minutes per batch. Using a slotted spoon, transfer beef to a large bowl. Add more reserved fat between batches if needed.
• Pour fat from pot into the bowl of reserved fat. Add 1 cup broth to pot, and cook, stirring and scraping bottom, 1 minute. Pour over meat.
• Heat 2 tablespoons reserved fat in pot over medium-high. Add onions and garlic and cook until onions soften and garlic is fragrant, about 2 minutes. Stir in mushrooms and cook, 3 minutes. If bottom of pot begins to burn or onions begin to stick, stir in about 1/4 cup of the remaining broth. Sprinkle flour over vegetables, add mustard, and cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute.
• Return beef and broth to pot. Add remaining broth, stout, thyme, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, scraping flour mixture from bottom and sides of pot. Reduce heat and simmer partially covered, stirring occasionally, 1 hour 30 minutes.
• Add potatoes. Cover and simmer until potatoes are tender but not mushy, about 25 minutes. Remove and discard bay leaf and thyme. Stir in bacon, pearl onions, dill, horseradish, and vinegar. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a 2 1/2-quart baking dish and place on a rimmed baking sheet. (Filling can be made up to 2 days ahead and refrigerated. Bring to room temperature before baking.)
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. On a floured work surface, roll out dough to a diameter about 2 inches larger than baking dish. Center dough over filling; trim edges to about 1-inch overhang (it's okay if it's a little uneven). Brush egg wash over bottom of edges, and press to baking dish to seal. Brush remaining egg wash over top of pie. Cut vents in center. Bake until crust is golden brown and the filling bubbles, 35 to 45 minutes. Let cool 20 minutes before serving.

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.