The Classic Beef Steak Pie
A proper beef pie, built from scratch: a homemade shortcrust base, slow-braised beef chuck filling, and a golden puff pastry lid. Worth the time it takes, every bit of it.
Sear the beef in batches, crowding the pot drops the temperature and steams the meat instead of browning it, and that deep colour is where most of the filling’s flavour comes from. Let the filling cool properly before assembling the pies too, ideally overnight, hot filling under a puff pastry lid melts the butter before it even hits the oven, and you’ll lose the flaky rise.
Baked pies keep in the fridge for 4 days or the freezer for 3 months. The unbaked, cooled filling freezes well on its own too, up to 3 months, if you’d rather assemble and bake fresh later.
The Classic Beef Steak Pie
BEEF · DINNER · MEDIUM
Three techniques, one proper pie
Searing the beef in batches, not all at once, gets it properly browned instead of steamed grey. That colour carries through into everything the filling becomes over the next two hours.
Cooling the filling fully, ideally overnight, before it goes anywhere near the puff pastry lid is what keeps the pastry flaky. Hot filling melts the butter in the pastry before it's even had a chance to bake.
Freeze the unbaked filling on its own, or bake the whole pie and freeze that instead, either way there's a proper pie ready whenever you actually want one.
The Classic Beef Steak Pie
Ingredients
Short Crust Pastry
- 250 g Plain Flour All Purpose
- 140 g Unsalted Butter Diced & Chilled
- 37.5 ml Sparkling or Still Water Ice Cold
- Salt To Taste
Beef Gravy
- 30 ml Olive Oil
- 1 kg Beef Chuck Steak Diced
- 1 Brown (Yellow) Onion Diced
- 1 Carrot Diced
- 1 rib Celery Diced
- 6 Garlic Cloves Minced
- 28 g Plain Flour All Purpose
- 2 Beef Stock Cubes Crushed
- 48 g Concentrated Tomato Paste
- 250 ml Beef Stock
- 500 ml Dry Red Wine
- 10 ml Worcestershire Sauce
- 5 Dried Bay Leaves Bouquet Garni
- 6 sprigs Sprigs Thyme Bouquet Garni
- 3 g Flat Leaf Parsley Bouquet Garni
- Salt & Pepper To Taste
Pie Topping
- 4 Frozen Puff Pastry Sheets Thawed
- 2 Egg Yolk
- Sea Salt Flakes
- Cracked Black Pepper
Method
Short Crust Pastry
- Add the flour and cold butter to a food processor and blitz on high speed until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. While running, slowly pour in the sparkling or regular water until the pastry comes together, adding more if needed. Remove from the processor and knead into a smooth ball. Wrap tightly and refrigerate for a minimum of 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Roll out the pastry and cut rounds about an inch bigger than the circumference of your pie tins — 8 rounds for small tins (~10cm/4in), 6 for medium (~12cm/5in), or 4 for large (~15cm/6in). Line the tins with the pastry and mould to shape.
- Cut parchment paper to size, one sheet per pie, and fill with rice or blind-baking balls. Blind bake for 14–16 minutes (small), 18–20 minutes (medium), or 22–25 minutes (large), until the outside of the pastry is golden. Remove the weights and parchment, and return to the oven for a further 3–4 minutes (small), 4–6 minutes (medium), or 6–8 minutes (large), until the base is golden. Set aside.
Pie Filling & Top
- Pat the beef chuck as dry as possible and place in a large bowl. Season generously with salt and pepper.
- Place a pot over high heat and add half of the olive oil. Sear half of the beef for 5–6 minutes, until deeply browned. Remove and repeat with the remaining batches, then remove all the beef from the pot.
- In the same pot over medium-high heat, add the onion, celery, carrot, and a pinch of salt. Sauté for 6 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for 1 minute. Add the flour and stir to coat the vegetables, cooking for 1 minute to cook out the raw flour taste. Gradually pour in the beef stock, mixing well to prevent lumps.
- Add the tomato paste, beef stock cubes, red wine, Worcestershire sauce, and bouquet garni. Season well with salt and pepper, mix, and bring to a boil.
- Add the beef and any resting juices, mix well, and bring back to a boil. Cover, reduce the heat to low, and cook for 2 hours. Remove the lid and discard the bouquet garni. Check the seasoning and simmer for a further 20 minutes, or until the beef is falling apart. Remove from the heat and let cool — this is best done overnight, or in about 4 hours in the fridge until lukewarm.
- Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F). Place the cooled beef mix into the blind-baked pastry shells to assemble the pies. Cut the puff pastry slightly larger than the pie moulds. Brush the edges of each pie mould with the beaten egg and place on the puff pastry lids. Brush the tops with the remaining egg and score if desired. Sprinkle with sea salt flakes and cracked black pepper.
- Bake for 18–20 minutes (small pies), 25–28 minutes (medium pies), or 30–35 minutes (large pies), until golden brown — if making large pies and the pastry browns faster than the centre heats through, loosely tent with foil for the last 10 minutes. Remove and let cool for 15–20 minutes before serving.
Why does the filling need to cool before assembling the pies?⌄
Hot filling melts the butter in the puff pastry lid before it even reaches the oven, and you lose the flaky rise that makes the pastry worth having. Cooling it fully, ideally overnight, protects that.
Can I make the pastry ahead of time?⌄
Yes, the shortcrust dough keeps well wrapped tightly in the fridge for a couple of days. Let it sit at room temperature for a few minutes before rolling if it's gone quite firm.
What size pie tins should I use?⌄
Small (around 10cm/4in), medium (around 12cm/5in), or large (around 15cm/6in) all work, the recipe gives separate blind bake and final bake times for each size.
Can I skip the blind baking step?⌄
Better not to. Without it, the base tends to turn soggy under the weight of the filling. Blind baking sets the base properly before the wet filling ever goes in.
