Aberdeen Beef Pie Food

ABERDEEN BEEF PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°. In a Dutch oven, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. Remove to paper towels to drain. Brown the beef in drippings in batches; drain and set beef aside. Add onion to the pan; saute until crisp-tender. Add carrots, bacon and beef. , Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the flour, broth and Worcestershire sauce until smooth; add to beef mixture. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer until meat is tender, 1 to 1-1/2 hours. Stir in peas, salt and pepper. Transfer to an ungreased 11x7-in. baking dish. , On a lightly floured surface, roll out crust into a 12x8-in. rectangle. Cut slits in crust. Place over filling; trim and seal edges. If desired, brush with beaten egg. Bake until crust is golden and filling is bubbly, 35-40 minutes. Let stand for 15 minutes before serving. Refrigerate leftovers.

MEAT PIES

Steps:

• For the crust: Put the frozen rolls on a baking sheet. Cover with a tea towel and let thaw and rise for 2 to 3 hours.
• For the filling: Add the oil to a large skillet and set it over medium heat. Cook the peppers and onion until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the red pepper flakes and garlic, then cook for another minute. Transfer to a bowl or plate and set aside.
• Put the same skillet over medium-high heat, add the beef and cook, breaking up any lumps. Add the chili powder, cumin and 3/4 teaspoon salt and cook until the meat is no longer pink, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the tomato paste and 1/4 cup water and stir until combined. Mix in the cooked vegetables. Transfer to a bowl and set aside to cool. When the meat is cool, add the cheese and parsley, then season with salt and pepper.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• To form: Roll out each dinner roll on a lightly floured surface into a 4-inch circle about 1/4 inch thick. Put 1 1/2 tablespoons of the meat mixture in the center of each circle. Brush around the outside of the circles with the egg wash and fold over the dough to form half-moon shapes. Press the edges together and crimp them with a fork. Put on a parchment-lined baking sheet and brush the tops with the egg wash.
• Bake until golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes.

SCOTTISH MEAT PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350° F and put a kettle of water on to boil.
• Place one pie crust in a deep-style pie pan. Prick crust with a fork several times and bake for 5-10 minutes.
• In a large skillet with deep sides, sauté ground beef/lamb with onions. Season well with Lawry's, salt and pepper.
• Mix well to combine.
• When beef loses its pink color, stir in oats and beef broth or bullion cube. Then cover mixture entirely with boiling water. Simmer mixture for 10-15 minutes until water is mostly gone. Then stir in Worcestershire Sauce, dry mustard and spices.
• Spoon the mixture into the partially baked pie crust and dot the top of the filling with diced butter. Place top crust on filling, crimp sides, vent crust, and bake for 1 to 1-1/4 hours. Make sure crust is slightly browned.

BAVARIAN BEEF PIE

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine flour and salt; cut in the shortening until crumbly. Stir in 1 egg yolk and vinegar. Gradually add water, tossing with a fork until dough forms a ball. Divide dough in half so that one portion is slightly larger than the other. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes or until easy to handle., Meanwhile, in a small skillet, brown beef in oil. Remove with a slotted spoon; set aside. In the same skillet, saute the potato, onion and apple in butter for 2-3 minutes or until onion is tender. Stir in garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Stir in flour until blended. Add the bouillon, seasonings, beef and 1/2 cup water. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened., On a lightly floured surface, roll out larger portion of dough to fit a 7-in. pie plate. Transfer pastry to pie plate. Trim pastry even with edge. Fill with beef mixture. Roll out remaining pastry to fit top of pie. Place over filling. Trim, seal and flute edges. Cut slits in pastry., Beat remaining egg yolk and water; brush over pastry. Bake at 375° for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown.

