Uncle Bills Steak And Kidney Pie Recipes

THE ULTIMATE STEAK AND KIDNEY PIE

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Add the steak, kidney, flour, salt, and pepper to a large bowl. Toss until well coated.
• In a large Dutch oven or other heavy-duty pot, heat the 2 tablespoons butter and 1 tablespoon oil on medium-high heat.
• When the butter melts, add the meat to the pan, in batches if necessary. Cook until golden brown, 5 to 7 minutes per batch. Refresh the butter and oil in the pan between batches as needed. Remove the meat to a plate as it becomes done. Set aside.
• If the pan is dry, refresh with 1 tablespoon oil. Add the onions and carrots. Cook until they begin to soften, about 5 minutes.
• Return the meat to the pan with any accumulated juices from the plate. Add the stock and stir to combine.
• Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer until the meat is tender and the sauce has thickened, about 1 1/2 hours. Remove the cover and continue to cook to thicken the sauce, stirring frequently, 30 minutes more.
• Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper to taste. Remove from the heat, place into a 6-cup deep pie dish, and let cool completely.
• Gather the ingredients.
• Put the flour, salt, and butter in a large bowl.
• Rub the butter into the flour with your fingers until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs, working as quickly as possible to prevent the dough from becoming warm.
• Add 2 tablespoons of water to the mixture. Using a cold knife, stir until the dough binds together. Add more water, a teaspoon at a time if the dough is too dry.
• Form the dough into a disk, wrap, and chill for about 30 minutes.
• Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat to 400 F. Roll out the pastry to 1/8-inch thick and wide enough to cover the pie dish.
• Cut a tiny hole in the center to slip over a steam funnel if using. Alternatively, cut 3 to 4 (1-inch) slits in the center of the dough to vent the filling while baking.
• Brush the rim of the pie dish with water and place a pie funnel in the center of the filling, if using.
• Place the pastry over the dish and funnel (if using), pressing it down, trimming to fit the rim of the dish.
• Crimp the edges of the dough using your thumb and first finger.
• Beat the egg with 1 tablespoon of water. Brush the top of the pie with the egg wash.
• Bake until the pastry is crisp and golden, about 40 minutes.
• Serve immediately.

STEAK AND KIDNEY PIE

Steps:

• Prepare the pastry: In a large bowl, combine flour with butter and salt. Mix lightly with your fingertips until butter forms peasized pieces. Whisk together egg and 1 tablespoon of the water. Add to flour mixture all at once, mixing gently with your fingertips. You should be able to see chunks of fat, and the pastry should be moist enough to begin to stick together. If the pastry is too dry, add up to 2 more tablespoons of water.
• Turn the pastry out onto a lightly floured work surface, dust with flour, and knead it until the pastry is smooth, about 3 to 4 times. Transfer to a plastic bag and form pastry into a disk. Refrigerate a minimum of 30 minutes, or as long as 3 days.
• Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a casserole or Dutch oven. Add the steak and kidneys, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring, until just browned, about 3 minutes. Remove to a plate and reserve. Add 1 more tablespoon of oil to casserole, and add mushroom quarters. Cook over high heat, stirring, until light brown. Reserve on plate with meat. Add the remaining oil to the casserole, and add onions. Cook until well browned, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over the onions and stir so that the juices soak up the flour. Cook, stirring constantly, about 1 to 2 minutes.
• Stir the Worcestershire sauce into the hot water, and pour over the hot onion mixture while whisking. Add the reserved meats and mushrooms, and any juices that have collected, and season with salt and pepper. Reduce the heat to low and simmer 3 to 4 minutes or until slightly thickened.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Roll out the pastry to a thickness of 1/4inch. Fill a 9inch pie dish with the steak and kidney mixture. Dampen the edges of the dish with water, then fit the pastry on top, pressing it down well all around the edge to seal. Make a steam hole in the center, brush the top with milk and sprinkle with sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper. Bake for 25 minutes, or until pastry is golden.

