Steak and kidney pie recipe 

My steak and kidney pie is boozy, with stout or Guinness (I tend to use flavoursome chuck or braising steak).

A full meal in ­itself, you don’t need to worry about ­anything else, except perhaps some seasonal greens. Kidney has a strong flavour, and I used to hate it as a child – but as I’ve got older I’ve grown to like the rich gaminess of it.

Prep time: 30 minutes | Cooking time: 2 hours 45 minutes 

SERVES 

six

INGREDIENTS 

• 900g boneless beef shin or chuck steak, chopped into 2 ½cm cubes
• 25g plain flour, seasoned with salt and pepper
• 2 tbsp lard
• 300g ox kidneys, diced
• 2 onions, finely chopped
• 600ml beef stock
• 200ml dark ale
• Leaves from 4 sprigs of thyme, roughly chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• Dash of Worcestershire sauce

For the pastry

• 400g plain flour, plus extra to dust
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• 175g lard, grated
• Approx 100ml iced water
• A little milk, to glaze

METHOD 

1.  Preheat the oven to 160C/140C fan/Gas 3.
2. Coat the beef cubes with flour. Heat one tablespoon of lard in a large frying pan and cook the beef in batches, until brown on all sides. Spoon into a large casserole dish. Add a touch more lard to the same pan and sauté the kidneys for one minute. Add these to the casserole dish.
3. Turn the heat down and add the rest of the lard and the onions to the pan. Cook for about five minutes until soft, then add to the casserole dish. While the pan is still hot, deglaze with a touch of the stock, scraping up all the bits stuck to the pan, and add this to the dish.
4. Add the rest of the stock, the ale, herbs and Worcestershire sauce to the casserole dish.  Bring everything to a simmer, cover with a lid, and place in the oven for 90 minutes until the meat is tender and the gravy is thick and glossy.
5.  When ready, remove from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature while you make the pastry.
6. Sift the flour and baking powder into a large bowl and add the salt. Add the lard and enough iced water to bring the dough together with a fork. Knead lightly then wrap in cling film and rest for at least an hour in the fridge.
7.  Turn the oven up to 190C/170C fan/Gas 5.
8. Spoon the filling into a 26cm rectangular pie dish. If using a pie funnel, place it in the centre.
9. Roll out the pastry to a rectangle 5cm larger than the dish. Trim a 2cm strip off the edges and press these on the rim of the pie dish. Make a couple of incisions with a sharp knife in the centre of the pastry rectangle and carefully place it over the filling, allowing the pie funnel to poke through, if using. Press along the edges to seal the pie.
10. Brush the pie lightly with milk and cook for 40 minutes until golden brown and crisp.