Recipe for Steak and Ale Pie

the recipe for Steak and ale pie has been put together with a number of different recipes to get the correct taste. Try it and see you will not be disapointed !!

Recipe Submited by Vaughan Colley

You will Need

A ceramic or porcelain dish

A packet of ready-made shortcrust pastry

1 kg lean braising or stewing steak,trimmed and cubed

2 large white onion, peeled then chopped finely

1 tbsp plain flour

300ml local ale (Old Peculea works good)

250ml hot water

1 cube quality beef stock

salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste

A dash of English mustard or grated horseradish

1 tbs vegetable oil for frying

1 egg

20 g Stilton Cheese

Step One

Place the beef in an oven proof dish and add salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste and mix well. Add the ale and stir around. Leave covered for about 2 hours or if you have the time leave it over night in the fridge.

Step Two

When ready to start cooking place a large pan on a medium heat and add the tspn of vegitable oil. Chop the Onion finely and then place in a pan and cook slowly untill light brown.Take the beef out of the oven proof dish one by one and dust with some flour. Place the beef in the frying pan and brown gently.Whisk the rest of the flour, the salt and mustard — or horseradish — into the marinade mixture left in the dish. Once you have browned the beef sufficiently, slowly add the marinade mixture, stock, Stilton and water, then leave to simmer and reduce. Wash the dish, ready for use again

Step Three

While waiting for the liquid to reduce, roll out your pastry on a floured board. The stew needs to be moist but not wet when cooked, bearing in mind that some evaporation will take place in the oven. When it is ready, ladle the stew into your dish and drape the pastry over it. Using a knife, trim the edges and make a hole in the top. Fold in the edges of the hole and use your knife to press into the pastry around all the edges and make a scalloped pattern - for a really professional look, you may decide to cut out little patterns and add them around the edges of the hole. Brush the top of the pastry with a little whisked egg yolk to glaze.

Step Four

Place in a pre-heated medium oven at about 180°C for about 40 minutes, or until the pastry is golden brown and crisp. You should expect some variation in cooking from different ovens. Some hold moisture in, some allow it out, some distribute the heat with a fan, others insist on charring the top or bottom of your creation. The time and temperature offered here are in the way of a generalised pointer. If you are uncertain how your oven will perform, keep your eye on proceedings and use the colour of the pastry as a guide. Golden brown and crisp is your aim.

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