Beef Pot Pies with Pepper Sauce

Beef pot pies, made with tender chunks of beef, braised in a pepper sauce. Top with a lattice of crispy golden puff pastry and you have a comforting hearty meal to chase away the winter blues.

Beef Pot Pies

At the first signs of winter my thoughts always turn to hearty warming comfort food. And Beef Pot Pies are number one on the list. They contain tender chunks of beef, swiming in a thick gravy, flavoured with peppercorn sauce.

An added advantage is that this has to be one of the easiest beef pot pie recipes out there. The beef filling only takes 20 minutes to prepare. Once that’s done, it just simmers away by itself until the beef is mouthwateringly tender.

You can make them in individual ramekins as I have done here, or make one big pie. The choice is yours.

I love making these individual beef pot pies because everybody gets their fair share of the crispy puff pastry. And let’s face it, a piece of puff pastry soaked with delicious gravy that bubbles up and combines with the underneath layers of pastry is heaven on a plate.

I like to put my own spin on the gravy, by using grated carrots and potatoes in the recipe. These cook down to virtually nothing, leaving only the juices which combine with the stock to form a tasty thick gravy.

How to make beef pot pies

Ingredients

Whenever I read a recipe I like to have a look at the ingredients to see whether I have everything I need. To make it easy for you – I’ve listed the ingredients below. You can get the full list of ingredients and quantities in the printable recipe card further down in the post.

• Puff pastry – use shop-bought puff pastry for convenience.
• Beef – good quality steak, chopped into smallish cubes
• Potatoes and carrots – these should be coarsely grated
• Mushrooms and onions – these should be chopped
• Beef stock – made from a stock cube and a cup of water
• Cream – because every recipe needs a little decedance
• Pepper Sauce powder – I use a packet of shop bought peppercorn sauce powder
• Salt and pepper – lots of pepper to enhance the pepper flavour of the sauce
• Sunflower oil – for frying the onions. Olive oil is fine too.

Steps

Preparation

• Chop the steak into bite-sized chunks
• Peel and grate the carrots and potatoes
• Peel and chop the onion into approximately 1cm dice
• Wipe the mushrooms to remove any dirt and chop into chunks
• Dissolve 1 stock cube in one cup of boiling water

Cook the filling

• Heat the sunflower oil in a large frying pan. Add the onions and fry the onions over a low heat until they start to change colour.
• Increase the heat and add the steak. Stirfry until the surface of the meat has sealed.
• Add the mushrooms and continue frying until they have browned.
• Stir in the peppercorn sauce mix and the salt and pepper. The powdered sauce mix will combine with the juices in the pan. Mix well to remove all the lumps.
• Stir in the carrots and potatoes and then pour in the beef stock and mix well.
• Cover and leave to simmer on a low heat at least one hour, until the potatoes and carrots have disintegrated and the meat is cooked through and tender. The cooking time will depend on how large your chunks of beef have been cut. If it starts to dry out, top up with more beef stock.
• Remove from the heat and stir in the cream
• If the sauce looks too runny, thicken with a little cornflour dissolved in 1 tablespoon milk. This will allow the sauce to thicken as the pies cook in the oven.
• Allow the filling to cool.

Assemble the pies

• Carefully unroll the puff pastry and cut strips about 1cm wide. Cut each strip in half so that they are just long enough to fit over a ramekin.
• Ladle the cooled filling into each ramekin. If the pastry comes into contact with hot liquid it will start to melt and will not rise properly
• Use the pastry strips to form a lattice on top of each ramekin. If you don’t want a lattice on the top of each pie, just cover each ramekin with a flat piece of pastry. And remember to cut a few slits in the top to allow the steam to escape.
• Brush the top of each with a little beaten egg or milk.

Bake

• Place the ramekins on a baking tray. Line the baking tray with foil to protect it from any filling that may boil out as the pies are cooking.
• Bake in a hot oven 220C/425F for 15 – 20 minutes until the pastry is well risen and golden.

Just look at how the gravy has seeped through and soaked into the pastry!