PHILLY CHEESESTEAK

Steps:

• Trim away and discard the long piece of fat running down the side of the steaks. Cut each steak in half and put on a baking tray, then transfer to the freezer and freeze for 40 mins.
• Heat the oil in a heavy-based pan or casserole dish set over a medium heat. Add the onion and peppers along with a good pinch of salt and fry for 20 mins, or until the onions are golden and sticky. Add the vinegar and cook for a further 5 mins. Season to taste.
• Using a sharp knife, slice the steak as thinly as possible and pile the slices into four portions. Heat a skillet over a high heat until almost smoking. Put one portion of the steak slices in the pan in a pile that's roughly the length of your rolls. Fry for 3 mins over a high heat until some of the steak is cooked through, with pink bits remaining. Pile a quarter of the onion mixture on top, as well as a quarter each of the cheese slices and the mozzarella. Continue to cook undisturbed over a medium heat for 5-10 mins until the meat is brown and crisp around the edge and the cheeses have melted. Split one of the rolls open and carefully scoop the meat and cheese mixture into it. Repeat with the remaining meat, onions, cheese and rolls.

A GOOD STEAK & KIDNEY PIE

Steps:

• It's important to cook the meat a day ahead, so that you can discard any fat that has risen to the top, and so that the pastry doesn't slump in the face of a too-warm filling, so up to 48 hours ahead -make the pastry. Whizz the flour and a pinch of fine sea salt together for a few seconds in a food processor, then add the butter and whizz until the mixture looks like coarse breadcrumbs. Whisk together the egg yolk and 3 tbsp water and whizz with the pastry until it collects in a ball. Wrap in cling film and leave it to rest in the fridge for at least one hour.
• Cut button-mushroom-sized lobes of kidney from the white central core (discarding). Cut the beef into bite-sized cubes and cut the mushrooms into chunks.
• Heat 1 tbsp of the oil in a large, heavy frying pan over a medium-high heat. Throw in the kidney and fry until lightly coloured. Tip into a colander to drain.
• Wipe out the frying pan and return it to a low-medium heat, adding 25g/1oz of the butter and 1 tbsp oil. Tip in the onion and fry for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft and slightly golden. Transfer to a large casserole, using a slotted spoon.
• Preheat the oven to 160C/gas 3/fan 140C. Tip the 85g/3oz flour into a large plastic bag, and season it generously. Throw in the beef and shake until lightly floured.Return the frying pan to a mediumhigh heat, adding a little more oil and butter if needed. Shake off any excess flour (reserving it) then fry the beef in batches until golden-brown. As each batch is done, transfer it to the casserole.
• Adding more oil and butter to the frying pan if necessary, fry the mushrooms for about 2 minutes until starting to wilt, then add them to the casserole with the drained kidneys, hot water, bouillon powder and bay leaf, plus the excess flour in the bag if you like a thick gravy. Stir well, cover and cook in the oven for 75-90 minutes until the meat is tender and the sauce is thick. Cool thoroughly, then put in the fridge (preferably overnight) so any fat will solidify - it can then be skimmed off and discarded.
• In the morning - return the pastry to cool room temperature, then roll it out thinly on a wellfloured surface. Invert a 28-30x23cm, 6.5cm deep pie dish on to the pastry. Mentally add an extra 1cm all round, then use the dish as a guide to cut out the pastry lid. From the remnants, cut out enough 6cm-wide strips of pastry to go round the dish - they should cover the flat rim and about halfway down the insides.
• Lightly butter the rim of the dish and line it with the strip(s) of pastry, sealing any joins with a little dab of water. Butter the shoulders of a pie raiser or an upturned egg cup and stand it in the middle. Spoon in the meat mixture to come level with the top of the dish. Don't overfill: reserve any excess gravy to serve hot with the pie.
• Brush the pastry rim with a little water, then drape the pastry lid over it, pinching the edges to seal. Cover with cling film and keep in the fridge if not baking immediately.
• Finally, an hour before serving - preheat the oven to 200C/gas 6/fan 180C. Make four slashes in the lid of the pie, then brush with the egg wash. Bake for 35-45 minutes until the pastry is golden brown, turning the heat down 10-20° after about 20 minutes. Remove the pie from the oven and leave it to rest for around 10 minutes before cutting into it.

