Steak and Stilton Pie
Ever since Marks and Spencer introduced a luxury beef and ale pie to their Gastropub range, I had to give it a go. This is my copycat recipe.
Now, the Marks and Spencer pie, as I say, has Port in it, but I used a Porter Ale instead.
The result was tender beef in a velvety, rich and very tasty gravy. If you prefer, you could always use Guinness.
So, with all that in mind, I set about making one. I was very pleased with the end result and am really embarrassed to tell you we ate it all - yep, the lot.
Nothing was left at all; so it worked out a bit of a dear do, moneywise 😅
What is Porter Ale?
Porter is a dark style of beer developed in London from well-hopped beers made from brown malt.
The name was first recorded in the 18th century and is thought to come from its popularity with street and river porters, who carried objects for others. Source: Wikipedia.
Ingredients in this recipe
- 1kg casserole or braising steak - cut into chunks
- 2 garlic cloves - peeled and crushed
- 1 small bunch of fresh thyme sprigs
- a small handful of black peppercorns
- 400ml Whitechapel Porter Ale available from Asda (or another dark ale)
- 2 tbsp plain flour - seasoned with salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp butter
- 6 chestnut mushrooms - quartered
- 1 large onion - sliced thinly
- 440ml beef stock made from a Knorr beef stock cube
- 1 tbsp tomato purée (paste in the US)
- 2 tbsp of redcurrant jelly
- a couple of good shakes of Worcestershire sauce
- 100g Stilton cheese - crumbled
- salt and freshly ground black pepper to season
- 1 free-range egg and a tiny splash of milk - lightly beaten
- 500g ready-made puff pastry
Steak Ale and Stilton Pie
When the filling is made, brush the edges of the pastry with some of the beaten egg and lay it over the pie dish. Crimp the pastry all around the edge to seal, then trim off any excess pastry.
Make a small hole in the middle of the pie top so that the steam can escape whilst cooking. Brush all over some of the beaten egg.
Put the pie into the oven to bake for about 25-30 minutes, or until the pastry is crisp and golden and the filling is piping hot. Make the gravy and serve.
When the pie is cooked, serve it with mashed potato and gravy, I made carrot and potato mash, and it was rather nice I must say.
Another Marks and Spencer Copycat recipe you might like is Steak Potato and Onion Hash.
Have you tried this recipe? Please leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ star rating in the recipe card below!
Beef Ale and Stilton Pie
Ingredients
- 1kg casserole or braising steak - cut into chunks
- 2 garlic cloves - peeled and crushed
- 1 small bunch of fresh thyme sprigs
- a small handful of black peppercorns
- 400ml Whitechapel Porter Ale available from Asda (or another dark ale)
- 2 tbsp plain flour - seasoned with salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp butter
- 6 chestnut mushrooms - quartered
- 1 large onion - sliced thinly
- 440ml beef stock made from a Knorr beef stock cube
- 1 tbsp tomato puree (paste in the US)
- 2 tbsp of redcurrant jelly
- a couple of good shakes of Worcestershire sauce
- 100g Stilton cheese - crumbled
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 free-range egg and a tiny splash of milk - lightly beaten
- 500g ready-made puff pastry
Instructions
- Put the porter ale, beef, garlic, thyme and peppercorns into a bowl. Cover with cling film and leave to marinate in the fridge for at least 3 hours, but preferably overnight.
- Remove the beef from the marinade, pat dry with kitchen paper and dredge in the seasoned flour.
- Strain the marinade through a fine sieve into a clean bowl and set aside.
- *Note: you only want the liquid, so throw away all the other bits (peppercorns and thyme etc).
- Heat the oil and one tablespoon of the butter in a flameproof casserole and fry the beef in small batches for 2-3 minutes each time, or until browned all over. Once the meat is browned, remove from the casserole dish and set aside.
- Return the casserole dish to the heat and fry the mushrooms and onions for about 5 minutes, or until softened.
- Add the tomato purée, and cook for a minute before adding the Worcestershire sauce and redcurrant jelly.
- Now return the beef and the reserved marinating liquid to the casserole and add the beef stock.
- Cover with a lid and gently simmer for about 2½ hours, or until the beef is nice and tender.
- When the beef is lovely and tender, strain off half of the cooking liquid from the casserole dish and set aside to make the gravy for serving.
- Remove from the heat and crumble the Stilton into the casserole and stir until nicely melted.
- Season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper and set aside to cool right down.
- While that's happening, you can preheat your oven and get the pastry at the ready!
- Roll out the puff pastry to a thickness of about 3 quarters of an inch and cut large enough to cover your pie dish.
- My dish was about 10 inches by 7 inches.
- Line the edge of your pie dish with a strip of pastry. Brush the edges with a little beaten egg.
- Lay a sheet of pastry over the pie dish. Crimp the pastry all around the edge to seal, then trim off any excess pastry.
- Make a small hole in the middle of the pie top so that the steam can escape whilst cooking. Brush all over some of the beaten egg.
- Put the pie into the oven to bake for about 25-30 minutes, or until the pastry is crisp and golden and the filling is piping hot.
- Put the reserved cooking liquid into a small saucepan and simmer for about 10 minutes, or until reduced to a gravy consistency.
- Stir in a knob of butter until melted, and the sauce is smooth and glossy. Keep it warm until needed.
- When the pie is cooked serve it with mashed potatoes and the gravy.
Jan the recipe look very inviting - making it for friends next weekend.
ReplyDeleteThank you - do let me know how it turns out.
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