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  3. How To Cook Luxurious Beef Featherblade Pie

How To Cook Luxurious Beef Featherblade Pie

  • 30 mins
  • 5 hours
  • easy
  • 4-6
jeff baker
Recipe by
Jeff Baker

Ingredients

  • 1 kg beef featherblade steak
  • 400 ml Stout
  • 200 ml Ruby port
  • 8 cracked black peppercorns
  • 12 juniper berries
  • pinch ground allspice
  • Dripping or oil for searing
  • 1 large brown onion diced
  • 2 large carrots, peeled & diced
  • 1 tsp. Tomato paste
  • 2 tsp. F&Co English mustard
  • 400ml beef stock
  • Salt & black pepper
  • Small bunch flat leaf parsley roughly chopped
  • Corn flour mixed with a little cold water to thicken
  • 1 batch shortcrust pastry (or 1 500g pack store-bought)
  • 1 egg yolk mixed with a splash of milk to glaze
  • Short Crust Pastry Ingredients
  • 300g all purpose plain flour
  • 100g unsalted butter (cold & diced)
  • 50g lard (cold & diced)
  • Pinch fine sea salt
  • 1 free-range egg
  • Splash ice cold water (approximately)
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Introduction

Pies are one of my all-time favourite items, whether I'm searching for a quick fix or entertaining special guests. They are so versatile from the varying fillings & styles of pastry, here we are staying quite traditional, making homemade pastry (optional) with the addition of a little luxury using ruby Port to counteract the savoury stout & aromatic spices, the result being indulgent & rich hunks of beef in a rather classy stout & Port gravy, delicious!

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 160°C or 140°C fan assisted (gas 3).
  2. In a heavy based casserole dish over a medium high heat sear the beef & vegetables until nicely browned, remove & keep to one side.
  3. Add the tomato paste, mustard, spices, stout & port & reduce by half, then pour over the stock, bring to a boil & thicken with the corn flour mix before placing the beef & vegetables back in the casserole dish.
  4. Place in the oven covered & braise for 3 hours, turning after 2 hours, basting regularly with the stock or until the beef is tender when pierced with a skewer.
  5. Remove the beef & vegetables from the stock, place on a deep serving dish & cover with foil.
  6. Reduce the stock until you reach a rich sauce like consistency, season to taste then, pull the beef using 2 forks then bind in a little reduced sauce with the chopped parsley leaving any excess to serve with the finished pie.

Method for pastry

  1. Sift the flour into a large bowl then add the salt, butter & lard.
  2. Gently rub the fats into the flour until the mix resembles fine breadcrumbs.
  3. Add the beaten egg & a little water mix together to create a dough, adding too much water or overworking will make the pastry tough.
  4. Wrap in cling film & chill for a minimum of 30 minutes or up to 2 days.

to assemble

  1. Preheat the oven to 200°C or 180°C fan assisted (gas 5).
  2. Brush a pie tin (24cm diameter) with melted butter then dust with flour
  3. Roll out ⅔ of the pastry to the thickness of a coin & line the base
  4. fill the pie with the chilled meat, brush the edges with a little egg wash then roll out the remaining pastry, make 3 small cuts in the centre & layer over the top of the pie & seal together using your thumb & index finger to form a crimp
  5. Bake for 1 hour on until the pastry is golden & crisp
  6. leave to cool for 30 minutes before reminding from the tin & serving.

To serve

Serve with thick cut Parmesan wedges & tender stem broccoli or stay more traditional with glazed carrots, mashed potatoes & extra mustard at the table.

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