Beef & Stout Pie

Rich and savoury, this beef and stout pie recipe is always a huge success every time I serve it. This beef and stout pie is the perfect St Patrick's day dinner recipe. Succulent beef and mushrooms cooked in rich Guinness gravy baked under hot milk pastry is a dish that is guaranteed to impress.

Dark and hearty on its own, the Guinness gives an incredible richness to the finished pie. Its flavour goes particularly well with the beef. 

Meat pies are common all over the British Isles. And beef and Stout pie is particularly common in Ireland where it's also referred to as Beef and Guinness Pie. 

Don't let the length of this recipe scare you away. Even though it has quite a few steps, it's really a simple recipe.

 

Ingredients:

For the pastry:

• 1¼ cups milk
• 135g lard
• 3½ cups plain flour
• ¾ tsp salt

For the filling:

• ½ cup flour
• 1 tsp thyme
• 675g stewing beef
• 1 brown onion, sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup sliced button mushrooms
• 1 can Guinness stout, approx. 2cups 
• 2 cups beef stock
• ½ tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tsp thyme
• 2x45g butter 
• 45g butter, melted for greasing the tin

Method:

For the hot milk pastry: Cut the lard into small chunks. In a medium saucepan, over medium heat, combine the milk and the lard, heating until it is almost boiling.

Combine the salt and the flour, then slowly add the hot milk to the flour mixture, stirring with a wooden spoon until a dough forms. Or if you have a food processor, you can combine the flour mixture and hot milk, pulsing until a dough forms into a ball.

Flour your counter. Form the dough into a disc shape and let it rest for about 20 minutes, or until cool. Once the pastry is cool, you can wrap it and refrigerate it up to two days, but you have to let it come to room temperature first.

In a bowl, combine the flour, salt, pepper and thyme. Add the beef cubes, tossing them until coated with flour. Heat vegetable oil to fairly high. Fry off the beef in batches, don't over crowded the pan. After all the pieces are browned, set aside the beef.  

In a cast iron or oven safe pot, over medium heat, melt 45g butter and add the mushrooms, allowing them to sweat and cook. While the mushrooms are cooking, melt another 45g butter in another pot and cook the onions down slowly, allowing them to caramelize. Once the mushroom are cooked down add the beer to the cooked mushroom and bring it to a simmer. Reduce the beer by half, then add the beef, caramelize onions, beef stock, Worcestershire sauce, season to taste with salt and pepper, then add the garlic and thyme. Simmer the stew until the beef is tender. You can also transfer the beef stew mixture into a slow cooker to cook until the beef tender. Allow the beef stew to cool before adding to the pastry.

For the pastry: Roll the pastry dough out to about ¼ inch thick on a floured surface. Brush a muffin tin thoroughly with melted butter, then using a round cookie cutter to make the initial shape, press the dough-round into the muffin tin. Fill the dough with the cooled stout stew, then cut another round to make the top of the mini pie. Roll the two edges of the pastry together. Cut a small vent on the top. Repeat until all of the dough and stew have been used up. Chill the meat pies in the fridge while you heat up the oven. 

Pre heat the oven to 190ºC/170ºC for fan assist oven. Place your muffin tin filled with chilled pies into the oven and bake for 30 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown.

Serve with vegetable of your choice. Enjoy!