Steak And Kidney Pie I Food

THE CLASSIC STEAK AND KIDNEY PIE

Steps:

• Heat a large frying pan with a little of the dripping or oil. Season the diced beef with salt and pepper. Fry in the pan until well coloured and completely sealed. Life out the meat and transfer to a large saucepan. Add a touch more oil, if necessary, to the frying pan. Season the kidneys and also fry quickly to seal and colour in the hot pan. Also transfer to the saucepan.
• Melt a knob of butter in the pan and cook the onions and carrots in the melted butter for 2 - 3 minutes. They will lift any flavours left from the meats. Put into the saucepan with the meat. Fry the mushroom slices in a little more butter, just turning in the pan for a minute or two; keep to one side.
• Place the saucepan on medium heat, stirring in the flour, and allow it to cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the tomato puree, bay leaf and mushrooms. Pour in the stock and bring to a simmer, skimming off any impurities. The meat should just be covered with the stock; if not, top with a little more stock or water. Simmer gently, partially covered, for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. During the cooking time it may need to be skimmed several times.
• After 1 1/2 hours, check the meat for tenderness. If not quite soft enough, cook for the additional 30 minutes. If the meat is cooking gently, it will not need to be topped up with any additional stock or water. The sauce will have reduced, thickening it's consistency and increasing it's flavour.
• Taste for seasoning, adding a dash or two of Worcestershire Sauce to the mixture. Transfer to a 2 pint pie dish and allow to cool to lukewarm.
• Preheat the oven to 220°C/425°F.
• Roll the pastry 1/4-inch thick. Cut a strip of pastry to sit around the rim of the dish. This will help the top to stay on. Brush the rim of the pie dish with some beaten egg and apply the strip. Brush again with egg. Making sure the pastry top is bigger than the dish, sit it on top. Push down around the sides, trim and crimp for a neat finish. Brush completely with egg wash and place in the preheated oven. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes until golden brown.

A GOOD STEAK & KIDNEY PIE

Steps:

• It's important to cook the meat a day ahead, so that you can discard any fat that has risen to the top, and so that the pastry doesn't slump in the face of a too-warm filling, so up to 48 hours ahead -make the pastry. Whizz the flour and a pinch of fine sea salt together for a few seconds in a food processor, then add the butter and whizz until the mixture looks like coarse breadcrumbs. Whisk together the egg yolk and 3 tbsp water and whizz with the pastry until it collects in a ball. Wrap in cling film and leave it to rest in the fridge for at least one hour.
• Cut button-mushroom-sized lobes of kidney from the white central core (discarding). Cut the beef into bite-sized cubes and cut the mushrooms into chunks.
• Heat 1 tbsp of the oil in a large, heavy frying pan over a medium-high heat. Throw in the kidney and fry until lightly coloured. Tip into a colander to drain.
• Wipe out the frying pan and return it to a low-medium heat, adding 25g/1oz of the butter and 1 tbsp oil. Tip in the onion and fry for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft and slightly golden. Transfer to a large casserole, using a slotted spoon.
• Preheat the oven to 160C/gas 3/fan 140C. Tip the 85g/3oz flour into a large plastic bag, and season it generously. Throw in the beef and shake until lightly floured.Return the frying pan to a mediumhigh heat, adding a little more oil and butter if needed. Shake off any excess flour (reserving it) then fry the beef in batches until golden-brown. As each batch is done, transfer it to the casserole.
• Adding more oil and butter to the frying pan if necessary, fry the mushrooms for about 2 minutes until starting to wilt, then add them to the casserole with the drained kidneys, hot water, bouillon powder and bay leaf, plus the excess flour in the bag if you like a thick gravy. Stir well, cover and cook in the oven for 75-90 minutes until the meat is tender and the sauce is thick. Cool thoroughly, then put in the fridge (preferably overnight) so any fat will solidify - it can then be skimmed off and discarded.
• In the morning - return the pastry to cool room temperature, then roll it out thinly on a wellfloured surface. Invert a 28-30x23cm, 6.5cm deep pie dish on to the pastry. Mentally add an extra 1cm all round, then use the dish as a guide to cut out the pastry lid. From the remnants, cut out enough 6cm-wide strips of pastry to go round the dish - they should cover the flat rim and about halfway down the insides.
• Lightly butter the rim of the dish and line it with the strip(s) of pastry, sealing any joins with a little dab of water. Butter the shoulders of a pie raiser or an upturned egg cup and stand it in the middle. Spoon in the meat mixture to come level with the top of the dish. Don't overfill: reserve any excess gravy to serve hot with the pie.
• Brush the pastry rim with a little water, then drape the pastry lid over it, pinching the edges to seal. Cover with cling film and keep in the fridge if not baking immediately.
• Finally, an hour before serving - preheat the oven to 200C/gas 6/fan 180C. Make four slashes in the lid of the pie, then brush with the egg wash. Bake for 35-45 minutes until the pastry is golden brown, turning the heat down 10-20° after about 20 minutes. Remove the pie from the oven and leave it to rest for around 10 minutes before cutting into it.