BRITISH BEEF AND ALE PIE

Steps:

• Mix flour and seasoning in a shallow bowl.
• Coat beef on all sides (if roast is large, cut in 2 or 3 pieces so it fits in crock pot). Toss out remaining flour mixture.
• Brown the beef on all sides, remove.
• Rough chop onions and garlic and add to the pan, heating until soft.
• Place beef, carrots, onions/garlic, ale and beef stock in crock pot and cook on high for 6-8 hours until it falls apart easily.
• Remove beef and vegetables from crock pot, reserving liquids. Pull beef into shreds, removing any fat or undesirable pieces.
• Melt butter in a large saute pan, and cook the mushrooms.
• Remove 3 cups of liquid from the crock pot and wisk in 1/4 cup flour until smooth. Add to saute pan and cook until sauce thickens. Add beefy mushroom soup. Add beef and vegetables. Maintain on low to keep warm.
• Prepare puff pastry as directed on the package, baking until risen and golden.
• Spoon beef mixture in individuals crocks/bowls and top with a single serving of puff pastry.

PROPER BEEF, ALE & MUSHROOM PIE

Steps:

• If you're using the porcini mushrooms, cover 10g of mushrooms in boiling water for 20 mins, then squeeze out but keep the soaking water.
• Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Heat 1 tbsp vegetable oil in a large casserole dish, brown 1kg large chunks of braising steak really well in batches, then set aside.
• Add 2 large onions, roughly chopped, and 4 large carrots, chopped into large chunks, to the pan. Add a drizzle more vegetable oil, then cook on a low heat for 5 mins until coloured.
• Add the soaked porcini mushrooms, sizzle for 1 min more, then scatter over 2 tsp golden caster sugar and 4 tbsp plain flour, stirring until the flour turns brown.
• Tip the braising steak and any juices back into the pan and give it all a good stir.
• Pour over 300ml dark ale, 2 beef stock cubes mixed with 400ml boiling water and the porcini mushroom soaking liquid, discarding the last few drops.
• Season the stew, tuck in a small tied-together bunch of thyme, bay leaf and parsley, and bring everything to a simmer.
• Cover with a lid and place in the oven for about 2 hrs, until the braising steak is really tender.
• While the stew is cooking, heat a drop more vegetable oil in a frying pan and sizzle 200g smoked bacon lardons for 3 mins until crisp.
• Turn up the heat, add 200g halved chestnut mushrooms and cook for 4 mins until golden. Remove from the heat and, when the stew is cooked, stir them through.
• Leave everything to cool completely - better still, make this up to 2 days in advance and keep it in the fridge as the pie will be better if the filling is fridge-cold when added. Can also be frozen for up to 3 months and defrosted when needed.
• Make the pastry up to 2 days before you want to assemble the pie. Crumble 650g plain flour and 250g cold diced lard or butter, together with a generous pinch of sea salt until completely combined, then add up to 200ml ice-cold water to make a soft dough. This can be done in a food processor if you want.
• Knead the pastry, then wrap in cling film and leave to rest in the fridge for at least 1 hr. The pastry can be made up to 2 days ahead and kept in the fridge or frozen for up to a month.
• When you want to make the pie, heat oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7 and place a flat baking tray in the oven. Heavily grease a 24-28cm pie dish and dust well with flour.
• Cut a third off the pastry and set aside. Roll out the pastry to a thickish round that will easily line the pie dish with an overhang, then line the tin.
• Add the braising steak to the dish using a slotted spoon so some gravy is left in the container, as you don't want too much sauce in the pie. You want the filling to be slightly higher than the rim of the dish. If you have a bit too much, set it aside.
• Roll out the remaining pastry to a thick round big enough to cover the dish. Brush the edges of the pastry in the dish with 1 beaten egg yolk, then cover with the pastry lid.
• Trim the edges, crimp the pastry, then re-roll your trimmings to make a decoration, for example, pastry leaves. Brush the top heavily with egg. Make a few little slits in the centre of the pie, place on the hot baking tray.
• Bake for 40 mins until golden. Leave the pie to rest for 10 mins while you heat up the gravy left in the container. Serve the pie at the table with a jug of gravy and a big pile of greens.