Steak and Ale Pie

Steak and ale pie is - or at least should be - a stable of the British pub food scene.  There are two schools of thought on its making, however.  There is the shortcrust pastry school and the puff pastry school. 

The average pub goes in for the puff pastry version for a couple of reasons. Firstly, it is easier.  The filling is made in advance.  When an order comes into the kitchen, a pre-cut disc of pastry is quickly stuck onto the container and it's whacked in the oven.  20 minutes later, a lovely looking pie comes out.  The other benefit of this is that the filling can be made to last for longer in the fridge, sans pastry.  Plus, of course, pastry doesn't reheat well.

Personally, I prefer a meat pie made with shortcrust.  I like a good big wedge of relatively thin pie on my plate, preferably with some gravy in a jug, some boiled potatoes and a big serving of peas.  I like the way the gravy soaks into the bottom layer of pastry and the top layer crisps up.

Spud, however, prefers the delicate flakiness of the puff pastry version - so that's what we had.

The worst thing about bad pub steak and ale pie is usually the filling.  Little bits of gristle or undercooked braising steak floating in a watery, grey "gravy".  It's important to give the filling a good slow cooking with plenty of good quality beer.  You need something strong (4-5%), dark, bitter and hoppy for this.  I recommend something like Bombardier - it's easily available and if you buy a four-pack, you have something to drink while it's cooking...  The other secrets here are a little flour when cooking the onion and a tough of sugar to just counteract the bitterness of the beer.

I think this is best served with boiled potatoes - allowing you to mash them into the gravy - and peas.  We did it with the remains of the chard this time around and, to be honest, peas would have been better. 

Steak and ale pie
(serves 2)

3/4 lb good quality braising steak, cubed (about 1.5" cubed makes sense)
2tbsp flour, seasoned with plenty of sea salt and black pepper
oil for frying
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
2tsp thyme leaves
1 pint good quality strong bitter
1 tsp sugar
1/3 block puff pastry
Beaten egg for washing the pastry.

Toss the steak in the seasoned flour.  Get the oil very hot in a casserole on the hob.  Fry the steak in small batches to brown and caramelise on all sides.  Remove from the pan and drain on kitchen paper.  Lower the heat and fry the onions - season with salt and pepper - and the thyme leaves.  Allow the onions to take on a little colour.  Stir in any remaining flour.  Add a little of the beer - just a few tablespoons at first - and stir in well.  We're almost making a roux at this point with the oil, flour and beer - the idea is to eliminate any lumps of flour and to create a thickening base for the gravy.  Now return the steak to the pan and add enough beer to just about cover.

Bring to a simmer, cover and leave for about an hour.  Check for seasoning and check that the meat is nicely cooked.  You can now do the pastry thing or you can set it aside for tomorrow...

Preheat the oven to 180^o C.

Roll the pastry out to fit your oven-proof dish - it should be 3-5mm thick.  Stick the pastry on with some of the egg, make a small hole in the middle to let out the steam and brush all over with egg wash.  Place in the oven on a pre-heated baking tray.
After 10 minutes, remove from the oven and brush with another layer of egg wash.  Replace in the oven for another 15 minutes.

To serve, carefully remove the pastry lid and set aside.  Spook the meat and gravy out, cut the pastry with a large knife and place over the meat.   Delicious! 

With more and more pubs offering frozen meals, Thai curries or pretentious crap, I'd love to hear from you about what you like to see on a pub menu.  Maybe there's a series of posts in it? 

tags: beef  

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