Brisket & Stout Pie

Ingredients

700g Shortcrust Pie Pastry (homemade or store-bought)
Shortcrust Recipe Here
1 Tbsp butter (also a little more to line the pie dish)
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 red onion (finely diced)
2 carrots (medium diced)
4 cloves garlic (finely diced)
A sprig of fresh rosemary (finely chopped)
Small bunch of fresh thyme (stripped and roughly chopped)
1 medium chilli (finely chopped, seeds removed optional) or ½ tsp dried chilli flakes
60g tomato paste
1 tsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
250m Panhead Blacktop Oat Stout
500m beef stock (reduced salt)
1 Tbsp cornflour (mixed with 2 Tbsp cold water to make a thickener)
900g cooked brisket (roughly chopped)
½ cup reserved brisket cooking juice (swap out for extra beef stock if needed)
1 cup tasty cheese (roughly chopped)
1 cup cheddar cheese (roughly chopped)
Salt (to taste)
Pepper (to taste)

Method – Preparing the filling

1. Heat a large pan to medium and add butter and olive oil. Once the butter has melted, add the onions and carrots. Gently cook until the onion starts to get translucent. Add garlic, rosemary and thyme, add a pinch of salt, stir and cook for another 5 minutes.
2. Add the chilli, tomato paste, soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce, stir in and cook for another 10 minutes until the liquid has reduced to almost a dry consistency. Keep stirring to stop the mixture catching on the bottom of the pan.
3. Add the beer to the mixture and let it deglaze the pan. Cook until the alcohol has burnt off and the liquid starts to reduce (around 10 to 15 minutes).
4. Add the beef stock and brisket juice and cook for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the cornflour slurry, stir in and put back on the heat.
5. Add the brisket and gently stir through, try not to break up the meat when stirring. You want a thick gravy. If still thin after 10 minutes add a little more cornflour thickener, following the above instructions. If the mix is too thick then add a little hot beef stock at a time until you are happy with the consistency.
6. Taste and season the stew to your liking and then take the pan off the heat and put in a cool place to get the temperature down. When you can touch the bottom of the pan put in the fridge to cool further for half an hour.

Method – Making and Cooking the Pie

1. Rub small individual pie dishes or one large pie dish with butter, be generous as this will release the pasty from the dish and give the pies a great colour. Lay a bottom layer of pastry into the pie dish and work into the edges.
2. Carefully mix the cheese through the pie mixture and fill the pie dishes, leaving 5mm space at the top.
3. Whisk an egg yolk and a few drops of cold water together with a fork and brush the lip heavily where the base and the lid meet. Carefully lay the top onto the pie and cut any excess off from around the edges. Use a fork to run around the edge where the top and bottom pastry meet, pressing gently to seal the two pieces together. Try to make the two layers roughly the same thickness to get an even cook. Make a one cut in the top for small pies and at least two cuts for larger pies. Brush the top with egg yolk and add thin pastry shapes or poppy seeds etc to fancy it up if wanted.
4. Place the pie into an oven or BBQ at 200ºC (390ºF) and cook for 35 to 40 minutes until golden brown. If using a Charmate Kettle, move the charcoal baskets to the outer edges for an indirect heat. Rotate the pie halfway through the cook to keep the cook even.

Remove from the heat and let the pie sit for at least 15 minutes before turning out of the dish. Enjoy!

Recipe courtesy of Black Dog BBQ