Tag Archives: meat pie

Steak and Kidney Pie

“Winterfell…When last I was inside those walls, your cook served us a steak and kidney pie. Made with ale, I think, best I ever tasted. What was his name, that cook?”
“Gage,” Jeyne said at once. “He was a good cook. He would make lemoncakes for Sansa whenever we had lemons.” -The Winds of Winter

Steak and Kidney Pie, from the Winds of Winter

Steak and Kidney Pie, from the Winds of Winter

Thoughts:

Huzzah, and rejoice! Another recipe from the Winds of Winter, pulled from a previous excerpt chapter on GRRM’s site.

I admit that I was a tad nervous to make this pie. I’ve had steak and kidney pie before, and loved it, but I’ve also heard reports of kidneys being far too gamey to be enjoyable. However, I was determined to power through, so I found some really nice lamb kidneys at the ever-awesome Savenor’s, and set to work.

I couldn’t be happier with the finished pie. I had a slice for each meal of the day (it makes an amazing breakfast), and was delighted each time. Because the meats are stewed in ale, as per the quote, it’s tender, juicy, and tumbled in a rich gravy. I’ve seen versions with veggies and such mixed in, but I liked the no-nonsense mixture in this pie, which is pretty much just meat.

Recipe for Steak and Kidney Pie

Ingredients:

  • 3/4 lb. quality lamb kidney (about 4 kidneys)
  • 2 lb stew beef, cut into bite-sized pieces
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 3 Tbs. vegetable oil
  • 1 tsp. pepper
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1 bottle ale
  • 1 1/2 cup beef stock
  • 1 medium onion, diced

Pastry ingredients:

  • 3 cups flour
  • 1 tsp. coarse salt
  • 1 stick butter
  • ~1/2 cup cold water
  • 1/4 cup milk for glaze, or 1 egg, beaten

Cut the kidneys into small pieces, around 1″, avoiding the hard white parts around the middle. In medium heat oil, sear the kidney for a couple of seconds, then add everything else. Cover and simmer for an hour and a half, or until the gravy has thickened. Allow to cool while you roll out the pastry.

Combine the flour and salt, then rub or cut in the butter until it resembles a coarse breadcrumb mixture. Gradually add enough water to pull the whole together. Place in the fridge to chill for at least 30 minutes.

Divide the pastry dough in two, and roll out to two rounds, about 1/8″ thick. Place one layer of dough in a pie pan, then fill with the cooled meat mixture. Wet the edges, then place the second layer of dough over top. Trim excess dough off the sides, then fold under and seal. Brush with egg or milk, and bake at 400F for around 40 minutes, or until the top is a golden brown. Allow to cool for at least 10 minutes before slicing.

 

Beef and Bacon Pies

“Part of him wanted nothing so much as to hear Bran laugh again, to sup on one of Gage’s beef-and-bacon pies, to listen to Old Nan tell her tales of the children of the forest and Florian the Fool.” -A Game of Thrones

Medieval Beef-and-Bacon Pie

Thoughts:

Both of these pies are delicious, but they are very different; the medieval pie is sweet, the modern is savory.

 The sweetness of the medieval pie comes from added fruit and honey. As the pie bakes, the fruit melts, giving a lovely counter-taste to the tart vinegar and salty bacon. The fruit flavor fades into the background and what remains is a sweet, rich meat pie with an easy medley of flavors.

  The savory modern pie was more what we imagined when we read about beef-and-bacon pies of Winterfell.  For all that this is a relatively dense dish, the flavors are fairly light.  The beef, bacon, onions, and herbs are all distinguishable, but don’t linger overlong on the palate. 

Bottom line?  Medieval is sweet, modern is savory.  Make both, and tell us what you think! *The Modern recipe is now exclusively in the GoT Cookbook.

 

Medieval Beef-and-Bacon Pie

ORIGINAL RECEIPT:

To make Pyes. Pyes of mutton or beif must be fyne mynced & seasoned with pepper and salte and a lytel saffron to colour it, suet or marrow a good quantitie, a lytell vynegre, pruynes, great reasons, and dates, take the fattest of the broath of powdred beefe.  – A Propre new booke of Cokery, 1545

Our changes: We added bacon.  Delicious, thick cut bacon, in place of the marrow.  We winged the proportions a little on the dried fruit based on what was left in our pantry.  

Ingredients:

  • Pastry dough enough for 9″ pie pan, top and bottom (Recipe)
  • 1 ½ lbs. stew beef cut into small pieces
  • ½ cup bacon, diced or cut small
  • ½ tsp. pepper (or to taste)
  • ½ tsp. salt (or to taste) 
  • 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
  • 1/3 cup prunes, sliced
  • 1/3 cup raisins
  • 1/3 cup dates, chopped
  • ~1 cups beef broth
  • 2-3 Tbs. flour

On the stovetop, cook the diced bacon until the fat runs from it; drain off the fat.  To the bacon pan, add the beef, spices, vinegar & the fruit. Add enough broth to thoroughly wet the mixture – the final consistency should be runny.

Throw in the flour and cook on low heat until the juices form a sort of gravy.

Let cool. Line a 9-inch pie pan with and fill with the meat mixture. Add a pastry lid or leave open-faced. Bake at 375º F until filling is bubbling and the pastry cooked, approx. 40 minutes.

NB: The cookbook contains a better, more delicious, perfected modern pie recipe, complete with a lattice-woven bacon top.