Description
A hearty and savory beef and mushroom pie featuring tender chuck beef slow-cooked with dried porcini mushrooms, fresh vegetables, bacon, and a rich dark ale gravy, all topped with golden puff pastry. Perfect for comforting dinners and meal prepping.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
Soaking Ingredients
- 20 g dried porcini mushrooms (slices, whole or chopped)
- 1 1/4 cups boiled water
Main Ingredients
- 1 kg chuck beef, cut into 2.5 cm cubes
- 1-2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 1 celery stalk, finely chopped
- 1 carrot, finely chopped
- 3 carrots, halved lengthwise then cut into 1.5 cm chunks
- 1/3 cup flour (any)
- 300 ml dark ale (or red wine, Guinness, or more beef stock as substitute)
- 2 cups beef stock
- 3 sprigs thyme or 1 tsp dried thyme leaves
- 2 bay leaves, fresh or dried
- 200 g bacon, diced
- 300-400 g Swiss brown mushrooms, larger ones halved
- 1-2 sheets puff pastry (enough to cover pie)
- 1 egg yolk
Instructions
- Soak Porcini Mushrooms: Place dried porcini mushrooms in a bowl and add hot boiled water. Let soak for at least 30 minutes. Strain mushrooms from soaking liquid and reserve the soaking liquid. Roughly chop the porcini mushrooms.
- Prepare Beef: Sprinkle chuck beef cubes with salt and pepper to season evenly.
- Brown the Beef: Heat 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil in a large heavy-based pot over medium-high heat. Add half the beef and brown all over. Remove browned beef and repeat with remaining beef. Set all beef aside.
- Sauté Vegetables: Reduce heat to medium-low. Add more oil if pot is dry. Add minced garlic and chopped onion, cooking for 2 minutes until fragrant. Add finely chopped celery and carrot, cook for 6 minutes until softened and sweet. Add carrot chunks and cook for 2 more minutes.
- Add Flour: Sprinkle flour over the vegetables and stir well to combine and cook off the raw taste.
- Add Liquids and Herbs: Pour in the dark ale, beef stock, and stir to dissolve flour completely. Add thyme, bay leaves, chopped porcini mushrooms, reserved porcini soaking liquid (avoiding any gritty sediment), and the browned beef. Increase heat slightly, mix well, and bring to a simmer.
- Simmer Stew: Cover the pot, reduce heat to maintain a gentle simmer, and cook for 1 hour 45 minutes until the beef is tender.
- Cook Bacon and Mushrooms: While stew cooks, heat a skillet over high heat. Cook diced bacon until golden and crisp. Remove bacon, leaving drippings in the pan. Add Swiss brown mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes until golden. Return the bacon to the pan and toss to coat the mushrooms.
- Add Bacon and Mushrooms to Stew: Stir the cooked bacon and mushrooms into the stew. Simmer uncovered for 15 minutes to tenderize mushrooms and reduce liquid slightly. Remove from heat and cool.
- Preheat Oven and Assemble Pie: Preheat oven to 200°C (390°F). Pour cooled stew into a suitable pie dish (approximately 24 x 20 x 4.5 cm, or similar capacity). Even out the surface of the filling.
- Cover With Puff Pastry: Place puff pastry sheets over the stew to cover completely. If pastry is too large, fold the edges inwards. Brush the top with the beaten egg yolk for shine. Cut a few slits in the pastry surface to allow steam to escape.
- Bake the Pie: Bake in the preheated oven for 35 minutes until the pastry is deep golden and the filling is piping hot in the middle.
- Rest and Serve: Remove the pie from the oven and let it rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Notes
- Dried porcini mushrooms add a savory umami depth to the gravy; if unavailable, other dried mushrooms can be used or omitted without sacrificing the overall flavor.
- Use any slow-cooking beef cut like chuck, gravy beef, or brisket; avoid lean cuts such as bolar blade roast as they can dry out during cooking.
- Slow Cooker Option: Use 2 crumbled beef stock cubes instead of beef broth. After step 7, transfer contents into slow cooker and cook on low for 6 hours or high for 3 hours. Add bacon and mushrooms afterwards and cook an additional 45 minutes. Thicken sauce on stove if needed.
- Pressure Cooker Option: Follow slow cooker prep, then pressure cook on high for 25 minutes.
- Pie Dish Size: Ideal pie dish dimensions are about 24 x 20 x 4.5 cm (1.5 liters capacity) or a deep 20 cm square dish. Individual ramekins work well with any leftover filling and puff pastry scraps.
- Storage: The pie filling tastes better the next day. Prepare filling a day ahead and refrigerate. Puff pastry can be stored on top for up to 2 days in the fridge before baking. Freeze filling or whole assembled pie (thaw before baking) without much loss in quality.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 550 kcal
- Sugar: 5 g
- Sodium: 550 mg
- Fat: 28 g
- Saturated Fat: 10 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 16 g
- Trans Fat: 0.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 40 g
- Fiber: 4 g
- Protein: 35 g
- Cholesterol: 95 mg