Equipment

To make this recipe you will need the following equipment. In case you are missing something I have included some links to my Amazon shop pages, where you might just find the item you are looking for.

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• Large frying pan with a lid
• Ramekins or baking dish
• Baking sheet

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Any Questions?

Can I freeze beef pot pies

Yes, you can freeze the uncooked pot pies. Wrap the assembled pies in cling film and place in the freezer for up to 4 months.

To use – allow to defrost in the refrigerator and then bake as per the recipe instructions.

I wouldn’t freeze these once the pastry has been cooked because the cooked pastry will not retain its crispness once it has been frozen and defrosted.

What do you serve with Beef Pot Pies?

I like to serve with rice or mashed potatoes and a side helping of vegetables. A sweet vegetable such as peas, complements the peppery taste of the steak really well.

Other pies you might enjoy

Before we get on to the recipe for beef pot pies, I’d just like to let you know about some of my other pie recipes.

• Bacon and Egg Pie – just like Granny used to make
• Chicken and Mushroom Puff Pie – with a delicious cheesy pastry
• Steak and Kidney Pie – crammed with chunky meat and vegetables

Recipe – Beef Pot Pies with pepper sauce

Print Recipe

Beef Pot Pies

Individual pot piet made from tender chunks of beef in a creamy pepper sauce topped with a layer of puff pastry.

Prep Time20 mins

Cook Time1 hr 20 mins

Total Time1 hr 40 mins

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: British

Servings: 4 pies

Calories: 751kcal

Author: VJ

Ingredients

• 500 g good quality beef steak cubed
• 1 medium onion (finely chopped) approximately 1 cup
• 10 large white mushrooms (chopped) approximately 1 cup
• 1 large potato (grated) approximately 2 cups
• 1 medium carrot (grated) approximately 1/2 cup
• 1 cup (½ pint) beef stock you can use 1 stock cube disolved in 1 cup boiling water
• 1 packet powdered pepper sauce
• 100 ml cream
• 1 Tablespoons Sunflower oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 packet frozen puff pastry defrosted

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 220°C / 450°F
• Cut the steak into approximately 2cm pieces
• Grate the potato and carrot
• Chop the onion and mushrooms into fine dice (approximately 1 cm)
• Heat the oill in a frying pan and fry the onions gently on a low heat until translucent.
• Turn up the heat and add the steak. Stir fry the steak with the onions until the steak is nicely browned.
• Reduce the heat. Add the mushrooms and continue to stirfry for about 2 minutes until the mushrooms start to brown.
• Remove from the heat and stir in the salt, pepper and the pepper sauce powder
• Stir in the grated potatoes and carrots
• Add the beef stock
• Return to the heat, and allow to simmer on a very low heat, for at least one hour, until the meat is tender and the potatoes and onions have disintegrated. If it starts to dry out, top up with more beef stock.
• Remove from the heat and stir in the cream
• Test for taste and season with more salt and pepper if necessary.
• If the sauce is too runny, thicken with a little cornflour dissolved in 1 tablespoon milk. This will allow the sauce to thicken as the pies cook in the oven.
• Spoon into 4 individual ramekins
• Roll out the puff pastry and cut into 1cm strips then cut each strip in half. Lay the strips across each of the ramekins to form a lattice work on top of each ramekin.
• Brush with beaten egg.
• Bake in a pre-heated oven for 15 – 20 minutes until the pastry is well risen and golden.
• To serve, place each ramekin on a plate with a mound of mashed potatoes and your favourite vegetables.

Notes

The grated potato and carrot should disintegrate and combine with the cooking juices to form a thick gravy.

Allow the filling to cool before covering with pastry.  If the filling is too hot it will melt the pastry, and the pastry will not rise and puff up properly.

You can make this in one large baking dish if you prefer.

The assembled dish can be frozen (wrapped in cling film), but it is not advisable to freeze once the pastry has been cooked.

 

 

The calorie count has been calculated using an on-line calculator and is provided for information purposes only.  If the calorie count is important to you, you should consider calculating it yourself, using your preferred tool.

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