Steak N Kidney Stew Casserole Recipes

Steps:

• Switch your crock pot/slow cooker on to warm-up.
• Peel and slice the carrots, onions and garlic.
• Place vegetables in the bottom of the crock pot/slow cooker, replace lid while you work on the meat.
• Remove skin from the kidneys if there is any. Cut into as big or small pieces that you like, set aside.
• Cut the steak into 1 inch cubes, place in a zip-lock bag with the kidneys and 1/4 cup of all purpose flour, close the bag leaving some air in it and shake well to coat the meat. Remove meat from the bag and place on top of the vegetables in the crock pot/slow cooker. Replace lid.
• In a jug place the 1 cup of wine, 1/2 cup of boiling water, 2 oxo cubes, 1 tbsp tomato puree, soy sauce and mix well. Pour over the ingredients in the crock pot/slow cooker.
• Sprinkle chili flakes and rosemary on top of stew. Add as much black pepper as you like.
• Cook on low all day or until the meat and vegetables are tender.
• I have not added salt because of the stock cubes & soy sauce, but you can if liked.
• When cooked. Check that the stew is as thick as you like it. If not mix the 2 tsp of cornflour with 2 tsp cold water. Turn the crock pot/slow cooker to high and stir in the cornflour, a little at a time, stirring and checking that it is as thick as you want the stew to be. You don't need to add all the cornflour if it's how you want the stew.
• Serve with boiled potatoes and steamed broccoli or any vegetables you like.
• Note: You might like to add frozen peas in the last 5 minutes.

Steps:

• Prepare the pastry: In a large bowl, combine flour with butter and salt. Mix lightly with your fingertips until butter forms peasized pieces. Whisk together egg and 1 tablespoon of the water. Add to flour mixture all at once, mixing gently with your fingertips. You should be able to see chunks of fat, and the pastry should be moist enough to begin to stick together. If the pastry is too dry, add up to 2 more tablespoons of water.
• Turn the pastry out onto a lightly floured work surface, dust with flour, and knead it until the pastry is smooth, about 3 to 4 times. Transfer to a plastic bag and form pastry into a disk. Refrigerate a minimum of 30 minutes, or as long as 3 days.
• Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a casserole or Dutch oven. Add the steak and kidneys, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring, until just browned, about 3 minutes. Remove to a plate and reserve. Add 1 more tablespoon of oil to casserole, and add mushroom quarters. Cook over high heat, stirring, until light brown. Reserve on plate with meat. Add the remaining oil to the casserole, and add onions. Cook until well browned, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over the onions and stir so that the juices soak up the flour. Cook, stirring constantly, about 1 to 2 minutes.
• Stir the Worcestershire sauce into the hot water, and pour over the hot onion mixture while whisking. Add the reserved meats and mushrooms, and any juices that have collected, and season with salt and pepper. Reduce the heat to low and simmer 3 to 4 minutes or until slightly thickened.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Roll out the pastry to a thickness of 1/4inch. Fill a 9inch pie dish with the steak and kidney mixture. Dampen the edges of the dish with water, then fit the pastry on top, pressing it down well all around the edge to seal. Make a steam hole in the center, brush the top with milk and sprinkle with sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper. Bake for 25 minutes, or until pastry is golden.

Steps:

• 1. Peel n chop vege. Dice meat, dice kidneys.
• 2. Into pot or casserole dish add meat, vege n kidneys, season, add barley, cover with water. Bring to boil in oven or on stove top, simmer 2-4 hours until beef tender and barley well cooked. Thicken with cornflour n water if desired/ need be.
• 3. Optional extras: Add tin of chopped tomatoes at start. Add several small onions peeled n whole. Rice works as substitute for barley. Serve with mashed or roast spuds n other veges.

