Steak pie served with peas, mashed potatoes and gravy is a quintessential British meal. Just one of the great dishes that are under appreciated from the UK. Give this recipe a try and you’ll see what I mean.
I’ve discovered that many Americans are not familiar with a traditional British steak pie.
Introducing British Steak Pie
Once, my parents invited some friends for dinner, and my mother told them she’d like them to try her steak pie. They were pleasantly surprised when they first tasted it, and immediately fell in love with the dish.However, it was only then that they both explained their horror of what they had initially imagined a steak pie to be: a sweet pie filled with a steak!
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If you’ve never had a steak pie, here’s your chance to try something new and different (and delicious). I will warn you that if you purchase your pie crust, it won’t be that exciting, and if the crust has sugar in it, please do not use it for this purpose. This is in the same sort of category as sausage rolls, so if you like those, I bet you’ll like this pie, too.
Scottish Steak Pie
There is another option, which is the traditional Scottish manner of making a steak pie, which is to put the stew in a dish and cover the top with puff pastry. This is equally as enticing as a steak pie with crust! Make sure to serve it with more gravy, mashed potatoes and peas, and a Scottish ale wouldn’t hurt, for those who imbibe.
Traditional British Steak Pie
recipe by Christina Conte (learned from my mother) Serves 6
FULL PRINTABLE RECIPE BELOW
Ingredients
- 1 double crust pie pastry (without sugar)
For the filling
- good quality stew meat, preferably organic, grass fed, cut into bite sized pieces, tossed in flour
- onions, diced
- olive oil
- OXO beef cubes or 1 tbsp beef bouillon or
- Kosher or sea salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- Worcestershire Sauce, if desired
- cold water (or beef stock-if using stock, omit the beef bouillion or add less)
- egg white, beaten with 1/2 tsp water (for brushing pie crust) omit for an egg-free dish
Sauté the onions in the olive oil in a heavy pot until translucent. Remove from pot and set aside. Add more oil to the pot if needed.
Over high heat, add half the meat and sear quickly, until slightly browned, and then remove, and set aside. Repeat with the remaining meat, but instead of removing it after it’s browned, add the other meat and onions back into the pot. (I get really good results when I use the pressure cooker, so if you have one and want to use it, the meat becomes really tender.)
Make a space in the middle of the pot and add the flour. Continue to sauté for about 5 minutes, so that the flour is cooked and brown; then add enough water or stock to make a gravy, but not so much that it won’t all fit in the pie dish (see photo below).
Add the bouillon/OXO cubes and salt (taste a little of the gravy so that you don’t over salt it).
Simmer over low heat for 30 minutes or so, then remove from heat. Let cool slightly.
NOTE: Steak Pie can be made with seasoned raw meat being placed in the crust, but I find that the meat is too tough when made in this manner.
Place the bottom pie shell in a dish, and fill with the stew, then place the pastry on top. (If using puff pastry, place stew directly in dish and top with the pastry, crimping the edges to the side of the pan.) Brush with slightly beaten egg white and water.
Bake pie in crust, in preheated oven, near the bottom, at 400º F (200º C) for 30 minutes, then move the center of the oven for another 15 minutes or until golden brown.
Serve with gravy, mashed potatoes (made with butter and half and half) and peas. Then close your eyes and pretend you’re in a British pub, and enjoy!
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Steak Pie with Peas, Mashed Potatoes and Gravy
Two versions of a British classic, Steak Pie is hearty yet delicious.
Ingredients
- 1 double crust pie pastry (without sugar) or enough puff pastry to cover the top of your dish
- 1 lb good quality stew meat, preferably organic, grass fed, cut into bite sized pieces, tossed in flour
- 1 very large or 2 medium onions, diced
- 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp beef bouillon or 2 OXO beef cubes
- 1 1/2 tsp Kosher or sea salt
- 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- splash of Worcestershire Sauce, if desired
- cold water (or beef stock-if using stock, omit the beef bouillion or add less)
- 1 egg white, beaten with 1/2 tsp water (for brushing pie crust or puff pastry)
Instructions
- Saute the onions in the olive oil in a heavy pot until translucent.
- Remove from pot and set aside. Add more oil to the pot if needed.
- Over high heat, add half the meat and sear quickly, until slightly browned, and then remove, and set aside. Repeat with the remaining meat, but instead of removing it, add the other meat and onions back into the pot. (I get really good results when I use the pressure cooker, so if you have one and want to use it, the meat becomes really tender.)
- Make a space in the middle of the pot and add the flour. Continue to saute for about 5 minutes, so that the flour is cooked and brown; then add enough water or stock to make a gravy, but not so much that it won’t all fit in the pie dish.
- Add the bouillon/OXO cubes and salt (taste a little of the gravy so that you don’t oversalt it).
- Simmer over low heat for 30 minutes or so, then remove from heat. Let cool slightly.
- NOTE: Steak Pie can be made with seasoned raw meat being placed in the crust, but in the US, I find that the meat is too tough when made in this manner.
- Place the bottom pie shell in a dish, and fill with the stew, then place the pastry on top. (Or place stew directly in dish and top with puff pastry if using.) Brush with slightly beaten egg white and water.
