How to make the perfect beef pie, according to Marcus Wareing
The Michelin-starred chef gives us his favourite recipe in honour of British Pie Week
Words: Zoe Dickens
There a few greater comfort foods than a great pie. A Sunday roast perhaps. Maybe even an enormous bowl of pasta. But, after a long walk with rain lashing the windows outside – as so many of our weekends have been spent lately – there are few things more welcome than the crisp pastry and a deep, rich filling.
So, as this week happens to be British Pie Week, it felt remiss of us not to turn to one of the UK’s greatest chefs and ask for his expertise on the matter. And, as a man after our traditional culinary hearts, Marcus Wareing chose beef as a his pie filling of choice. Slow cooked with the classic onions and ale and given a modern update with the addition of chorizo, here’s how to make Marcus Wareing’s signature beef pie.
Serves: 4-6, Preparation time: 40 minutes, Cooking time: around 3 hours 30 minutes
Ingredients, 4 tbsp vegetable oil, 4 tbsp plain flour, 1½ tsp table salt, Freshly ground black pepper, 800g braising steak, cut into 2cm chunks, 200g small shallots, peeled, 2 tbsp tomato purée, 2 garlic cloves, grated, ¼ bunch of thyme, tied together with string, 2 bay leaves, 150g cooking chorizo, skin removed and sausagemeat diced into 1cm chunks, 200ml ale, 600ml beef stock, 1 tsp sweet smoked paprika, 1 x 320g sheet ready-rolled all-butter puff pastry, 2 tbsp finely chopped flat-leaf parsley, 2 tbsp finely chopped coriander, 2 egg yolks, beaten
Method, 1. Preheat the oven to 160°C/140°C fan/gas 3., 2. Heat 2 tablespoons of the vegetable oil in a large, ovenproof casserole dish over high heat., 3. Mix the flour, 1 teaspoon of the salt and a pinch of black pepper together, then toss the steak in the flour and shake off any excess. When the oil is hot, add a batch of steak and fry until well browned. Remove the steak and set it aside, brown the remaining beef, then remove it and set it aside with the rest., 4. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil to the casserole over medium-high heat, add the shallots and remaining ½ teaspoon of the salt and fry until golden, then add the tomato purée, garlic, thyme and bay leaves and cook for a further 3 minutes. Add the chorizo and cook for a further 3 minutes. Add the ale to the pan and bring to a simmer, scraping the bottom of the dish with a wooden spoon to maximise flavour. When the alcohol has reduced to a syrup, add the beef stock and paprika. Simmer over medium-high heat for 15 minutes to reduce the liquid then return the beef to the pan. Stir well, cover and place in the oven for 2 hours., 5. Meanwhile, roll out the puff pastry to fit a pie dish around 24cm in diameter, with 1cm overhang. Place back in fridge on a baking sheet for 30 minutes to rest., 6. Remove the casserole from the oven and increase the oven temperature to 200°C/180°C fan/gas 6. Remove the thyme and bay leaves from the dish then gently stir in the chopped parsley and coriander. Spoon the casserole mixture into the pie dish., 7. Brush the edges of the chilled puff pastry with the egg yolk and cover the pie dish, pressing the pastry into the edge of the pie dish to seal. Cut a hole in the centre of the pastry then brush all over with egg yolk. Place the pie back in the oven for 25-30 minutes until the pastry is a deep golden colour.
Want more cooking tips? Here’s how to make the perfect roast lamb…
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