Beef and Guinness Pie. Few products are as closely associated with St Patricks Day than a drop of the black velvet, Guinness. Here I combine both my New Zealand upbringing and my Irish heritage in one delicious dish. A pint of Guinness is an acquired taste, but once learnt it’s never forgotten. For 260 years, many of the Irish have toasted to health, celebrations, sorrows and more with a glass of this beautiful stout. I have had a love affair with the black velvet for many years, and see no sign of it letting up soon.
These individual pies are a beautiful wintery Beef and Guinness Stew wrapped in Edmonds flaky pastry. Cook the stew low and slow for hours. Then cooled, before placing spoonfuls into the pastry moulds. It is important to get the right cut of beef; you want one that can handle long cooking times. I use casserole beef which is blade and chuck steak. It has a hearty flavour due to the fat content, which breaks down slowly over time. Served over mash or with crusty bread, it is a delicious heart warming meal in the depths of winter. In a pie, it’s an amazing lunch and ideal for soaking up a few drinks or two.
I make a lot of pies, tarts and quiches and I will always use store bought pastry. Found in the freezer section of the supermarket, I see no reason to faff about when we have a wonderful selection to choose from. For these pies, I used Edmonds Flaky Pastry sheets as they’re affordable, still tasty and so easy to use. There are also some other great alternatives in the market so find one that suits you. These pies will freeze well for an easy future meal. Simply cool, wrap and place in the freezer. It is important to note, for this recipe please use Guinness from a can always. It is far superior in flavour than from a bottle.
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2x cloves garlic, minced
- 1x brown onion, sliced
- 4x bacon rashers, diced
- 2x carrots, diced
- 100gm mushrooms, sliced
- 1kg casserole beef, diced
- 1 tbsp flour
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tbsp rosemary, chopped
- 1 cup beef stock
- 330ml Guinness
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 5 sheets Edmonds flaky pastry
- 1 x beaten egg
Instructions
Heat the olive oil in a heavy bottom saucepan and add the garlic and onion. Saute until translucent then add the diced bacon and carrots. Cook gently for a few minutes, stirring to prevent it from catching on the bottom. Toss the diced beef in the flour and add to the saucepan. Turn the heat up and sear the beef for a few minutes. Add the mushrooms and then stir through the tomato paste and rosemary. Pour in the stock and Guinness, add the Worcestershire sauce and bring to the boil. Then turn down the heat and leave to simmer for 3 hours until thick and luscious. Gently season and put aside to cool.
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees and line your pie tins with the pastry. Gently fill the pastry moulds with the stew, being careful to not over fill. Cut circular lids for each pie and gently brush the edge of the pastry bottom with a little egg wash. Top with the lids and gently seal the pastry lids to the bottom, crimping if you like. Brush the lids with the remaining egg wash and using a fork, prick the top of each pie to allow for steam to escape. Cook for 30 minutes, until golden brown.
Serve straight from the oven, with instructions to wait a minute or two before tucking in. Inevitably, someone will always ignore this instruction and meet the piping hot filling too soon. Keep a cold beer on hand for when this happens.