THE CLASSIC STEAK AND KIDNEY PIE

Steps:

• Heat a large frying pan with a little of the dripping or oil. Season the diced beef with salt and pepper. Fry in the pan until well coloured and completely sealed. Life out the meat and transfer to a large saucepan. Add a touch more oil, if necessary, to the frying pan. Season the kidneys and also fry quickly to seal and colour in the hot pan. Also transfer to the saucepan.
• Melt a knob of butter in the pan and cook the onions and carrots in the melted butter for 2 - 3 minutes. They will lift any flavours left from the meats. Put into the saucepan with the meat. Fry the mushroom slices in a little more butter, just turning in the pan for a minute or two; keep to one side.
• Place the saucepan on medium heat, stirring in the flour, and allow it to cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the tomato puree, bay leaf and mushrooms. Pour in the stock and bring to a simmer, skimming off any impurities. The meat should just be covered with the stock; if not, top with a little more stock or water. Simmer gently, partially covered, for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. During the cooking time it may need to be skimmed several times.
• After 1 1/2 hours, check the meat for tenderness. If not quite soft enough, cook for the additional 30 minutes. If the meat is cooking gently, it will not need to be topped up with any additional stock or water. The sauce will have reduced, thickening it's consistency and increasing it's flavour.
• Taste for seasoning, adding a dash or two of Worcestershire Sauce to the mixture. Transfer to a 2 pint pie dish and allow to cool to lukewarm.
• Preheat the oven to 220°C/425°F.
• Roll the pastry 1/4-inch thick. Cut a strip of pastry to sit around the rim of the dish. This will help the top to stay on. Brush the rim of the pie dish with some beaten egg and apply the strip. Brush again with egg. Making sure the pastry top is bigger than the dish, sit it on top. Push down around the sides, trim and crimp for a neat finish. Brush completely with egg wash and place in the preheated oven. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes until golden brown.

STEAK AND KIDNEY PIE II

Steps:

• Cover beef kidney with lightly salted water. Cover, and refrigerate overnight. Drain off water. Cut out tubes and white membrane with scissors. Dice meat
• In a stew pot, brown kidney and steak in hot fat. Add onions, seasonings, and 1 1/2 cups water. Simmer until meat is almost tender, about 1 hour.
• Add potatoes and continue simmering until potatoes are tender, about 1/2 hour.
• Blend together flour and remaining 1/2 cup water; stir into meat mixture. Continue cooking and stirring until mixture thickens. Pour into 3 quart casserole.
• Roll out pastry slightly larger than top of casserole. Place over meat mixture, and trim to overhang 1 inch. Fold under, and flute against inside edge of casserole. Cut several steam vents in center.
• Bake at 425 degrees F (220 degrees C) until lightly browned, about 30 minutes.

UNCLE BILL'S SHEPHERD'S PIE

Steps:

• In a medium size saucepan, add cubed potatoes, cover with water and cook until tender; about 15 minutes.
• Drain potatoes when cooked; mash and set aside.
• In the meantime, in a large frying pan, add oil and butter and heat to melt on medium heat.
• In a bowl, combine ground beef, ground lamb, onions, garlic, beaten eggs, Worcestershire sauce and mix well to incorporate.
• Add mixture to frying pan and cook until beef is browned, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Now add carrots, petite peas, cauliflower florets, chopped zucchini, mushrooms, tomato paste, chili powder, seasoning salt, garlic salt, spaghetti seasoning and dry mustard; mix well and cook for about 5 minutes stirring often.
• Prepare a 7" x 10" or a 8" x 8" casserole dish by rubbing interior with butter or spraying with a vegetable oil.
• Preheat oven to 325°F.
• Transfer beef mixture to prepared casserole dish, level and pat down slightly with a spatula.
• Spread mashed potatoes evenly over the top.
• Bake in preheated 325°F oven for 30 minutes or until potatoes are lightly browned.
• Now sprinkle the grated cheese over the potatoes and return to oven and bake until cheese melts, about 5 minutes.
• Remove from oven and let sit for about 5 minutes to set before cutting into 2 1/2 by 2 1/2 inch squares.
• Serve with a dollop of ketchup if desired.
• Refrigerate any unused portions.
• Reheat 2 squares at a time in a microwave proof dish, on HIGH (full power) for 3 minutes or until nice and hot.