Mary Berry Steak Pie Recipe

Mary Berry’s steak pie has a deeply rich ale and beef filling under a golden puff pastry lid — the most satisfying, most robustly flavoured British pie.

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Prep Time 25

Cook Time 30

Cooling Time 45

Total Time 1 40

Servings: 6 Portions

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: British

Calories: 620

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

Steak Filling:
1 kg braising steak chuck or shin, in 3–4cm chunks, dusted in 2 tbsp plain flour
3 tbsp sunflower oil
200 g smoked lardons
2 large onions halved and thinly sliced
3 carrots in 1cm rounds
3 garlic cloves crushed
2 tbsp tomato purée
330 ml dark ale or stout
400 ml beef stock
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp dried thyme 2 bay leaves
250 g chestnut mushrooms quartered — cooked separately in butter
Salt and pepper
Puff Pastry Lid:
375 g ready-rolled all-butter puff pastry cold
1 large egg beaten

Method

Season beef — toss in flour. Brown lardons in hot oil 5–6 minutes until golden. Remove. Brown beef in batches — deeply golden on all surfaces — remove each batch.
Cook onions 10 minutes. Add carrots and garlic — 3 minutes. Add purée — 1 minute. Add ale — bubble 3–4 minutes. Add stock, Worcestershire sauce, thyme, and bay leaves. Return beef and lardons. Season. Simmer covered on lowest heat or in 160°C oven 1 hour 45 minutes – 2 hours until tender.
Cook mushrooms separately in hot butter until golden and dry. Add to filling when beef is ready. Remove bay leaves. Season assertively. Cool completely — 45 minutes.
Preheat oven to 200°C / 180°C fan / Gas 6. Fill pie dish generously. Brush rim with egg. Lay cold puff pastry over — press edges, trim, crimp. Cut generous vents. Brush generously with egg. Bake 28–32 minutes until deeply golden and bubbling.
Rest 10 minutes. Serve with mashed potato.

Notes

Dust beef in flour before browning — gives more colour and slight sauce thickening.

Brown in batches of four — crowding gives steamed, pale beef and a flat sauce.

Use dark ale or stout — gives the robustly flavoured depth that defines a great steak pie.

Cool filling completely before applying pastry — hot filling prevents proper rising.

Cook mushrooms separately — gives golden, earthy pieces rather than grey indistinct softness.

Freeze filling without pastry for up to 3 months.