Proper Steak and Kidney Pie with a Buttery Suet-Free Crust

⏱ 210 min · Serves 6

Slow-braised beef and lamb kidney in a dark, glossy ale gravy, tucked under a golden all-butter pastry lid. It's the sort of pie that steams up the kitchen windows and makes everyone go quiet at the table.

Per serving: 712 kcal · 48.0g protein · 38.0g carbs · 40.0g fat

Ingredients

• 800g beef chuck steak, cut into 3cm cubes
• 300g lamb or ox kidney, trimmed of core and cut into 2cm pieces
• 3 tbsp plain flour, seasoned with salt and pepper
• 3 tbsp beef dripping or vegetable oil
• 2 large onions, finely chopped
• 2 carrots, diced
• 200g chestnut mushrooms, quartered
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 tbsp tomato purée
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 330ml dark ale or stout
• 500ml beef stock
• 2 bay leaves
• 3 sprigs thyme
• 1 tsp English mustard
• Salt and plenty of black pepper
• 375g all-butter puff pastry (or shortcrust, if you prefer)
• 1 egg, beaten, to glaze

Method

1. Soak the kidney pieces in cold salted water for 20 minutes, then drain and pat very dry — this tames any strong flavour.
2. Toss the beef and kidney in the seasoned flour. Heat 2 tbsp dripping in a large casserole over high heat and brown the meat in batches until deeply coloured, about 4 minutes per batch. Set aside.
3. Lower the heat, add the remaining dripping and cook the onions and carrots for 8 minutes until softening. Add the mushrooms and cook 5 minutes more, then the garlic for 1 minute.
4. Stir in the tomato purée and cook for 2 minutes, then pour in the ale, scraping the base to lift all the browned bits. Let it bubble and reduce by a third.
5. Return the meat and juices to the pot with the stock, Worcestershire sauce, bay and thyme. Bring to a gentle simmer, cover and cook on the lowest heat for 2 hours, until the beef pulls apart easily.
6. Uncover, stir in the mustard and simmer 15–20 minutes to reduce the gravy until it thickly coats the meat. Season well and leave to cool completely — hot filling ruins pastry. Discard the bay and thyme stalks.
7. Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan. Tip the cold filling into a 1.5-litre pie dish. Roll the pastry to 5mm, cut a strip to line the dampened rim, then lay the lid over, press to seal and crimp. Cut a steam vent in the centre.
8. Brush all over with beaten egg and bake for 35–40 minutes until puffed and burnished. Rest 10 minutes, then serve with mash and buttered greens.