Farmhouse Beef and Ale Pie
Tender chunks of British beef and root vegetables slow-cooked in rich malty ale, topped with a crisp, golden shortcrust pastry lid.
- Prep
- 30 min
- Cook
- 150 min
- Total
- 180 min
- Servings
- 4
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Calories
- 680 kcal
Equipment
- •casserole dish
- •pie dish
- •rolling pin
- •pastry brush
- •wooden spoon
Nutrition
Per serving, approximate
- Calories
- 680 kcal
- fat
- 32 g
- carbs
- 48 g
- fibre
- 4 g
- protein
- 46 g
- calories
- 680 kcal
Instructions
- 1
Toss the beef in two tablespoons of plain flour with a generous pinch of salt and pepper.
- 2
Heat half the vegetable oil in a large casserole dish on the hob over medium-high heat.
- 3
Brown the beef in batches until deeply caramelised, then transfer onto a clean plate.
- 4
Add remaining oil to the dish and fry the onions and carrots for five minutes until softened.
- 5
Stir in the tomato purée and thyme leaves, cooking for one minute.
- 6
Pour in the ale and beef stock, scraping any browned bits from the bottom of the dish.
- 7
Return the beef, cover with a lid, and simmer gently on low heat for two hours until tender.
- 8
Rub the chilled butter into 300g plain flour until it looks like fine breadcrumbs, then bind with cold water into a dough.
- 9
Tip the cooled beef filling into a 24cm pie dish.
- 10
Roll out the pastry on a floured worktop, drape over the filling, and crimp the edges to seal.
- 11
Cut a small steam slit in the centre and brush the pastry lid with beaten egg.
- 12
Bake at 180°C fan (200°C conventional) for thirty-five minutes until the crust is crisp and golden.
Chef's tips
Always allow the braised meat filling to cool slightly before adding the pastry top. A hot filling melts the butter in the raw pastry, resulting in a soggy crust. Choose a traditional malty bitter rather than a hoppy craft IPA to avoid a bitter sauce.
Ingredient substitutions
- East Anglian ale or bitter → dark stout or additional rich beef stock
- braising beef → beef chuck steak or shin of beef
Storage
Keep leftover pie covered in the fridge for up to three days.
Reheating
Reheat in a preheated oven at 170°C fan for twenty minutes until piping hot throughout and the pastry is recrisped.
Common mistakes to avoid
- •Overcrowding the pan when browning the beef, which boils the meat instead of searing it.
- •Placing raw pastry directly onto boiling hot filling, creating a collapsed and greasy crust.
- •Using an overly bitter or heavily hopped IPA which produces a harsh sauce.
Serving suggestions
Cooked Farmhouse Beef and Ale Pie?
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