Steak and Ale Pie

This steak and ale pie recipe uses stewing steak – infused with herbs, cooked with veggies and a generous amount of ale for an hour. This creates a tender, rich pie filling. In this recipe, the Hairy Bikers opt for shop-bought pastry which is a much quicker option than homemade.

Steak and Ale Pie

Info

Serves
4 - 6 people
Prep time
20 minutes
Cooking time
1 hour 20 minutes
Calories
923 per serving

Ingredients

For the filling

  • 900g stewing steak, diced
  • 25g flour, plus extra for dusting
  • 100g butter
  • 2 onions roughly chopped
  • 2 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
  • 2 medium carrots, roughly chopped
  • 150g button mushrooms
  • 2 sprigs fresh thyme
  • 400ml good-quality ale
  • 500ml beef stock
  • Salt and pepper

For the pastry

  • 300g ready-made rolled puff pastry
  • 1 egg, beaten for glazing

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 220°C/428°F/Gas Mark 7.

  2. Pour flour into a bowl and season well. Coat the meat with seasoned flour.

  3. Heat half the butter in a heated pan and add the meat. Sear all over until golden brown.

  4. Add the vegetables, herbs, ale, and stock. Bring to a simmer, then cover with a lid and gently simmer for 1 hr. When cooked, season, add the remaining butter, and pour into an ovenproof serving dish.

  5. Brush the edge of the dish with the beaten egg. Roll out the pastry using as little flour as possible and place it over the dish. Pinch the edges of the dish so that the pastry will stick to it and trim off any remaining pieces of pastry from around the edge. Brush the pastry top thoroughly with the remaining beaten egg and place on a baking tray.

  6. Top Tip - Make sure the filling is cooled slightly before adding the pastry otherwise the pastry will begin to soften and will be hard to manipulate into the pie top style you're after.