Beef and black sheep ale pie
By: James Martin From: James Martin: Yorkshire's Finest
-
Beef and black sheep ale pie
- Prep time:
- 45 mins
- Cook time:
- 2 hrs 10 mins
- Serves:
- 4
James Martin's tender beef in beer with a crisp pastry crust makes a tasty treat for a family meal
Tips and suggestions
- Eat with...
- Beef in Guinness Pie
- Cooks Tips...
- Mashem, pronounced "Mass em" just off the A1 near Thirsk has two breweries', Theaksons and The Black Sheep Brewery. It was also home to one of the largest sheep markets in the country, which was held in the towns large market square. Sadly that large trade has now gone but the breweries are going strong. Run by Paul Theakson, the Black Sheep Brewery is open to the public and has a shop and bistro and offers tours around the brewery itself and is worth a visit. They produce several beers of various strengths the strongest being Riggwelter, which in old Yorkshire slang means rigged or welted which means to a farmer that one of his sheep is upside down. A few pints of this stuff and you'd be rigged but it's the best beer I have tasted in a long time!
Ingredients
- 25g Flour
- 1 pinch black pepper
- 900g stewing beef steaks, diced
- 3 tbsp Butter
- 4 slices smoked Bacon, or streaky bacon lardons
- 2 white Onions, sliced
- 2 clove Garlic, crushed
- 2 medium Carrots
- 2 sprigs Thyme, fresh
- 1 Bay leaves
- 500ml beef stock
- 150g button mushrooms
- 400ml ale, from The Black Sheep Brewery
- 300g Puff pastry, ready made and rolled
- 1 Eggs, beaten
Method
1. Set the oven to 200°C/gas 6.
2. Season the flour with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Add the meat and toss to coat.
3. Heat the butter in a large casserole and fry the bacon until crisp. Remove from the pan and then fry the beef until golden.
4. Add the bacon, vegetables, herbs, stock and beer and bring to a simmer on the stove.
5. At this point, cover with a lid or some kitchen foil and place in the oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes (alternatively cook on the hob for 1 hour and 30 minutes).
6. Once cooked, season the stew and spoon into an ovenproof pie dish. Brush the edge of the dish with beaten egg and top with the puff pastry. Pinch the pastry to the edges of the dish so that the pastry will stick to it and trim off any remaining pieces of the pastry from around the edge. Cut the trimmings out to resemble leaves and add them to the top of the pie.
7. Brush the top generously with the remaining egg and place on a baking tray. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until the pastry is golden brown on the top. A baking tray placed underneath the dish will prevent the mixture bubbling over and making a mess on the bottom of the oven.









Comments & Ratings
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Latest Comment
View all comments (9)actually gave it 5 stars but for some reason only one showed up, definately a 5 star recipe
This recipe is brilliant! Easy to make and absolutely delicious, the whole family love it...even my fussy daughter.Have made this twice with the Black Sheep ale but couldnt get it this time so substituted with Guinness, heaven.
I substituted the mushrooms for some other veg but still, this recipe works a treat.
Always a hit...My partner has been begging for the past 6 MONTHS for me to make it again, and so have my parents!
Although I'm not a meat eater (James would be mortified!) I can garantee that when I've made this recipe and served it up there is nothing left on the plates! It's also an easy recipe to improvise with.
There's a step missing here - before adding the stock you need to fry and caramelise the onions and then fry the garlic.
Garlic is listed in the ingredients but not the recipe and having just watched this on TV that's what James did!
the best steak and ale pie I've ever tasted. Used leffe bruin beer to give it a more belgian taste
i'm attempting this ale pie and my fingers are crossed because i was unable to buy Black Sheep Ale so i used something else instead. Wish me luck!
I watched this on TV and it looked fab, but what happened to the onions in this recipe