Our guest writer Jessie (aka mscooksalot) has loved cooking and exploring recipes for as long as she can remember. Passionate about real food, she wants to know what’s in it and where it comes from. She believes that food is one of the greatest pleasures in life and can transform your experiences from the forgettable to the sublime.
To complement this beautiful pie, you'll need some beautiful flaky pastry. Jessie's own recipe is right here.
This pie is such an amazing show stopper of a meal! Since we are coming up to Paddy’s Day, I thought it was only fitting to celebrate some of my favourite Irish food producers with a pie that will knock your socks off!
Should you feel like making it this tomorrow, it will definitely fill you up for the day (if you need a bit of sustenance) if you happen to be imbibing! I wanted to use stout as it has such a deep, savoury flavour that works perfectly with the buttery, flaky pastry. I used Dungarvan Black Rock, which was perfect with the beef shin. Shin is such a versatile cut. It takes a long time to cook, but the flavour and texture is amazing! It's also quite cheap, at about €8 a kilo in my local butchers.
This recipe works equally well as a rich, flavoursome stew without the pastry lid. I made the stew part the day before, which gives it even more depth of flavour, and it will freeze very well too.
If you want to know how to make the easy-peasy, buttery, flaky pastry, then head on over to my blog! I promise it is ridiculously easy and worth making yourself, but if you really don’t fancy doing that, then just buy an all-butter pastry, either puff or shortcrust - whatever you prefer. And if you’d like to know how to make the scrumptiously creamy leek and wild garlic mashed potatoes, then you can find them on my blog as well!
Enough dilly-dallying! To the pie!
- Ingredients
850 g best quality beef shin
2 tbsp flour
sea salt
black pepper
1/2 tsp dried thyme
2 tbsp goose fat or flavourless oil like grapeseed, groundnut or sunflower
75 g best quality smoked streaky bacon or lardons ( I love Gubbeen bacon)
1 large onion
2 large carrots
2 sticks of celery
2 cloves garlic
500ml Irish stout ( I used Dungarvan)
500ml hot water
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1 organic beef stock cube
small bunch fresh parsley
1 bay leaf, dried or fresh
1 tbsp sugar (optional)
- Method
Begin by cutting the beef shin into large chunks, about 2 inches square. In a large plastic bag, mix the flour, a good grinding of black pepper and the dried thyme. Add the beef in, seal the bag and shake the whole bag to coat the beef evenly.
In a large, heavy bottomed deep pan or pot, heat 1 tbsp of the oil or fat and brown the chopped bacon. Remove to a plate with a slotted spoon and turn the heat up to full blast. When it is very hot, brown the meat in batches, turning to colour them on all sides. Add the rest of the fat or oil as needed. Transfer the browned meat to a bowl as you go to avoid crowding the pan.
Once all the beef has been well browned, turn the heat down to medium and add the chopped onions, carrots and celery. Season with a generous pinch of salt - this will help the veg to soften and release its water. Cook for 5 minutes or so ,until they begin to turn translucent. Add the chopped garlic and the beef stock cube, turn the heat up to maximum again and pour in the stout.
Let it bubble for about a minute, then add in the hot water, the bay leaf, the parsley and another grinding of black pepper. Stir well, let it come back up to the boil, them cover and turn down to the lowest setting.
Simmer gently for at least 3 hours, preferably 4, or until the meat is incredibly tender and falls apart easily. Check the seasoning. You will might have to add about a tablespoon of sugar as the stout can be quite pronounced and bitter.
Ideally, leave it to cool to room temperature and refrigerate overnight to make it taste even better! Any soup, stew, curry or casserole like this benefits from being cooked ahead and will always taste better the next day. But if you are stuck for time, just skip this part and go straight into the pie stage, allowing the stew to cool as much as you can to avoid the pastry melting while you’re getting it ready for the oven.
To bake the pie, preheat the oven to 200C, Gas Mark 6. Roll out your pastry to approximately 1/4 tp 1/2 inch thickness. Spoon your stew filling into the pie dish or tin. Beat an egg with a splash of milk or cream. Brush the edges of the pie dish with the egg wash.
Cut a thin strip of pastry - about 1/2 inch - and wrap the edge of the dish with it. Using your rolling pin, roll and lift the pastry up over the pie dish, lining it up as best you can. Either using a fork, or pinching with your thumb and middle finger, crimp the pastry as evenly as you can to seal the pie. With a sharp knife, pierce a hole in the centre of the pie, and if you have one, use the ceramic bird in the centre to allow steam to escape and the pie to cook evenly.
Transfer the pie to a large baking sheet - this makes taking it in and out of the oven much easier. Bake in the middle rack for 35 - 40 minutes, or until the pastry is a deep golden brown. Leave to stand for at least 5 minutes, before serving on warmed plates, with the creamy leek & garlic mash on the side.
Most importantly, enjoy!
Are you tempted to try out this recipe? What is your healthy eating fav? We’d love to hear all about it!
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If you’d like to read more from Jessie, you can check out her blog here!
