What Is Ale Pot Beef Pie
-27 with the windchill in Calgary today, not making it feel at all like spring as we approach daylight savings time and spring break. But! We're taking comfort in the fact that new microbreweries are popping up all over the place, one just a couple blocks from our house, and that lagers, stouts and ales are perfect for simmering with beef to make the ultimate cold-weather comfort food: beer and ale pie under a puff pastry lid. This is what parka season is all about – warming yourself from the inside out.
To make a beef and ale – or Guinness – pie, start by braising the beef with onions, your choice of brew, stock and a pinch or sprig of thyme – I like to add a glug of Worcestershire and a spoonful of tomato paste or puree as well, and a shake of flour to thicken the lot. (A note on browning beef with flour: most recipes call for you to douse the beef chunks in flour before browning, but I find that it then browns the flour rather than the beef itself. My preferred method is to brown the meat, then shake the flour over the pieces and stir them around to coat in the pot. It totally works.)
When I make stews and meat pies I generally the beef first because it needs a long, slow braise – if you add the carrots (and any other veg you want to add) toward the end of the cooking time, they won't turn to mush. Or if you happen to have some leftover roasted or steamed veg, you could just stir them in at the end, as they're already cooked. (I switched pots here for a better photo, but you can do it all in one. Enamel-coated cast iron is made for stovetop-to-oven dishes like this.)
I learned the aged white cheddar trick from J.O. – grating a chunk over the filling before topping with the lid is optional, and will disappear visually from the finished pie, but adds a flavour that's fantastic. You could even do the filling ahead of time, then top it with pastry and bake when you're ready.
Or top it with mashed potatoes, if you like – but I find it hard to resist an excuse to use frozen puff pastry. (If you want to make your own, you could do a quick rough puff – a streamlined version of the real thing that tastes amazing and looks just as good as the real thing.)
And that's it – serve it with peas, and mash if you like. How to turn every home into a pub.
Beef + Ale Pie
2 1/2 lb stewing beef, cut into 1-2-inch pieces
salt and freshly ground pepper
olive oil or bacon fat
1 large purple onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 bottle or can dark ale or stout
1 cup beef or chicken stock (plus extra if needed)
2 Tbsp. tomato paste
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1 large carrot, diced
1 cup grated extra old white cheddar (optional)
1 sheet puff pastry, thawed
1 egg, lightly beaten
1
Preheat the oven to 325F.
2
Pat your beef dry with paper towel and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Set an oven-proof Dutch oven over medium-high heat, add a drizzle of oil or dab of bacon fat, and brown the meat in batches, transferring to a plate as you go. Add extra oil in between if the pan needs it.
3
Once the meat is browned, add the onions to the pan and cook for a few minutes, stirring to loosen any browned bits in the bottom of the pan. Return the beef to the pan, add the garlic and shake over the flour, stirring to coat everything well. Add enough stout and stock to just barely cover the meat. (If not, add a little more stout, stock or even water.) Add the tomato paste and Worcestershire sauce along with a couple sprigs of thyme (or pull off the leaves and add them to the pot), cover and cook in the oven for 1 1/2 hours.
4
Remove the pot from the oven, stir in the carrots and return to the oven for another hour, or until the meat is very tender. Remove from the oven and turn the heat up to 400F. If you like, scrape the meat mixture into another baking dish. Sprinkle with cheese. On a lightly floured surface, roll the pastry out about 1/4-inch thick, making it slightly larger than the size or diameter of your baking dish. If you're going to drape the pastry over the edges, brush them with beaten egg. Drape the pastry overtop, sealing it around the edge of the pan. (Alternatively - if there's too much space between the top of the meat and the top of the pan - tuck the edge of the pastry haphazardly down around the edge inside the pan.) Brush the top with beaten egg and if you like, score the top lightly with a sharp knife.
5
Return to the oven for 20-30 minutes, or until the pastry is deep golden. Serves 6.
Ingredients
2 1/2 lb stewing beef, cut into 1-2-inch pieces
salt and freshly ground pepper
olive oil or bacon fat
1 large purple onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 bottle or can dark ale or stout
1 cup beef or chicken stock (plus extra if needed)
2 Tbsp. tomato paste
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1 large carrot, diced
1 cup grated extra old white cheddar (optional)
1 sheet puff pastry, thawed
1 egg, lightly beaten
Directions
1
Preheat the oven to 325F.
2
Pat your beef dry with paper towel and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Set an oven-proof Dutch oven over medium-high heat, add a drizzle of oil or dab of bacon fat, and brown the meat in batches, transferring to a plate as you go. Add extra oil in between if the pan needs it.
3
Once the meat is browned, add the onions to the pan and cook for a few minutes, stirring to loosen any browned bits in the bottom of the pan. Return the beef to the pan, add the garlic and shake over the flour, stirring to coat everything well. Add enough stout and stock to just barely cover the meat. (If not, add a little more stout, stock or even water.) Add the tomato paste and Worcestershire sauce along with a couple sprigs of thyme (or pull off the leaves and add them to the pot), cover and cook in the oven for 1 1/2 hours.
4
Remove the pot from the oven, stir in the carrots and return to the oven for another hour, or until the meat is very tender. Remove from the oven and turn the heat up to 400F. If you like, scrape the meat mixture into another baking dish. Sprinkle with cheese. On a lightly floured surface, roll the pastry out about 1/4-inch thick, making it slightly larger than the size or diameter of your baking dish. If you're going to drape the pastry over the edges, brush them with beaten egg. Drape the pastry overtop, sealing it around the edge of the pan. (Alternatively - if there's too much space between the top of the meat and the top of the pan - tuck the edge of the pastry haphazardly down around the edge inside the pan.) Brush the top with beaten egg and if you like, score the top lightly with a sharp knife.
5
Return to the oven for 20-30 minutes, or until the pastry is deep golden. Serves 6.
Beef + Ale Pie
Source: https://www.dinnerwithjulie.com/2017/03/08/beef-ale-pie/
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