Beef and Guinness Pot Pies

When you live with an Irish man, there is no escaping St-Patrick’s Day! This has been my go-to recipe for every St-Pats since I’ve known Jamie. This recipe reunites everything he loves: beer, beef and stew… and not just any beer, but his favorite, Guinness. No need to tell you that it’s always a big success, the only drawback he would say is that I only make it once a year! Well, it needs to remain special, right?

You always get big wows when you serve these little pots of heart-warming beef stew topped with golden brown puff pastry. The stew by itself is truly special, thanks to the addition of brined green peppercorns. These green peppercorns with hints of fruits and anise bring complexity and a mild piquancy that pairs perfectly with the Guinness. I strongly suggest that you get Madagascar green peppercorns instead of the bland jarred version that you can find more easily in the grocery stores. You can find the Madagascar ones in some grocery stores or in specialty stores.

Make the stew in advance for a stress-free night entertaining guests. The only thing you have to do is assemble the pies! This will give you lots of time to enjoy the company of your guests–and the remaining Guinnesses!

Beef and Guinness Pie

 

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Prep time

30 mins

Cook time

90 mins

Total time

2 hours

 

I have doubled the sauce in this recipe, I find that once cooked with the pastry, the original recipe was quite dry. I recommend using the condensed canned beef broth, not the ready-to-serve already diluted version that you find in Tetra packs and that are more suited for soups. Special equipment: 4 (14-ounce) deep bowls or ramekins (4 to 5 inch wide) OVENPROOF.

Author: Adapated from Gourmet

Serves: 4 portions

Ingredients

• 2 pounds boneless beef chunks, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. salt
• ½ tsp. black pepper
• 2 tbsp. vegetable oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 3 tbsp. water
• 1½ tbsp. tomato paste
• 2 cups beef broth
• 2 cups Guinness beer
• 2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 4 tsp. drained brined green peppercorn from Madagascar, coarsely chopped
• 2 fresh thyme sprigs
• 1 package pastry dough
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1 tbsp. water

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Pat beef dry and put into a large Ziploc bag with the flour, salt and pepper. Shake well.
3. Heat the vegetable oil in a 5-to 6-quart ovenproof heavy pot over medium-high heat.
4. Brown beef in batches, turning occasionally, about 5 minutes per batch. Don't overcrowd the pot or the pieces won't brown and you want a nice coloration. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
5. Add onions, garlic and water to the pot. Scrape any brown bit from the bottom of the pot and cook until the onions are tender, about 5 minutes.
6. Add tomato paste and stir for about 1 minute.
7. Add the broth, Guinness, Worcestershire sauce, green peppercorn and thym sprigs.
8. Bring to a simmer and transfer to the oven.
9. Braise for 75 to 90 minutes or until beef is very tender.
10. Take it out of the oven, remove the thyme sprigs and cool uncovered for at least 30 minutes (you don't want the stew to be warm when you assemble the pot pies, if so the pastry will melt).
11. Laddle stew into four ovenproof bowls.
12. Roll out pastry dough on a lightly floured surface into a 13-inch square, about ⅛ inch and cut into 4 squares.
13. Stir the egg with the water and brush a 1-inch border of egg wash around each square.
14. Invert 1 square over each bowls and press sides to help adhere.
15. Brush each pastry tops with the rest of the egg wash and transfer to the freezer for 15 minutes to chill the pastry.
16. Set your oven to 425 F.
17. Bake pies in the oven for 20 minutes until golden brown and puffed and reduce oven to 400 F and cook 5 minutes more.

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