Recipe: Stout Beef and Cheese Pie

According to Puckles, pies can be traced back as far as the Egyptian times. So, let’s carry forth this ancient tradition by ramming it with as much alcohol possible! Today’s recipe is Stout Beef and Cheese Pie. My mother requested this because I made it before (a long time ago). Since it was made a while back, I couldn’t find my original recipe. Thus, I had to improvise by using Jamie Oliver’s recipe. I made some mild adjustments to the recipe due to what we had on hand. So, let’s get on with it!

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Ingredients

3 red onions, thinly sliced
3 cloves of garlic, grated
2 carrots, minced
2 sticks of celery, chopped up
750g mushrooms (We used a 3-in-1, similar to the duxelle from the Beef Wellington), very thinly sliced
A few sprigs of fresh rosemary, picked
Olive oil
1 kg Minced Meat (My mum prefers mince over stewed meat. Stewed Meat is an option)
A nice big can Guinness stout
Plain flour
A bag and a half of Cheddar cheese
Puff pastry (Dependent on your choice of oven dish)
1 large egg
Beef Stock

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 190C.
2. Do all the chopping and peeling as listed above.
3. Add the onions into a pot with some olive oil and fry until softened, stirring frequently.
4. Add the garlic, carrots, celery and mushrooms. Stir everything together. You will notice that the mushroom will be releasing a lot of fluids. So, if your pot doesn’t seem to fit all the mushrooms at first and you are worried the beef won’t fit. Don’t worry. Just jam it in. Keep stirring until most of the mushroom’s fluids have come out and if the other veggies aren’t cooked thoroughly yet you can continue stirring until the mushroom fluid has evaporated by a quarter.
5. Stir in the beef, rosemary, and a pinch of sea salt and black pepper.
6. Cook the beef until it browns all around.
7. Then pour in the Guinness Stout.
8. Add some beef stock for more flavour and to top it up.
9. Add some flour to thicken. (Make sure that the pot isn’t boiling when adding flour as it would start clumping)
10. Bring to a simmer, cover the pan with a lid. Then, let it cook for about 45 minutes to an hour. Since we are using minced meat, the meat will already be quite tender. However, if you are using stewed meat, this process may even go up to 2 hours. While you are doing this, the sauce will reduce a little.
11. If you find that the sauce is too thick, feel free to stir in some beef stock. If it is too watery, add in some more floor to thicken.
12. Stir in your cheddar cheese until melted
13. Line your pastry dish with your pastry and fill it up with your filling.
14. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the pie filling
15. Place the rest of your pastry on top of your pie, covering it. Poke a few holes with a fork to give it some vents.
16. Beat the egg, then brush over the top of the pie.
17. Bake for 30 minutes, or until the pastry is cooked, puffed and beautifully golden.

Serve with peas and tomato sauce.

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In the end, the pie came out absolutely delicious! Every bite would make you exhale the taste of beefy alcoholic fumes. The pastry was crunchy and fresh. All around, this dish turned out to be an absolute success!

Speaking of absolute success, congratulations to @killuminatic for correctly guessing exactly what I was making with his guess of beef/lamb Guiness pie. You were the only one who got it spot on! Will be sending you your Steem very shortly! Feel free to let me know once you have received it.

Feel free to check out my other recipes:
Apple Risotto
Beef Wellington by Gordon Ramsay
Cauliflower Cheese
Family "Flavourite" Lasagna