STEAK AND KIDNEY PIE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 220C/425F/Gas 7
• Heat the vegetable oil in a large frying pan, and brown the beef all over. (You may need to do this in batches.) Set aside, then brown the kidneys on both sides in the same pan. Add the onions and cook for 3-4 minutes.
• Return the beef to the pan, sprinkle flour over and coat the meat and onions
• Add the stock to the pan, stir well and bring to the boil.
• Turn the heat down and simmer for 1½ hours without a lid. If the liquid evaporates too much, add more stock.
• Remove from the heat. Add salt, pepper and Worcestershire sauce and allow to cool completely. Place the cooked meat mixture into a pie dish.
• Roll out the pastry to 5mm/¼in thick and 5cm/2in larger than the dish you are using.
• Using a rolling pin, lift the pastry and place it over the top of the pie dish. Trim and crimp the edges with your fingers and thumb.
• Brush the surface with the beaten egg mixture and bake for 30-40 minutes until golden-brown and puffed.
• Serve with creamy mash and steamed vegetables to soak up the gravy.

STEAK AND KIDNEY PIE

Steps:

• Prepare the pastry: In a large bowl, combine flour with butter and salt. Mix lightly with your fingertips until butter forms peasized pieces. Whisk together egg and 1 tablespoon of the water. Add to flour mixture all at once, mixing gently with your fingertips. You should be able to see chunks of fat, and the pastry should be moist enough to begin to stick together. If the pastry is too dry, add up to 2 more tablespoons of water.
• Turn the pastry out onto a lightly floured work surface, dust with flour, and knead it until the pastry is smooth, about 3 to 4 times. Transfer to a plastic bag and form pastry into a disk. Refrigerate a minimum of 30 minutes, or as long as 3 days.
• Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a casserole or Dutch oven. Add the steak and kidneys, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring, until just browned, about 3 minutes. Remove to a plate and reserve. Add 1 more tablespoon of oil to casserole, and add mushroom quarters. Cook over high heat, stirring, until light brown. Reserve on plate with meat. Add the remaining oil to the casserole, and add onions. Cook until well browned, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over the onions and stir so that the juices soak up the flour. Cook, stirring constantly, about 1 to 2 minutes.
• Stir the Worcestershire sauce into the hot water, and pour over the hot onion mixture while whisking. Add the reserved meats and mushrooms, and any juices that have collected, and season with salt and pepper. Reduce the heat to low and simmer 3 to 4 minutes or until slightly thickened.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Roll out the pastry to a thickness of 1/4inch. Fill a 9inch pie dish with the steak and kidney mixture. Dampen the edges of the dish with water, then fit the pastry on top, pressing it down well all around the edge to seal. Make a steam hole in the center, brush the top with milk and sprinkle with sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper. Bake for 25 minutes, or until pastry is golden.

MUM'S STEAK AND KIDNEY PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 190c/fan 170c/gas 5. Put onion, steak and kidneys into a large casserole dish. Pour over boiling water until meat is completely covered (this will seal the meat). Crumble the stock cubes into the dish and stir well. Place in the pre-heated oven for 2 hours.
• 20 minutes before the end of the two hours, remove the dish from the oven and sprinkle the gravy granules into the mixture, until the mixture is thickened to your liking. Stir, then return to oven for the final 20 minutes.
• While the meat is finishing, cut the block of pastry in half. Take the first half, and roll out on a floured surface to about 5mm (this can be adapted to your liking, but make sure there is enough to line your pie dish with some excess). Using a 9-inch pie dish, line the bottom with the pastry, making sure there are no gaps between the tin and pastry, and the pastry is pressed firmly against the sides of the tin. Take the second half of the pastry, and roll out on your floured surface, to roughly the same thickness, ensuring it will cover the top of the pie with some excess.
• Remove the meat from the oven, and use a slotted spoon to transfer all the meat to the pie. Add leftover gravy, you can use however much you like but be careful not to use too much as it will boil. Dampen the crust of the pastry with milk or water, then place the lid on top, pressing firmly all round the edges to seal. Trim off the excess pastry, using a sharp knife or kitchen scissors. if you like, you can take a fork, and, using the back, make a pattern round the edge of the pie- as well as being decorative, this will help seal it.
• Place the pie in the still-hot oven for 20 minutes, or until golden brown. If you like, you can strain any remaining gravy and serve it with the pie.

