Steak pie help needed, please anyone?

[mummyeme]

Hi,
Steak was on special and have really fancied a steak pie. I'm fine with the pastry but how do I best cook the meat. Should I brown it or fully cook it before adding it to the pastry. I'm basically a reasonable cook but always worry about cooking meat, if anyone knows what to do, please tell me.
Thankyou

don't fully cook it.

If you want to do anything to it - brown it. But tbh even that's not strictly necessary.

I'd sautee the chunks with some onions and butter until browned, and then add some flour and brown some more and then add stock and any other veg/flavourings, bring to simmering point, turn heat down, put a lid on and cook until the meat is tender. Then I'd make the pie.

HTH

I usually fully cook it with a "Beef tonight" cook in sauce type thingy and then add it to the pastry
(i put the steak in a deep oval dish. Cut a piece of puff pastry to fit & pop in oven, add a layer of grated cheese to steak heat through in oven before plonking puff pastry top on. SO high in calories & fat but v yummy)

how I actually make them is cook it like a stew as I described, then portion it into individual ramekins and top with puff pastry lids that I've already cooked, but this isn't exactly authentic and won't work with short-crust anyway.

Overmydeadbody, I use the same method, but do use shortcrust pastry and it works fine.

Or you can put uncooked pastry tops on and cook in the oven for 20 mins. Both work well.

Thankyou very much everyone

I cook it for hours so it is really tender, then add it to the pie.

Yes I do the same and then everyone can chose if they want pastry on to make pie or just casserole - fussy lot my family and I object to wasting food. Beef casserole is very yummy with couscous.

I recently made the Jamie at Home steak a Guinness pie. I didn't have any myself (veggie) but DH and Dses loved it. He cooks the filling for about two and a half hours in the oven first. It uses puff pastry and only use Guinness - I tried another stout and it wasn't the same apparently!

I braise the meat with onions and mushroom in stock for a couple of hours, put in a oven dish,cover with dumpling balls and cook for about 30 mins, mmmmmmmmmm dh calls it killer pie!

Sophie Conran's pie book recommends adding a big spoonful of horseradish to the meat mixture. Only nice if you like the stuff of course...