Tuesday, September 13, 2005

Beef and Guinness Pie



When the weather is cold, or the footy is on what do boys want to eat? Meat Pies, with tomato sauce silly. Four'n Twenty might be de rigor at the AFL, but not in my house! Do you have any idea how bad they are for you? (actually I don't like the taste either :P ) Since I am a welshman(NSW) and not a Mexican(Victorian) I am still just learning to appreciate the finer art of Footy watching (AFL) (Don't laugh Dave :P ). So anything that takes a few hours to make, is a pretty good activity for a lazy Sunday when the boys come over to watch Footy.

If you are going to make a meat pie then the meat has to be steak, tender chunks that melt in your mouth and not mince, I learnt that the hard way. The gravy is also really important, since I don't regularly make beef stock at home I turn to an alcoholic base for my pie gravy. That gives 2 choices, the ubiquitous red wine or the slightly more unusual Guinness. Go for Guinness, the chocolate coffee and slight bitter edge it lends to the pie will cause almost anyboy to immediately declare his undying love, just so you can make him this pie. If you are going to spend the time to slowly cook off the meat and make it with the love and the little bit of attention it requires, be sure to make the filling in bulk, at least enough for 2 family pies or more. That way you can bask in the love any time you want it or need that extra pair of shoes or a new cookbook.

Beef and Guinness Pie
1 kg of Beef steak (blade, topside, gravy etc), chopped into cubes (or as much as you want to last you the winter)
flour seasoned with salt and pepper
2 onions
optional veggies: Mushrooms, zucchini, carrots etc
750 ml bottle of Guinness (or your favourite stout, but then it isn't a Guinness pie ;) )
1 can of tinned tomatoes
salt and pepper
a couple of bay leaves
4 cloves of garlic
oil

Wholemeal Pastry

Flour the beef, shake off excess and fry it off in small batches in a casserole dish or saucepan til browned.
Then, fry off onions, garlic and any veggies you want to add. Add the beef back and deglaze the pan with some of the Guinness. Add the tinned tomatoes and enough of the Guinness to just cover the meat, stir well too ensure that nothing has stuck to the bottom. Bring back up to temp, when just boiling turn the heat back down to a gentle simmer and put the lid on. Check back occasionally to ensure it isn't drying out and to give it a stir. Add more Guinness or some water if required. After aprox 2 hours when the meat is tender turn off the heat and let the mixture start to cool.

Line a pie dish with pastry, add the beef mixture and top with more pastry. Bake in a preheated oven at 180C til the pastry is cooked and golden brown.

Eat, and enjoy with some beer.

Extra mix: Freeze in pie sized lots and defrost when some lovin' is required!

23 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh no. I haven't had a chance to make the raviolis yet, and now I want a slice of this, too. Thank god I at least I did not read this on an empty stomach. (Oh wait. I did see a sneak preview photo whilst my tummy was still rumbling! :p)

This was such a fun read, Clare. I love how you specified 1 Kg of beef or enough to last you the whole winter. But you're right about instant love--this pie should come with a warning about who you serve it to. It's amazing what guys will do for food. I once received a marriage proposal over a piece of apple pie! : ) 

Posted by ffarmgirl

Farmgirl Susan said...

Well, all this yummy food has obviously affected my brain. I can no longer write a sentence correctly, and I can't even seem to spell my name! : )

Anonymous said...

Hi FG
I am so glad you enjoyed it! It was just as much fun to write ;)

I want to know more about your apple pie! Why havn't I heard this story yet? 

Posted by clare eats

eat stuff said...

it's ok FG I still love ya ;)

Anonymous said...

I'm not the biggest red meat-eater, but wow, this looks SO good for a cold day. With Guinness, no less! Is "mince" what you call our ground beef?

And yes, Farmgirl. The apple pie story, please. don't leave us hanging like that! 

Posted by Amy

Anonymous said...

Calre - Now this is something I can really dig into!!! I love stuff like this, arteries be damned! Do you have a recipe for a Boxty??? 

Posted by Kirk

Anonymous said...

Sorry Clare - Got too excited and messed up your name.... 

