Stout, Beef & Kidney Pie

I love a pie. I love a pie with mates or on my own, when it’s hot and when it’s cold, when I’m at the footy or on my way home. This pie is a cheeky treat you can whip up for when the boys come around or if you want to impress guests on a cooler evening. The filling for these pies can be made ahead of time and stored separately, ready for the assembly job when your guests arrive. Alternatively, the whole pie — pastry and all — can be frozen and then baked at a later date.

PREP: 25mins

COOK: 1:55

MAKES: 4

330 ml (111/4 fl oz/11/3 cup) stout beer

200 ml (7 fl oz) good-quality beef stock (see note)

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1 bay leaf

1 rosemary sprig

2 thyme sprigs

1 sheet Carême puff pastry

1 egg, lightly beaten

35 g (1/4 cup) plain (all-purpose) flour

2 teaspoons sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

500 g chuck steak, cut into 2 cm (3/4 inch) cubes (see note)

250 g lambs’ kidneys, trimmed and cleaned, cut into 2 cm cubes (*see note)

60 g butter

1 brown onion, diced

1 medium carrot, chopped

1 garlic clove, crushed

1 star anise

Place the flour, salt and pepper in a large bowl and combine well. Add the steak and kidney pieces and toss to coat well. Heat a large heavy-based flameproof casserole dish over medium heat. Melt half the butter and when it’s foaming, shake the excess flour off the beef and kidneys and cook for 6–8 minutes or until it is nice and brown (*see note). Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon.

Add the remaining butter to the casserole dish, along with the fennel, onion, garlic, juniper berries and star anise and cook for 5–6 minutes or until the fennel and onion are soft. Add the stout, stock and worcestershire sauce, increase the heat to high and cook, scraping the base of the dish to remove any baked-on bits, for 8–10 minutes or until reduced by a third. Add the bay leaf, rosemary and thyme, then return the steak and kidneys to the pan and combine well. Reduce the heat to as low as possible, cover and cook for 45–60 minutes or until the meat is tender. Remove the bay leaf, rosemary and thyme from the mixture and cool slightly.

Preheat the oven to 200C. To assemble the pies, fill four (250 ml/9 fl oz/1 cup)- capacity pie dishes or ramekins with the meat filling, including the sauce. Roll out the pastry until 5 mm (. inch) thick and cut out round lids large enough to cover the tops of the dishes with a little overhang. Leave these to one side. Cut a long strip of pastry 1.5 cm (5/8 inch) wide, then cut into four pieces long enough to fit on the inside of the ramekins on top of the filling. This gives the pastry a bit of extra crust. Now place the pastry rounds on top and press to seal with the bottom strip. Decorate the top however you like with any remaining pastry, pierce the tops with a small knife (to allow the steam to escape), then brush the pies with the beaten egg.

Place the pies on an oven tray and bake for 25–30 minutes or until the pastry is puffed and golden.