Beef Pot Pie

Needed to clear out the freezer to make some more room and saw that I still had some frozen gluten free puff pastry dough and thought to make a meat pot pie dish, a perfect winter meal.


Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 2 hours 30 minutes

Total Time: 2 hours 45 minutes

Servings: 6

Ingredients:

  • 2 lbs (1Kg) boneless beef chuck, trimmed and cut into 1 inch (2.5cm) pieces

  • Salt and pepper

  • 3 Tablespoons olive oil or avocado oil, divided

  • 4 ounces mushrooms, baby bellas also called creminis or white button if unavailable, trimmed and quartered

  • 1 onion, finely chopped

  • 1 celery, finely chopped

  • 1 carrot, finely chopped

  • 2 carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces (omit if using frozen carrots)

  • 2 garlic cloves, minced

  • …300 - 400g / 10 – 13 oz Swiss brown mushrooms , larger ones halved

  • 1-1/2 cup (250-300ml) dry red wine, or 1/2 cup water

  • 3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour

  • 2 cups (500ml) beef broth

  • 1 Tablespoon soy sauce

  • 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

  • 1 bay leaf

  • 3 sprigs thyme (finely chopped) or 1 tsp dried thyme leaves

  • 1 cup frozen peas

  • 1 large egg, lightly beaten

  • 1 – 2 sheets puff pastry (enough to cover pie)

Instructions:

  1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and preheat oven to 350F/180C. season beef cubes with salt and pepper. Heat 1.5 tbsp of oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add half the beef and brown all over, then remove and repeat with remaining beef. Set beef aside.

  2. Reduce heat to medium and add remaining 1.5 tbsp oil to the now-empty pot. Add celery, onion, and carrot and cook until vegetables are lightly browned, about 5 minutes, scraping up any browned bits. add garlic cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. and carrots (if not using FROZEN) and mushrooms and cook until mushrooms soften a bit, about 2 to 3 minutes.

  3. Stir in wine (or water) and cook until evaporated, about 2 minutes. Stir in flour until the vegetables are well coated and cook for 1 minute. Add broth, soy sauce, Worcestershire, bay leaf, and fresh thyme stirring until combined. Scrape any bits that have stuck to bottom of pan to incorporate into liquids. Add beef and bring to a simmer. Cook until beef is tender, about 1 to 1.5 hours. checking every 20 to 30 minutes to make sure that there is still enough liquid, if it looks a bit dry then add more water.

  4. once beef is tender, add some more salt and pepper. adjust seasoning if needed.

  5. Pour beef filling into the pie dish, Brush the rim and interior lip of the pie plate with egg (this will prevent the shell from sticking to the dish and cracking or breaking). Top with puff pastry, you can fold the edges in or press down on the edge of pie dish.

  6. Using a paring knife, cut a 1/2-inch hole in center of pie. Cut a few 1/2-inch slits around the hole, halfway between center and edge of pie. Brush dough with remaining egg. Season the top of the dough with salt and pepper. bake until crust is golden brown, 20-30 minutes.

  7. Transfer pie to cooling rack and let cool for 10-15 minutes before serving.


It had been so long since I had a meat pot pie whether it be chicken or beef and I think I forgot how good it is. the flavors are so tasty and rich, perfect to keep warm and full during the colder months. this pie takes a bit longer than a chicken pot pie as you have to slowly cook the beef over the stovetop before putting it in the oven but it is definitely worth the wait. but it definitely reminded me of my culinary school days cooking over and over again a guiness beef pie. but cooking this beef pie was definitely far more relaxing. the only issue i had was that it was still a bit too liquidy, so next time i might cook it a few minutes more or add a bit more corn starch to make the stew a bit more thick. however the next day it tasted even better and the stew ended up becoming thicker. the beef filling can actually be made ahead of time even letting it sit overnight then you can prep the puff pastry and bake it the next day.