Steak and Guinness Pie

With Pi day falling so close to St. Patrick's day, it seemed a shame not to make a very Irish pie for our festivities. Steak and Guinness Pie was the perfect savory main dish for the evening. It's also perfect for a potluck. The filling of the pie is essentially a Guinness beef stew, braised for about 3 hours. It can easily be made the night before and refrigerated. Then the next day, all you have to do is heat it up, and bake it before serving to your guests or bringing to a friend's house. Best of all, if you made too much filling to fit in your pie pan, it goes great with pies and rice the following day.

Steak and Guinness Pie

Ingredients

• 2 lbs chuck roast or brisket, cut into 1 inch cubes. I used brisket
• 1 onion, large dice
• 2 carrots, large dice
• 2 celery ribs, large dice
• 2 parsnips, large dice
• 8 oz mushrooms, sliced
• 4 cloves minced garlic
• 1 cup beef broth
• 1 bottle of Guinness
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp dried rosemary
• 1 lb box puff pastry, thawed
• large handful sharp cheddar cheese
• 1 beaten egg + water

Directions

1. Generously flour the meat, making sure to shake off the excess. Brown the meat in a heavy bottom saucepan with melted butter and remove from the pot. Repeat with as many patches as necessary. Use bacon grease if desired.
2. Reserve the fat, adding more butter if necessary, and sautee the onions, carrots, celery and parsnips until slightly softened. Add mushrooms, garlic and herbs. Cook for another couple minutes.
3. De-glaze the pan with the beef broth, making sure to scrape off all the delicious burnt bits. Put the beer and beef into the pot. Cover and simmer for 2 hours or until beef is fork tender. Adjust seasoning and add more beef/stock as necessary. Add the cheddar cheese to the stew when finished.
4. During the last 10 minutes of the stew, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Roll out enough puff pastry to cover the bottom of a 9 inch cast iron skillet or pie pan with some overhang. Cut a slit in the bottom to prevent it from puffing and bake 8 minutes (this will keep the bottom crust from getting soggy.)
5. Pour beef stew into the crust and top with another sheet of puff pastry. Brush the top with egg and bake for 40 minutes or until golden and puffed. Serve immediately with peas or green beans