Steak and Ale Pie

Ingredients

• 1kg beef chuck, cut into 4cm cubes
• 500ml dark English ale or stout
• 500ml beef stock
• 2 large onions, sliced
• 2 carrots, cut into 2cm chunks
• 250g chestnut mushrooms, halved
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• 3 tbsp plain flour, plus extra for dusting
• 2 tbsp tomato puree
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 2 bay leaves
• 3 sprigs thyme
• 1 tsp English mustard
• 3 tbsp beef dripping or vegetable oil
• 375g shortcrust pastry
• 375g all-butter puff pastry
• 1 egg, beaten
• Salt and black pepper

Before you cook

• Pat the beef cubes dry and toss them with the flour, a teaspoon of salt and plenty of black pepper.
• Slice the onions, chop the carrots and halve the mushrooms.
• Crush the garlic.
• Take both pastries out of the fridge twenty minutes before rolling.

Steps

1. Heat one tablespoon of dripping in a large casserole over high heat until it shimmers.
2. Brown the beef in three separate batches, giving each batch four to five minutes and turning the pieces so they colour on all sides.
3. Move each finished batch to a bowl and add more dripping to the pan as needed.
4. Reduce the heat to medium, add the onions and carrots and cook for eight minutes until the onions soften and pick up colour.
5. Add the mushrooms and cook for five minutes until they release their liquid and it evaporates.
6. Stir in the garlic and tomato puree and cook for two minutes.
7. Pour in the ale and scrape the base of the pan thoroughly to release everything stuck there.
8. Let the ale bubble hard for five minutes to boil off its raw bitterness.
9. Return the beef and any juices to the pan with the stock, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, bay leaves and thyme.
10. Bring to a gentle simmer, cover with a lid set slightly ajar and cook on the lowest heat for two hours.
11. Test a cube of beef: it should collapse under light pressure from a spoon. If it resists, cook for another thirty minutes.
12. Remove the lid and simmer for fifteen minutes more until the gravy coats the back of a spoon thickly.
13. Fish out the bay leaves and thyme stalks, taste for salt and pepper, then leave the filling to cool completely.
14. Heat the oven to 190C fan and put a baking sheet on the middle shelf.
15. Roll the shortcrust on a floured surface to 4mm thick and line a 24cm pie dish with it, pressing it into the corners.
16. Trim the overhang to 1cm and prick the base all over with a fork.
17. Line the pastry with baking paper, fill it with baking beans and blind bake on the hot sheet for fifteen minutes.
18. Lift out the paper and beans and bake the case for five minutes more until the base looks dry and sandy.
19. Spoon the cold filling into the case and level the top.
20. Roll the puff pastry to 5mm thick and lay it over the dish.
21. Press the two pastry edges together, trim the excess and crimp the rim firmly with your thumb and forefinger.
22. Cut a 2cm cross in the centre of the lid to let steam escape.
23. Brush the whole lid with beaten egg.
24. Bake the pie on the hot sheet for thirty-five to forty minutes until the top is puffed and deep golden.
25. Rest the pie for ten minutes before cutting.