recipe reviews for:

Steak n Ale Pie

“This is a hearty, robust pie that is a crowd-pleaser. Cubes of meat are sauteed in oil until brown and glistening, and are combined with carrots, potatoes, turnips and onions in a deep casserole. Bitter ale and water are heated with a bit of cornstarch until nice and thick, then poured over the meat and veggies. A round of puff pastry is fitted over the top of the dish, and then the pie is baked for until golden brown.”

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Reviewed: Nov. 6, 2009

I made this recipe tonight for dinner and my son and my English boyfriend loved it as did I. There were a couple of changes: no turnips, no ale, and I used oil instead of lard. (Didn't have these ingredients is why.) I also made three smaller pies using small corningware baking ramekins, and I used OXO beef bouillion cubes as the ale substitute with water and cornstarch. They were amazingly good, thanks so much for sharing this recipe! Next time I will try it as written, I've been looking for a good beef pie to make for the boyfriend who misses having them in England.

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Jen

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Huntington Beach, California, USA

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Reviewed: Oct. 18, 2009

Fairly easy to make; common ingredients; cleanup is minimal; about 75 minutes from start to finish, including cooking. The cornstarch didn't work for me as a thickening agent. Will try flour next time. Increase veggies by about 1/4 to fill a 9" pie plate and parboil them beforehand to ensure they're really done at the end of 45-50 minutes in the oven. I'm thinking you could also top it with biscuits like a turkey or chicken pot pie, instead of the puff pastry. Otherwise, very tasty with just salt and pepper.

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Dean

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Reviewed: Oct. 11, 2009

This is a good recipe for a classic 'footie' food. Add a little more beef, cut back slightly on some of the veggies and add some more corn starch to the sauce and this becomes a perfect main course.

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wethekings

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Reviewed: Jul. 17, 2008

I thought this was a really good recipe but did leave out the turnip though. Family whole heartedly loved it

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Eliot

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Reviewed: Mar. 31, 2008

This pie turned out picture perfect. It looked delicious, and my DH and I could hardly wait to dig in. However, it looked far more tasty than it actually was. had added beef boullion to the water for more flavor. Even this did no good. It literally had no flavor at all. will not make this ever again.

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Maizeykitty

Cooking Level: Intermediate

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Reviewed: Mar. 12, 2008

This recipe was pretty good, although the "gravy" was more like broth. I couldn't get it to thicken no matter what I did. Came out more like stew. Might try it again though and see if it was just an isolated thing.

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Lauren Koblara

Cooking Level: Intermediate

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Reviewed: Jan. 1, 2008

my husband really liked this. i think the flaws in it were my fault, because it was the first time i made anything with puff pastry. i'll be using it again-- thanks!

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giftable

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: New York, New York, USA

Living In: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

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Reviewed: Aug. 18, 2007

I usually chose my recipes and cook with my family in mind, but this time I made this recipe just for me (I had a craving for beef stew meat). I browned my meat in butter and olive oil rather than lard, parboiled the vegetables in beef stock before adding them to my "stew", and baked up a container of refrigerated sourdough biscuits. I add garlic to just about everything, and so I added some chopped garlic to this; I also added a couple of cilantro leaves and some dried thyme. I did not bake it as a pie, but rather served myself the prepared meat/vegetable mixture/gravy mixture with 2 of my biscuits (which I buttered) on the side. TOTALLY DELICIOUS. A phenominal COMFORT FOOD experience; an absolutely "guilty pleasure" that I will definitely make again (and keep to myself).

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ManassasMa

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: New York, New York, USA

Living In: Manassas, Virginia, USA

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Reviewed: Aug. 10, 2007

This pie was indeed VERY tasty. I made it for my boyfriend and i as he is always talking about steak and ale pie. i substituted the turnip with gently fried mushrooms and boiled all the fresh vegetables before baking so that they were as soft as possible. However, when i was making the ale/water for the juice, it just wouldnt thicken, i had to end up adding some gravy granules to thicken it. This was the only "problem" i came across and all in all this was probably the tastiest steak and ale pie ive ever had. Regards to the pie man =)

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Nikki

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Living In: Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Scotland, U.K.

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Reviewed: Aug. 1, 2007

I made a number of changes to this recipe... The biggest being that I used tofu instead of steak and made my own crust. It turned out great though, I really like the addition off the ale for the gravy.

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BreannaDrew

Cooking Level: Expert

Living In: Oakland, California, USA

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Reviewed: Jun. 20, 2007

Excellent and easy, better than the pub.

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bullajabbar

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Gig Harbor, Washington, USA

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Reviewed: Mar. 6, 2007

My husband loved this recipe. I used Guiness Draft instead of the ale and I added 1 pkg dry mushroom gravy and 1 tsp worchestershire sauce. It had a good flavor.

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Juanita H.

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Living In: Vista, California, USA

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Reviewed: Sep. 23, 2005

This pie as is is ok. I think if you used beef broth instead of water to give it more flavor it would be better. The gravy needs to be a bit thicker, too. I might also add a dash of garlic and spices to the broth before I make it into gravy.

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PSALM27

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Reviewed: Apr. 21, 2005

Oh so bland! This recipe as written has very little flavour. I used Guinness instead of ale and have also tried cooking the meat and vegetables in beef stock first to try and improve the flavour. I love meat pies but this is just not a great pie recipe. Sorry!

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MARIASA

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Reviewed: Mar. 13, 2003

This pie was very tasty. I love to cook so I had to change a few things since some prior reviewers found it bland. I spiced my beef with salt and pepper before browing it in the lard. Also I brown the veggies a little in the left over lard to give them more flavor. As a final addition I deglazed the pan I used to brown the beef and vegetables with the ale and water mixture and spiced it with a little montreal steak seasoning to give the sauce some extra punch.

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Nadia

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Reviewed: Apr. 18, 2001

Overall, this recipe sounds good in concept but the bitter ale did not give it enough flavor. In the future I'd say add some seasonings, especially salt.

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RESTOEFF

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Reviewed: Jan. 8, 2001

I had such high hopes for this recipe - but found the pie to be unimaginative and boring at best. Husband and kids ate it, but only because they were hungry, their only comment was "good try - better luck next time".

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LeahH

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Reviewed: Jun. 6, 2000

I was very impressed with the results of this recipe! Absolutely delicious! Thanks Pie Man! I boiled the diced potatoes, turnips and carrots before I baked the pie to ensure that they would be soft. It came out perfect.

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MS.LUV2EAT

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Reviewed: Feb. 11, 2000

Mmmmm - never before have I tasted such a tasty pie. I sure was glad that Mary-Beth took the time to bake such a treat that all generations can enjoy. I now have another foodstuff to make me more obese, like all good American's, and the extra protein will help my mullet growth - thank you Kevin Miller, or should I say 'pie-man'.

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