PUB POT PIES

One of my favourite things to make and work with is pastry.

There are some many different pastry’s to choose from and loads of ways to use it. These little, but extremely satisfying pies are a great way of using rough puff pastry.

These aren’t that difficult to make, but do take some time, however the end result is well worth the wait.You can use any filling you may like, but these ones are beef and ale.

You need to start by making the filling as this is the longest part especially as you want your meat to melt in the mouth.

Ingredients:

1Kg Shin of beef
100g Plain Flour
1 Onion
500ml of dark ale (we used Theaksons Old Peculiar)
250ml Rich Beef Stock
  

I prefer shin as it has a little fat running though it and when it’s cooked slowly it melts down and gives the beef a delicious softness.

1. Chop the beef into chunks of your choice - don’t make them too small as you want nice size pieces in your pie.
2. Put a large deep casserole dish on the hob and soften the onion in butter until translucent, meanwhile in a large bowl or plate season your flour and toss your beef in it. Once nicely coated turn up the heat on the hob and brown your beef - you may need to do this is batches. Once nicely browned add the whole bottle of beer and stir, then add half of your stock and give it a good mix.
3. Once nicely combined pop a lid on the casserole dish and cook on the bottom shelf in the oven on a low heat of 140c fan.
4. I like to cook mine for around 3 to 4 hours, checking regularly and adding more stock if your gravy looks to thick. (You may not need any more) and remember to keep tasting and seasoning as you go along.
5. Once your filling is cooked you need to cool it down, adding a pastry lid to a hot filling will leave you with a soggy layer of pastry as the steam from the filling will stop the pastry from rising and crisping up.
6. Once cold choose your pots and fill with the beef mixture. You can fill them quite full as I think they look more rustic when a little gravy spills out. 

Tip: I like to lay a thick slice of Stilton on top of the beef, so it melts down when cooked.

Pastry:

250g Plain Flour
125g Salted Butter (frozen)
Pinch of salt
7 - 10 tablespoons of ice cold water

This method for making the pastry doesn't involve the old folding technic which can be somewhat laborious, but if you follow this correctly you'll still achieve a lovely crisp rise. 

1. In a large mixing bowl add the flour and salt and mix together.
2. Remove your butter from the freezer and grate into the flour mix, then stir with a knife. The butter must be frozen hard as this will give you a better rise for your pastry. So don't mess about with it so it heats up.
3. Start adding the water to the pastry, carefully at first as you may not need all the water.
4. Using your hand, start to bring the pastry together, once you have a nice firm ball - not crumbly and not wet - remove and quickly wrap in cling film and pop back in the fridge to chill it back down, it will need at least an hour. 
5. When you're ready to use it, roll the pastry out on a floured surface to the size you require, remembering to leave an overhang, that can either be trimmed off or scrunched up dependant on how you want your pies to look.
6. Egg wash the edges of your pots and lift the pastry on top, pressing down gently to seal. Poke a couple of steam holes in the top and place on a baking tray and into a preheated oven 180c fan /200c Gas 6 for around 25 minutes. 

Enjoy with chips and peas or creamy mash and veg.

Tip: You can keep the pastry in the fridge for 2-3 days or you can freeze it for around 1 month.