- Bake pie in crust, in preheated oven, near the bottom, at 400º F (200º C) for 30 minutes, then move the center of the oven for another 15 minutes or until golden brown.
- (For puff pastry version, bake at 400º F (200º C) for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown and risen.
- Serve with gravy, mashed potatoes (made with butter and half and half) and peas.
Notes
Nutrition information is for a double crust pie.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 262Total Fat: 13gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 75mgSodium: 750mgCarbohydrates: 11gFiber: 1gSugar: 4gProtein: 25g
Nutrition information is only estimated.
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Hi Christina, happy new year to you!
I just discovered your site a couple of days ago and decided to try your steak pie – it’s fabulous, thank you! I had to change the recipe a little because I couldn’t get hold of enough beef so late and close to new year’s eve, so I substituted 50g of the beef for mushrooms. It really worked well! I also altered the shortcrust pastry to include an egg and 50g of grated cheddar cheese. What a difference! The cheesy pastry is fantastic with the beef pie!!
I thought I’d let you know in case you, or anyone else who’s scared of veering from the recipes, would like to try it this way, too. Have a great 2019!
Thank you so much, Shelley! That’s so kind of you to share and I’m so glad you enjoyed the pie! Hope you find more of my recipes to try! Happy 2019 to you too! CC
Made this last night for dinner and it was delicious! Thanks for sharing Christina! Another keeper for sure !!!
Thank you so much, Dawn! I appreciate you letting me know! :)
What size pie dish is suitable ,I’m making the puff pastry version
I use an 8×8 square pan for the puff pastry version. Enjoy! :)
Just made your pie and it was so good. My mother who rarely eats a second helping, ate three helpings! Delicious and not a super difficult recipe. This is a keeper.
Oh my goodness! That’s a fabulous compliment; please thank your mother for me 🤗 My son was visiting and ate three helpings this past week, too! Thank you for the wonderful comment, I appreciate it! CC
Hi. So basically the flavor is just beef and worchestershire sauce? Nothing else? Not even any herbs? I wanna make this!
Hi Nina, this is an authentic British steak pie. Any others that have lots of veg and herbs is not truly British. Give it a try, just be sure to use the best ingredients and you’ll love it!
Oops – the site would not let me give a 5 star rating but I know it is. Having said that how can I make more gravy to pour on top of pie and mash potatoes unless I doubled the recipe to get the meat juices ? We used very basic sauces in cooking (other than many different tomato based sauces ) so I am lost here. Thanks again.
Hi Annemarie, your first comment made almost brought me to tears! I agree with everything you wrote, except maybe that we are losing the love of cooking, eating and sharing those meals together. There are less and less of people like you and me, sadly. Some people announce that they “can’t cook” almost as if it’s a badge of honor. I don’t get it. I hope you’re right and I’m wrong, though!
Regarding the gravy, because I grew up in Scotland, I just make a little with Bisto granules and boiling water! Yes, I cheat on the gravy, but it reminds me of home. I rarely use Bisto, so I don’t feel too badly because it’s not all natural. It would be hard to make more filling just to make more gravy, though. Usually you need a roast to make homemade gravy. Anyway, if you want to try Bisto, either the beef or caramelized onion are DELISH! I sometimes mix them. Let me know how it turns out. :)
Hi – I’m 100% Italian , 1st generation American and I love ethnic recipes of all nations. They’re a vital link to our past which made us who we are. I will not believe future generations will quit cooking and baking these great recipes. How sad that would be – it would be a loss of so much more than putting a meal on the table! It’s tradition and family at its best. I so miss my parents and grandparents and all the Sunday dinners that started early morning and brought us all together to enjoy at one table later in the day. We all helped. We all talked at once and never missed a word of what the other was saying. Your recipes are wonderful. And this Italian girl is going to make an authentic steak pie for dinner tomorrow. Thank you for sharing.
And yes, you are not the first person to tell me you can’t leave 5 stars. I don’t know why it does that, but it’s annoying. Thank you, though. (It lets me leave 5 so it’s evened out to 4.5) :)
I’m a Brit and in the process of making a Steak Pie. I usually start the day before with the meat mixture using a crockpot to slow cook the meat for 6 hours. Then leave to cool overnight in the fridge. The pastry is then rolled into the pie tin base, cover with the cold meat filling and then topped with either shortcrust pastry or puff pastry. This way the pie cooks evenly from the same temperature in the oven.
As an extra to these types of pie, you can add stout (dark beer) approx 330mls, instead of water when making the gravy.
Add cooked boiled potatoes to the old meat mixture (meat and potato pie) great if you are on a budget or feeding a crowd.
Add ox kidney to the stew, usually about a quarter amount to the weight of steak and chopped smaller to the size of meat (Steak and Kidney Pie).
Us a cheap cut of steak it has more flavour and can take the long slow cook
Finally enjoy the Great British Pie
Well done Christina a wonderful post
Hi Clare, thanks for the tips! I don’t know why I don’t use beer more often when I make a steak pie! It is really good. Our steak pie tonight was still super tasty, though! Can’t beat it!