Steak and Kidney Pie

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Large heavy-bottomed casserole with lid
• •1.5-litre oval or round pie dish
• •Rolling pin
• •Pastry brush
• •Pie funnel or upturned egg cup

Instructions

1. 1

   Brown the meat

   Toss the beef and kidney pieces in the seasoned flour, shaking off the excess. Get a large, heavy casserole hot over a high flame. Add the butter and oil together. When the butter foams and the foam subsides, lay the meat in the pan in a single layer, working in batches so nothing steams. You want a proper, dark crust on each piece. Two to three minutes a side, turning once. Don't fiddle with it. The colour is flavour. Lift the browned meat onto a plate and carry on until it's all done.

   The kidney will smell strong when it hits the hot pan. This is normal and right. That mineral, iron note is what gives the pie its depth. It mellows entirely during the braise.
2. 2

   Soften the onions

   Turn the heat down to medium. Add the sliced onions to the same pan with all its stuck-on bits. A pinch of salt. Stir them through the residual fat and let them cook for eight to ten minutes, stirring now and then, until they've gone soft and golden and the bottom of the pan is starting to look like something worth keeping. If they catch a little, that's fine. Colour is your friend here.

3. 3

   Add the mushrooms

   Turn the heat back up and add the quartered mushrooms. Let them sit without stirring for a couple of minutes so they colour on the cut side, then toss them through the onions. They'll drink up any remaining fat and turn golden at the edges. When they smell earthy and look like they've given up their moisture, you're ready for the next step.

4. 4

   Deglaze with stout

   Pour in the stout. It will hiss and bubble and lift all the dark, caramelised bits from the bottom of the pan. Stir well, scraping with a wooden spoon. Let the stout reduce by about half. The kitchen will smell of malt and roasted grain and something very close to a pub on a cold night. This is where the gravy begins.

5. 5

   Braise low and slow

   Return the browned meat to the pan. Pour in the stock and add the Worcestershire sauce, bay leaves, and thyme sprigs. The liquid should come about two-thirds of the way up the meat, not covering it completely. Bring to a bare simmer, then put the lid on and transfer to an oven set at 160C/140C fan. Leave it alone for two hours. Check it once at the halfway mark: the liquid should be barely trembling, not bubbling. When the beef yields to a fork with no resistance at all, it's done. Take the lid off, fish out the bay leaves and thyme stalks, and taste the gravy. Season it properly. It should be rich, dark, savoury, the kind of gravy you'd eat with a spoon if nobody was watching. If it's thin, set the pan on the hob and simmer uncovered for ten minutes to concentrate it. Let the filling cool completely.

   The filling is better made a day ahead. It thickens as it cools, the flavours settle into each other, and the whole thing firms up properly under the pastry. Hot filling under cold pastry makes for a soggy lid. Patience here is everything.
6. 6

   Assemble the pie

   Spoon the cooled filling into a 1.5-litre pie dish, mounding it slightly in the centre so the pastry has something to sit on. Roll the puff pastry out on a lightly floured surface to the thickness of a pound coin. Cut a strip the width of the dish rim and press it onto the dampened edge. Brush this strip with beaten egg, then drape the pastry lid over the top, pressing the edges firmly to seal. Trim the excess and crimp with a fork or your fingers, whichever feels right. Cut a small slit in the centre to let the steam escape. Brush the whole lid generously with the egg wash.

   If you have a pie funnel, stand it in the centre of the dish before you add the filling. It holds up the pastry and lets the steam out properly. An upturned egg cup does the same job. Your kitchen, your rules.
7. 7

   Bake until golden

   Set the oven to 200C/180C fan. Place the pie on a baking tray (it will bubble over, it always does) and bake for thirty-five to forty minutes, until the pastry has risen and gone a deep, burnished gold. The filling should be bubbling up through the steam hole. Let it sit for ten minutes before you bring it to the table. This rest lets the gravy settle and means the first slice holds together instead of flooding the plate. Carry it to the table in the dish. Let people see the whole thing before you cut into it.

Chef Tips

• •Ask your butcher for ox kidney and have them trim it for you. Lamb kidneys work too and are milder if the mineral taste of ox kidney puts you off, but this is a robust pie and it can handle the stronger flavour. The kidney is what makes this pie what it is. Don't leave it out.
• •The stout matters. Use something you'd drink: a good porter or a dry stout with some backbone. Sweet stouts make the gravy cloying. If you don't keep stout in the house, a dark ale will do, or even a glass of red wine at a push, though it becomes a different pie entirely.
• •Make the filling a day ahead. This isn't laziness, it's good sense. A cold filling under pastry means the base stays firm and the lid puffs properly. Hot filling sweats into the pastry and turns it sad and pale. The overnight rest also lets the gravy thicken and the flavours deepen into something you can't get from a single afternoon's cooking.
• •All-butter puff pastry from a good brand is perfectly respectable here. I've made rough puff for this pie and I've used shop-bought, and the difference isn't worth the extra hour. Spend your time on the filling. That's where the pie lives.

Advance Preparation

• •The filling can and should be made a day ahead. Cool it completely, then refrigerate overnight. It thickens as it chills, and the flavours improve enormously.
• •The assembled, unbaked pie can be frozen for up to three months. Freeze it solid on a tray, then wrap it tightly in cling film and foil. Bake from frozen, adding ten to fifteen minutes to the oven time, until the pastry is deeply golden and the filling bubbles through.
• •Leftover pie reheats well in a moderate oven for fifteen to twenty minutes, loosely covered with foil to stop the pastry catching.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 350g)