I was making a a BATCH of Pies for the freezer…
So… my quantities look HUGE in the photos… but I have included a recipe for just One Pie at the end!!
First, peel your Potatoes… and set them in a pan of COLD WATER…
Try to cut them into similar size pieces… so they cook evenly…
But don’t stress too much!!
Bring the Water up to a simmer… and then salt the Potatoes… for 2 reasons:
First, UNSALTED Water comes to the boil FASTER 😳
And secondly, when the Potatoes are starting to cook, they will absorb the Salt and season better!!
We are NOT looking to cook these Potatoes all the way through… we are just PARboiling them!!
Now trim your Meat…
I buy Chuck Roast in ONE piece… then get my butcher to dice it up for me…
1 ” cubes are preferable!!
But, invariably, I find some silver skin… or KNICKER ELASTIC 😝 on some of the pieces…
This membrane makes Meat shrink… and it’s not chewable… it has NO PLACE IN MY PIE…
So, I TRIM IT OFF!!!
Whereas FAT… NOW that is a whole different kettle of FISH 😃
Fat MELTS… FAT IS FLAVOR… 😋
Oh YES… Get OVER IT!!
We don’t want masses of Fat, but it will disappear into our Gravy and give it a wonderful depth of flavor!! 😋
On the whole, I check and trim all my Meat and resize if needed…
Like me, the butcher can get bored and the chunks can get BIGGER as he goes!!
Sometimes… like THIS TIME… I fried up the trimmings to render some Fat to start getting my flavor from the get go!!
In a large sauté pan, just gently render (MELT) the Fat… then discard ALL the gristle-y bits!!
It doesn’t look like much.. but this is called “FOND” and is the basis of many a Pan Sauce or Gravy!!
Add a pat of Butter here… if there isn’t a lot of rendered Fat… or Olive Oil… it’s up to you!!
NOW… throw in your Beef…
Just get the Meat cooking… the pan might be too crowded to get proper colour on the Beef… but that doesn’t matter here!!
As a general rule, when the pan’s crowded… steam is created and the Water stops any caramelization!!
Once the Beef starts to cook… and some Juices have been released…
Sprinkle over some all purpose (plain) Flour…
This will thicken your Gravy…
Then season WITH Salt…
AND Pepper…
Give it all a good mix… and get the raw taste of the Flour cooked out… just by stirring for a couple of minutes…
BEEF LOVES PEPPER by the way… so, don’t be shy!!
Peel and slice some Carrots…
And Onions… and a couple of Celery stalks…
Now, in they go….
Along with some Chicken Stock…
I have some homemade Chicken Stock, so I use it…
But you can use Beef Stock from a carton if you prefer…
At this point, it looks more like a stew!!
Put a lid on slightly askew… and cook for about 2 hours…
Check the Meat’s tenderness after 1 1/2 hours… but it can take 2 hours or more to really get that melt-in-your mouth texture we are looking for!!
Look how deeply coloured the Sauce is now…
Check the seasoning …
ALWAYS check the seasoning of things when they are HOT… because COLD food needs MORE seasoning!!
So, if you let something go cold that will later be served HOT, pause before adding Salt and Pepper as it may be overly seasoned when reheated!!!
If you can follow THAT, well, you’re a genius 😝
Use a slotted spoon… and plate up your Meat in pie dishes…
Your Potatoes are DONE (and you didn’t forget to season)…
They are PARBOILED… not falling apart just slightly tender… yielding to a knife point!!
Mix the Potatoes in with the Meat and veggies… and pour over some Gravy to cover!!
Time to make the Topping…
I choose ready-made Puff Pastry…
Ball it up fairly gently… you don’t want to OVER HANDLE Pastry, otherwise it get’s tough!!
Roll it into a round… IF your pie dish is ROUND, OF COURSE!!! 😝
Top in a rustic, country style manner… because this is a PEASANT dish… not to be confused with a POSH dish!!!
Egg away the Pastry… cut vent holes in it with scissors… and season with a good grinding of Pepper!!
Bake in a preheated 400 oven on a middle rack for about 50 minutes!!!
