Recipe: Steak and Ale Pie

This is a good English pie.  Tastes wonderful!

Steak and Ale Pie

• 1 frozen pie crust
• 0.5 to 0.75 pounds of steak (stir fry steak works well)
• 1.5 cups of Newcastle Brown Ale (or other dark ale of your choice)
• 1 dessert spoon of Bisto gravy granules (go to an international store for these, they are well worth it)
• 1 or two leeks
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1 box of mushrooms
• 1 small stick of cheese
• 1 large potato, or enough mashed potato to cover a pie

Boil potato and mash, set aside for later.  Cut meat into small pieces.  Chop leek thinly and fry with mushrooms and garlic.  Add meat, brown for a minute then and add ale slowly.  Stir to get rid of the froth from the ale.  Boil until the alcohol is gone, stirring often, add gravy granules.  Reduce until you have a thick gravy consistency.  Pour what you can into the pie crust and cover with mashed potato, it will not all fit.  Save the rest for another day.

Bake at around 375F until the potato has gone crispy on top (at least 20 minutes). Grate the cheese over the pie and return to the oven.  Remove when cheese has melted and gone crispy around the edges.  Drink the remaining ale with dinner and serve with good bread rolls and a vegetable of your choice.

(You may be able to substitite a packet gravy mix for the Bisto, but I've never tried it that way.  If you try it this way, please drop me a feedback email and let me know what happened.)