4 Steak & Creamy Peppercorn Sauce Pies
How to make 4 unbelievably delicious steak and creamy peppercorn sauce pies, easy step by step instructions, from start to finish.
Ingredients
Method
- The Pie filling:
- 500g / 18oz Lean Stewing Beef (diced)
- 300mls Beef stock
- 1 Onion, (medium size, diced)
- 45g / 3tbls Cooking oil (split into 2)
- 2 Bay leaves
- 15g / 1½tbls Corn flour in 20mls cold water
- The hot water crust pastry:
- 500g / 18oz Plain or All-purpose Flour
- 215g / mls Water
- 115g / 4oz Butter
- 125g / 4½ oz Lard or a solid vegetable fat
- 8g / 1tsp Salt
- 1 Large Egg (Egg-wash)
- The Peppercorn Sauce:
- 1 Large banana Shallot (diced small)
- 2 Garlic cloves (diced small)
- 30g / 1oz Butter
- 8g / 1tbls Black Peppercorns freshly ground
- 75g / mls Red wine
- 200g / mls Beef stock
- 125mls double/heavy Cream
- 6g / 1tsp English or French Mustard
- Making the hot water crust pastry:
- Mix the salt and flour together
- Place the water on a low heat, add the butter and lard to the pan, bring to a simmer.
- Soon as the fats have melted, pour the hot liquid onto the flour in the bowl, and bring it all together.
- Tip the contents of the bowl out onto a non-floured surface.
- Gently knead the dough until it all comes together.
- Cut the pastry onto 3 equal pieces.
- Cover in plastic wrap or food bags, and place in the fridge for at least 1 hour before using.
- Making the Pie Filling:
- Heat up half of the oil into a medium size saucepan, once hot, fry off the onions until soft.
- Meanwhile: fry off your meat in a wok or frying pan, until slightly browned, this should take approx, 5 minutes.
- Add the meat to the now softened onions in the saucepan and mix together.
- Add the beef stock to the pan, then add 2 bay leaves and salt to taste.
- Cover the pan, and bring to a low simmer, cook for at least 1 hour until the meat is very tender.
- After 1 hour your beef should be nice and tender.
- You can now thicken the filling with the corn flour and water.
- Once thickened, turn off the heat, cover the pan, and allow it to completely cool, best made the day before and kept in the fridge overnight.
- Making the peppercorn sauce:
- Melt the butter in a frying pan on a medium heat, once foamy add the shallots, garlic, add the freshly ground black pepper, turn down the heat to low, and cook slowly for 10 minutes, stirring at regular intervals.
- Turn up the heat to medium again and add pour in the red wine, bring to a steady boil, and reduce the wine by half.
- Once reduced add the mustard, and mix it in.
- Now add the beef stock, bring back to a slow boil, and reduce by half again.
- Now add the cream, cook for 1 minute, it should be quite thick by now.
- Pour into a container and set it aside to cool.
- Putting the pies together:
- Grease four 12.5 cm / 5in non-stick individual pie tins.
- Roll out your pastry to approx, 3mm / 1/8in, thick, and cut out 4, 16.5cm / 6½in circles for the bases of the pies, and 4, 12.5cm / 5n circles for the lids of the pies.
- Place the pastry bases in the pie tins, using a small piece of waste pastry, gently press the pastry right down into the corners, make sure to leave some pastry sticking over the rim of the pie tin.
- Prick a few holes in the bottom of the pastry cases using a fork, this is called docking the pastry, it prevents the pastry base from bubbling up when cooking in the oven.
- Add the now cold meat filling to each of the pastry cases, about three quarters the way up of the pie tin.
- Add 1 or 2 dessert spoons of the peppercorn sauce on the top of the steak filling, the filling does expand some in the oven, so do not over fill the cases.
- At this point, preheat your oven to, 160°C / 320°F / Gas mark 3.
- Brush egg wash all around the edge of the pastry in the tin, and some around the edge of the pie lid.
- Place the lid on the top of the pie base, and gently press it down, using your thumbs and forefingers crimp the 2 pastries together, try not to get egg wash between the pastry, and the tin, as this will stick when baking.
- Trim any excess pastry around the edge of the tins with a small dull knife, tidy up the crimping.
- Place all 4 pies on a baking tray.
- Cut 2 or 3 vent slits in the top of each pie.
- Give each pie a good coat of the egg wash.
- Place the tray on the lowest part of the preheated oven, and use the bottom element in your oven if you have one, if you don’t have separate elements in your oven, bake these in the middle of the oven.
- Now set your timer for 45 minutes.
- Remove from the oven, and place the 4 tins on a wire rack, allow them to settle and cool for 10 minutes.
- While they are still hot, carefully remove each pie from their tin, serve piping hot with mashed potatoes or chips/fries, peas and extra pepper sauce, as there should be plenty left from the recipe.
- Enjoy.
Equipment & products used in my kitchen and videos
4 stainless-steel non-stick 10cm / 4″ Crumpet Rings
