Steak and Guinness Pie: A Delicious Irish Version of a Traditional European Favorite!

Steak and Guinness pie is one of those dishes that works for any occasion. 

Serve it as a simple, stand-alone meal after a hard day at work, or serve it as a unique delicacy during an Irish-themed party or holiday celebration - it works either way!

Meat pies have a tradition throughout most of Europe, not just in Ireland.

However, the addition of Guinness, bacon and onions to the gravy gives this delicious meal a uniquely Irish flavor.

If this makes you hungry for many more Irish food recipes, please visit our main page on Irish food here...

Meanwhile, please enjoy our favorite steak and guinness pie recipe!

Steak and Guinness Pie:  Ingredients

• 3-strips of bacon chopped into one inch squares (You can substitute 2-3 Tbsp of olive oil or other oil for this ingredient. You’re using the bacon for the grease—but I also like the extra taste it brings to the pie.)

• 1 ½ pounds of inexpensive steak, such as chuck or round

• Salt and pepper to taste—I love fresh ground pepper and sea salt in the recipe

• 2 Heaping TBSP of flour

• 1 Peeled onion cut in larger pieces---You can use any size, but I use the larger ones since I love the flavor of cooked onion

• 2 large carrots or 3 medium sized ones peeled and chopped

• 1 stalk of celery chopped (optional but good)

• 2 large or 3 medium potatoes peeled and chopped (You can use red or other thin skinned potatoes and leave the skins on if you don’t want to peel or simply like the flavor of skins on potatoes.)

• 1 Handful of fresh rosemary, thyme or bay leaf-you can use just one type of herb or a mixture of whatever you have. I’m a huge fan of thyme, but didn’t have enough growing in the box on the kitchen window, so I added both rosemary and bay leaf. That ended when I forgot to water my bay tree for about two months, then it was just rosemary and thyme.

• 2 cups of Guinness stout—You’ll need two cans of Guinness since it comes in 12 oz or 14.9 oz sizes. There’s a newer brew in a 16.9 oz size, but it only holds 14.9 oz of beer. All the better, the cook gets the leftovers.

• 28 ounce can of diced tomatoes

• Homemade pastry dough (recipe below) or purchased puff pastry

• Egg, well beaten with a bit of water or milk to thin to a wash

Steak and Guinness Pie:  Preparation

1. Season the beef with salt and pepper then coat with flour.

2. Fry the bacon or heat the oil if you’re using a substitute, in a large pan.

3. Add the meat, browning half at a time to insure you don’t crowd it.

4. Add the onions and cook for a minute, then add the carrots, potatoes, celery and herbs to the meat mixture. Cook the mixture another 4 minutes, stirring it frequently to prevent sticking.

5. Add the tomatoes and Guinness and allow it to come to a boil. Lower the temperature and allow the mixture to simmer for two hours. If you used bay leaf, remove the leaf after the mixture cools.

6. Allow the mixture to cool as you preheat the oven to 375 degrees. You can make it ahead and store in the refrigerator overnight if you have a busy schedule the next day.

7. You can make one pie or use individual pies. For one pie to share, put the mixture into a large round baking dish.

8. Top it with dough cut slightly larger than the size of the dish to allow you to crimp the edges over and create a seal.

9. Brush the pastry with the egg wash and make a few diagonal slices in the dough to allow steam to escape.

10. Bake for approximately 45 minutes until the crust is golden and the stew bubbles out the holes.

Steak and Guinness Pie: Homemade Pastry Dough

Ingredients:

• ½ tsp salt

• 1 ¼ C flour

• 1 Stick of frozen butter, plus an additional 5 tablespoons

• 5 TBSP ice water

Directions

1. Mix salt and flour.

2. Grate the butter into the flour mixture and mix well. I use my hands.

3. Add the water and continue to squeeze through your fingers until it’s well mixed.

4. Put dough on floured board and roll, cutting the size of circles you need for your recipe.

Steak and Guinness Pie:  Serving Suggestions

You can use dried herbs, but only use one-third the amount. Our family has always grown their own fresh herbs, so I’ve always used a handful in recipes.

We measured it once, after chopping the herbs for another recipe and found it came out to about two tablespoons, so two teaspoons should work for this one.

For the people who don’t like the flavor of Guinness---hard to imagine it, but there are some!--- you can use beef stock instead.

You can also substitute parsnips for the potatoes.

 Delicious!  Where Can I Find More?

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