Family Meat Pie
A classic hearty dish filled with tender beef, flavorful vegetables, and rich sauce, enveloped in a flaky pastry crust, perfect for family gatherings.
Ingredients
Meat and Stock Ingredients
- 800 g 800g chuck beef (cut into 3.5cm cubes) Tender beef cut into cubes for cooking.
- 330 ml 330ml Guinness Adds deep flavor to the filling.
- 2 cups 2 cups beef stock Homemade or low sodium store-bought stock.
- 1 cup 1 cup water
Vegetable Ingredients
- 200 g 200g mushrooms (small, halved)
- 125 g 125g streaky bacon (cut into cubes)
- 1 1 onion (cut into cubes) Cut into 2cm cubes.
- 2 cloves 2 garlic cloves (minced)
- 1 1 celery (cut into slices) Cut into 1cm slices.
- 1 1 carrot (halved, sliced) Halved and cut into 1cm slices.
Miscellaneous
- 3/4 tsp 3/4 tsp salt For seasoning throughout the recipe.
- 1/2 tsp 1/2 tsp pepper Freshly ground for better flavor.
- 2 tbsp 2 tbsp olive oil Additional as needed for cooking.
- 30 g 30g unsalted butter For cooking mushrooms.
- 4 tbsp 4 tbsp flour For thickening the sauce.
- 60 g 60g unsalted butter (softened) For sauce thickening.
- 1 quantity 1 quantity shortcrust pastry For the pie base.
- 1 sheet 1 sheet puff pastry (for lid)
- 1 egg 1 egg (lightly whisked) For brushing the pie.
- Ketchup or Aussie Tomato Sauce For serving.
Instructions
Preparation
- Preheat the oven to 180°C / 350°F (160°C fan).
- Sprinkle beef with salt and pepper, then heat oil in a pot and brown the beef in batches. Remove beef into a bowl.
- Clean the pot if necessary. Add bacon and cook until golden, then remove into the bowl with beef.
- Melt butter in the pot and cook mushrooms until golden. Set aside.
- Add onion, garlic, carrot, and celery. Cook until the onion is soft and sweet, adding oil if needed.
- Return beef and bacon to the pot, add Guinness, water, stock, salt, and pepper. Stir and bring to a simmer. Cover and transfer to the oven for 1 hour.
- After 1 hour, add mushrooms and cook for another hour. The meat should be tender.
Thicken Sauce and Cool
- Remove the pot from the oven and simmer uncovered for 20 minutes to reduce the sauce.
- Mix together butter and flour until smooth (this is called Beurre Manié).
- Stir the mixture into the sauce, cooking until thicker.
- Let it cool completely, preferably overnight.
Assemble and Bake
- Prepare the shortcrust pastry in a 23cm pie dish and let it cool.
- Preheat the oven to 200°C / 390°F (180°C fan).
- Fill the pie with the cooled filling, packing it nicely.
- Add the puff pastry lid, trimming the edges, and crimp to seal.
- Brush the top with egg and make a small incision to let steam escape.
- Bake for 45–50 minutes until golden. Let it rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Notes
Make sure to brown the meat well for deeper flavors. Let the filling cool completely before assembling to keep the crust crisp. Feel free to add more vegetables or substitute with what you have on hand.