Posted by Kirk

Anonymous said...

Hi Amy
If you are going to have red meat this is definately a good one and you can pput lots of finely chopped veggies in that will disintegrate into the sauce ;)

Yep Mince is ground beef alright!

FG FG!

Hi Kirk
I don't think it is actually too bad for your arteries, hmm you could always make it into a pot pie and just put pastry on the top too.....

I have no idea what a boxty is! 

Posted by clare eats

Anonymous said...

Hi Clare - It would be something like your wonderful stew or shepherd's pie all wrapped in a potato pancake - wooo baby!!!!

"A Homemade potato pancake cooked on the griddle and wrapped around a variety of delicious fillings. Boxty comes from the Gaelic word “bactasi” which refers to the traditional cooking of potatoes over an open fire, which still takes place in Ireland."

Delici-yoso!! 

Posted by Kirk

Anonymous said...

oh yum Kirk! That sounds too good Kirk, my Oma is a potat pancake queen mmmmmm mmmmmm

Note ***see everyone here we have a classic example of a male going crazy over Beef and Guiness Pie ** 

Posted by clare eats

Anonymous said...

Yes, you do...couldn't you tell when I misspelled your name...we're so obvious aren't we?

Just to give you some ideas for more "food porn"

http://www.thefieldirishpub.com/food/menu.html#boxty 

Posted by Kirk

Anonymous said...

lol
I was just being polite Kirk =P

wow I was thinking good! But I don't know about that good! YUM! 

Posted by clare eats

Anonymous said...

Looks delicious!
I think if I served this to my husband he might love me even more.

Any luck on the cookbook hints?

Oh and Farmgirl stop holding out!! 

Posted by wendy

Anonymous said...

hi clare !!! that pie looks soooo divine. It seems so odd that guiness and beef and some other watery ingredients could simmer to something that looks so rich and yummy tasting. I hope to try that out sometime for sure !!! my oven is somewhat in the same condition yours was in before it died and it has no temperature dial ! so maybe i will make that gravy and beef and enjoy it as a casserole with veggies what do you think?  

Posted by rachel

Anonymous said...

Clare, that look great! I am still in awe of ppl who make their own pastry. Hmmm, love the sound of cooking it in Guiness - adding this to my to do list. 

Posted by Cin

Anonymous said...

Hi Wendy
Just think cold weather there soon, you bring this out you will so be in the goodbooks!

Hi Rachel
It is the finely coating the meat in flour before you cook it. It works alittle bit like a roux. I think that is a great idea, I would just add some more veggies closer to the end, potatoes, carrots etc... or you could roll it in a potato pancake like Kirk suggests!

Hi Cin
I *promise* it isn't hard!!!! I am terrible at rolling alot of doughs out (I think I have hot hands or some such baloney) The egg which is well beaten with the water makes a HUGE difference :) 

Posted by clare eats

Anonymous said...

LOL, me and my big mouth. I was going to just tell you about The Piece Of Pie & The Marriage Proposal here (don't get all excited, it's not that  thrilling), but then I realized it would be the world's longest comment--and might actually make a fun little short post on Farmgirl Fare instead. So look for it soon!   ha ha couldn't resist. Sorry! : ) 

Posted by farmgirl

Anonymous said...

Oh FG you are SUCH a tease :P 

Posted by clare eats

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the recipe - on the schedule for this weekend. Spending a few years in England growing up, this is my kinda food! 

Posted by Sweetnicks

Anonymous said...

Hi Sweetnicks!
Really????!!!! That is sooo cool! I can't wait to hear what you think... 

Posted by clare eats

Anonymous said...

Hey, I really dig the idea of my boy declaring his undying love for me (something my boy doesn't often do, obviously), so I'll be sure to give your recipe a try, clare! It sounds absolutely intoxicating. :) 

Posted by Julia

Anonymous said...

Hi Juila
yep he definately needs pie! :) 

Posted by clare eats

Anonymous said...

Could you please be so kind as to give us the pastry receipe? What I had in Belfast was like a puff pastry. P 

Posted by Patriciajean

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