Steps:

• It's important to cook the meat a day ahead, so that you can discard any fat that has risen to the top, and so that the pastry doesn't slump in the face of a too-warm filling, so up to 48 hours ahead -make the pastry. Whizz the flour and a pinch of fine sea salt together for a few seconds in a food processor, then add the butter and whizz until the mixture looks like coarse breadcrumbs. Whisk together the egg yolk and 3 tbsp water and whizz with the pastry until it collects in a ball. Wrap in cling film and leave it to rest in the fridge for at least one hour.
• Cut button-mushroom-sized lobes of kidney from the white central core (discarding). Cut the beef into bite-sized cubes and cut the mushrooms into chunks.
• Heat 1 tbsp of the oil in a large, heavy frying pan over a medium-high heat. Throw in the kidney and fry until lightly coloured. Tip into a colander to drain.
• Wipe out the frying pan and return it to a low-medium heat, adding 25g/1oz of the butter and 1 tbsp oil. Tip in the onion and fry for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft and slightly golden. Transfer to a large casserole, using a slotted spoon.
• Preheat the oven to 160C/gas 3/fan 140C. Tip the 85g/3oz flour into a large plastic bag, and season it generously. Throw in the beef and shake until lightly floured.Return the frying pan to a mediumhigh heat, adding a little more oil and butter if needed. Shake off any excess flour (reserving it) then fry the beef in batches until golden-brown. As each batch is done, transfer it to the casserole.
• Adding more oil and butter to the frying pan if necessary, fry the mushrooms for about 2 minutes until starting to wilt, then add them to the casserole with the drained kidneys, hot water, bouillon powder and bay leaf, plus the excess flour in the bag if you like a thick gravy. Stir well, cover and cook in the oven for 75-90 minutes until the meat is tender and the sauce is thick. Cool thoroughly, then put in the fridge (preferably overnight) so any fat will solidify - it can then be skimmed off and discarded.
• In the morning - return the pastry to cool room temperature, then roll it out thinly on a wellfloured surface. Invert a 28-30x23cm, 6.5cm deep pie dish on to the pastry. Mentally add an extra 1cm all round, then use the dish as a guide to cut out the pastry lid. From the remnants, cut out enough 6cm-wide strips of pastry to go round the dish - they should cover the flat rim and about halfway down the insides.
• Lightly butter the rim of the dish and line it with the strip(s) of pastry, sealing any joins with a little dab of water. Butter the shoulders of a pie raiser or an upturned egg cup and stand it in the middle. Spoon in the meat mixture to come level with the top of the dish. Don't overfill: reserve any excess gravy to serve hot with the pie.
• Brush the pastry rim with a little water, then drape the pastry lid over it, pinching the edges to seal. Cover with cling film and keep in the fridge if not baking immediately.
• Finally, an hour before serving - preheat the oven to 200C/gas 6/fan 180C. Make four slashes in the lid of the pie, then brush with the egg wash. Bake for 35-45 minutes until the pastry is golden brown, turning the heat down 10-20° after about 20 minutes. Remove the pie from the oven and leave it to rest for around 10 minutes before cutting into it.

Steps:

• Place the beef kidneys on a cutting board and cut them in half lengthwise. Remove as much of the lump of fat inside as possible. If there is any membrane surrounding the kidneys, peel it off and discard. Cut the kidneys into 1 1/2-inch pieces. You should have about 3 pounds of cleaned kidneys.
• Bring 6 cups of water to a boil in a saucepan. Add the kidneys, mix well, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. (The water may not even return to a boil.) Drain the kidneys in a colander, rinse them under cold water, and set them aside in the colander to drain further until cooking time. (They can rest for up to an hour.) Discard any liquid that has emerged from the kidneys.
• Cut the salt pork into 1/2-inch pieces and place in a heavy saucepan with the oil. Cook over medium to high heat, partly covered to prevent splattering, for 6 to 8 minutes, until nicely browned. Then add the onions and cook over high heat for about 1 minute, until they are lightly browned.
• Add the flour to the saucepan, mixing it in well, and cook for 30 seconds. Add the wine and 1 3/4 cups water. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, to dissolve the flour in the liquid. Add the kidneys, garlic, potatoes, mushrooms, soy sauce, thyme and dry mustard. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to very low. Cover, and cook for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent the stew from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
• Serve immediately, as is or with French-style mustard on the side.