ENGLISH STEAK AND KIDNEY PIE

Steps:

• Remove skin and coarse parts from kidneys if not already done.
• Wash in salted water.
• Mix 1 cup flour with salt and pepper to taste in a plastic bag.
• Cut kidneys into one-inch squares and place in bag with flour. Seal well and shake to dredge.
• Remove kidney and pound remaining seasoned flour into 3/4 lb. of round steak.
• Cut the round steak into one-inch pieces.
• heat oil in heavy skillet and brown beef cubes on all sides.
• Add onion and kidneys, cooking slowly until brown.
• Cover meat with hot water, add bay leaf, parsley and celery or celery tops.
• Cover tightly and simmer for 1 hour.
• Remove meat to deep baking dish.
• Add mushrooms and carrots.
• Mix 2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoons flour with 1/2 cup cold water and add to skillet to thicken juices.
• Pour over the meat and vegetables and top with pastry crust.
• Bake in preheated 350F for 1 hour. Cover when pastry is golden to prevent over-browning.

STEAK AND KIDNEY PIE

Steps:

• Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a heavy-based saucepan and fry the onion over a medium heat until soft and just beginning to colour.
• Remove from the pan and set to one side.
• Add the salt and pepper to the flour and mix around to completely combine
• Place the steak in the flour and make sure all the meat is well coated in flour.
• Add the rest of the oil to the pan.
• Remove any excess flour from the meat by tapping two pieces together and place in the pan of hot oil to brown off on all sides, you may have to do this step in batches
• Remove the meat and set to one side.
• Toss the prepared kidneys in the same pan until browned off then remove these and set to one side
• Now you can brown off the mushrooms and return the steak, kidney and onion to the pan.
• Stir in any flout that is left from covering the meat and let it cook out for a minute or two keeping the mix agitated so as not to catch on the bottom of the pan.
• Gradually pour in the stock and add a few drops of Worcestershire sauce and the bay leaf.
• Stir well and bring up to a simmer.
• Cover and cook on a low heat for 1½ to 2 hours until the meat is tender and the sauce has thickened.
• You can check the seasoning here and add more if needed and remove the bay leaf
• Transfer the filling to your pie dish and leave to cool completely.
• While the meat is cooling make up the pastry

THE ULTIMATE STEAK AND KIDNEY PIE

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Add the steak, kidney, flour, salt, and pepper to a large bowl. Toss until well coated.
• In a large Dutch oven or other heavy-duty pot, heat the 2 tablespoons butter and 1 tablespoon oil on medium-high heat.
• When the butter melts, add the meat to the pan, in batches if necessary. Cook until golden brown, 5 to 7 minutes per batch. Refresh the butter and oil in the pan between batches as needed. Remove the meat to a plate as it becomes done. Set aside.
• If the pan is dry, refresh with 1 tablespoon oil. Add the onions and carrots. Cook until they begin to soften, about 5 minutes.
• Return the meat to the pan with any accumulated juices from the plate. Add the stock and stir to combine.
• Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer until the meat is tender and the sauce has thickened, about 1 1/2 hours. Remove the cover and continue to cook to thicken the sauce, stirring frequently, 30 minutes more.
• Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper to taste. Remove from the heat, place into a 6-cup deep pie dish, and let cool completely.
• Gather the ingredients.
• Put the flour, salt, and butter in a large bowl.
• Rub the butter into the flour with your fingers until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs, working as quickly as possible to prevent the dough from becoming warm.
• Add 2 tablespoons of water to the mixture. Using a cold knife, stir until the dough binds together. Add more water, a teaspoon at a time if the dough is too dry.
• Form the dough into a disk, wrap, and chill for about 30 minutes.
• Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat to 400 F. Roll out the pastry to 1/8-inch thick and wide enough to cover the pie dish.
• Cut a tiny hole in the center to slip over a steam funnel if using. Alternatively, cut 3 to 4 (1-inch) slits in the center of the dough to vent the filling while baking.
• Brush the rim of the pie dish with water and place a pie funnel in the center of the filling, if using.
• Place the pastry over the dish and funnel (if using), pressing it down, trimming to fit the rim of the dish.
• Crimp the edges of the dough using your thumb and first finger.
• Beat the egg with 1 tablespoon of water. Brush the top of the pie with the egg wash.
• Bake until the pastry is crisp and golden, about 40 minutes.
• Serve immediately.