The ultimate Guinness, beef and shallot family pie

Name: The ultimate Guinness, beef and shallot family pie
Cook time: 2 h 30 min
Yield: 4-6
Cuisine: British,Irish
Ingredients: 8 eschalots (French shallots), peeled and halved lengthways; 2 carrots, peeled and diced; 1 stick celery, diced; 6 tbsp olive oil; 1kg chuck beef, trimmed of fatty sinew, chopped into large bite-sized pieces; 440ml Guinness; 2 cups beef stock; 1 x sheet puff pastry

Katrina Meynink

July 11, 2023

Family-size beef and Guinness pie.Katrina Meynink

Time:2 hours +Serves:4-6

Yes, this is going to require a roasting dish and a large heavy-based pot, but the roasted shallots add such a jammy glorious element to this pie, you truly won’t mind the extra washing up. Roasting the vegetables adds an intense depth of flavour to this filling. And yes, there is Guinness, but all the alcohol cooks off, leaving behind fabulous malty flavour.

Ingredients

8 eschalots (French shallots), peeled and halved lengthways
2 carrots, peeled and diced
1 stick celery, diced
6 tbsp olive oil
1kg chuck beef, trimmed of fatty sinew, chopped into large bite-sized pieces
440ml Guinness
2 cups beef stock
1 x sheet puff pastry

Pastry wash

1 egg
2 tbsp milk

To serve

steamed greens
mashed potato

Method

Step 1
Preheat the oven to 180C fan-forced (200C conventional).
Step 2
Add the shallots, carrots and celery to a roasting tray and drizzle over 4 tablespoons of the olive oil, turning to coat. Season with salt and pepper and roast for 30-45 minutes or until the shallots are soft and are a beautiful, caramelised colour.
Step 3
While the vegetables are roasting, add the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil to a large heavy-based pot placed over medium heat. Once the oil is shimmering, add the beef and brown on all sides. Add the Guinness and simmer while the vegetables are roasting.
Step 4
Scrape the vegetables and any tray juices directly into the meat mixture. Add the beef stock, give everything a gentle stir to incorporate, and very gently simmer for 3 hours with the lid off. You want the meat to be fall-apart soft, and the liquid to have mostly evaporated, so you have a gloriously thick pie filling.
Step 5
Preheat the oven again to 180C fan-forced (200C conventional).
Step 6
Pour the mixture into a 23-25cm pie dish. Gently press down the sheet of puff pastry over the top, making a border with any leftover pastry trims. Cut a small hole in the centre to ensure steam can escape.
Step 7
Combine the egg and milk for the pastry wash in a small bowl. Brush generously over the top of the pie. Cook for 45 minutes, or until the pastry is puffed and golden.
Step 8
Serve with steamed greens and a beautiful buttery mash.

Tip: You can also cook this filling in the slow-cooker for 8 hours on low, although I find the liquid doesn’t reduce to the same extent as on the stovetop, so allow an additional 20 minutes on the reduce function to ensure your pie filling isn’t too runny.