Tag: meat pies

BAKING TIPS: The ultimate Gran E Bake – My famous meat pies.

by granebakes

I’ve talked before about how meat pies have been a staple of my repertoire. And it seems this reputation remains, as there’s been requests to Gran E bakes for the recipe. So, here goes! 

For the Filling: 

  • Approx 4oz stewing steak, trimmed and cut into bite size pieces 
  • Beef mince (1oz per 4oz steak) 
  • Chopped Kidney adds great flavour to the mix (and isn’t noticed by most people if cut up small enough!) 
  • Enough liquid – stock, beer/ale/wine lying around, plus Hendersons relish of course – to well cover the meat mixture 
  • Onions and garlic softened in oil or butter 
  • Chopped mushrooms add depth and flavour also 

This will need long, slow cooking (approx two hours) .

How to do it:

  • Firstly brown the meat in the pan after the onions are softened 
  • Add the onions and other ingredients in with the meat, cover with your cooking liquid and bring to the boil 
  • Turn down and simmer for up to two hours until the meat is tender 
  • There should be plenty of concentrated liquid at this time to drain off  and use for a fantastic gravy! 
  • Don’t forget to season the mix and liquid to taste as you progress 

For the Pastry: 

  • Always 50% plain to 50% self-raising flour ratio 
  • Salt and mustard powder 
  • Any combination of Lard/Butter/Trex/Atora Suet (half fat to flour ratio) 
  • Beaten egg/water mix 

Method:

  • Rub in the fat to the flour, then mix in the beaten egg/water to form your dough 
  • Roll out fairly thickly, leaving extra to cover your filling 
  • Line your pie dish (buttered of course) with pastry to form the base 
  • Remember to use pie lifts as this helps to keep the pastry lid up and to release stem while cooking 

Assembly

  • The filling should be cool but not too cold before adding to the dish 
  • If adding potatoes to your pie peel, cut into cubes and rinse well in cold water the par-boil for 10-15 minutes 
  • I don’t mix into the pie filling but place as good thick layer over the filling. This helps to soak up any gravy and prevents to pastry lid becoming too wet. 
  • Sprinkle with chopped herbs for added flavour 
  • Cover the dish with the pastry lid and fold inwards all around the edge to form a good seal  
  • Brush with beaten egg and sprinkle with seeds 
  • Pre-heat oven to 200C minimum 
  • Place your pie in the hot oven for at least 30 minutes until the filling is bubbling 
  • Then turn the heat down to medium (around 170C) 
  • Cover the pie with greaseproof paper and cook for a further 40-50 mins 

Timings cannot be too precise as they depend on the type and size of the dish and, of course, your oven!  

When finished the crust should be a lovely golden brown and you’ll know the pie is ready to eat 

Serve with beans, mushy peas and don’t forget your lovely gravy and a splash of Hendersons!

Enjoy!

 

Let me know on Instagram if you try this recipe out! I’d love to see.

LIFE TALES: My return to Sheffield.. all ‘erbs an’ that there garlic.

by granebakes

All good things (even work) come to an end, so after a few eventful and enjoyable years in California I returned to Sheffield, not knowing what lay ahead.

It was now the early 80’s (the decade, not my age!). Pubs didn’t really serve food, aside from bags of crisps and nuts with your pint or port and lemon; eating out was the domain of cafés and restaurants. Slowly Ploughman’s Lunches, maybe prawn sandwiches, chicken-in-a-basket and chips crept in – a culinary revolution! 

There was a country pub just outside Sheffield in the Peak District. The pub was busy in the evenings – still in the era before the realisation drinking and driving wasn’t a sensible thing to do – but lunchtime trade was poor. The proprietor had an idea the local farmers and workers could be tempted by a pie to go with their lunchtime pint. Now who could he get to produce the appropriate meat and potato fare?

In a conversation with a friend who worked there my son said his Ma had just returned from working the America and perhaps making these pies would suit her. After meeting and talking through ideas the owner decided this was worth a try and – Bingo – busy lunchtimes ensued!  

The increased trade drove the demand for more variation on the menu. As the clientele were predominately male (and this was still the 1980’s!) shepherd’s pie was added. This was supplemented by a new idea of mine, Hot Spicy Beef sandwiches – huge joints of brisket slowly cooked overnight in beer (what else!), then thickly sliced and served in fresh crusty bread. 

Word quickly spread, so food-service was expanded to early evenings to boost trade further. Of course the customer base also evolved – a wider mix of ages and (especially) more female customers – so more dishes and options were needed.  

The lunchtime eaters were mostly farm workers and businessmen passing through. I was told plain, tasty food was the order of the day – meat pies being a perfect example.

One elderly gent gave fair warning and in no uncertain terms that he didn’t hold with “them there ‘erbs an’ stuff – and none of that garlic an’ all!”.

As I used both liberally I conveniently forgot to mention and kept my fingers crossed as he tucked into whatever pie was on the menu that day. Fortunately no complaints ever came to my ears! 

The evening food still needed to be fairly simple; I was working alone in a cupboard-sized kitchen. The bar staff served, cleared tables and helped with washing up but there was only me cooking Monday to Friday. I did get Saturdays and Sundays off (seems strange nowadays doesn’t it?) as the bar staff dealt with sandwiches and ploughmans at the weekend. As my confidence grew, and having learned the art of lasagne and spare ribs in California, they were now included. Customers seemed more prepared to accept ‘erbs an’ that there garlic in the evening. Food was served until 7.30pm, seemed to work fine! 

When the business was sold (at a healthy profit of course) I had a new boss, a lovely lady who took over with her husband and two grown up children. This was a happy spell for me. Busier than ever, and I had help!  Brenda was really supportive and hired an assistant, the wonderful Nora. Here background as a school dinner lady and mother to a large family of grown up kids was the best training she could have had! 

Business boomed, so much so that it was again sold on at a healthy profit. In came another new owner, wanting to go further into developing a bistro restaurant style. Much work was done extending the kitchen, food preparation and storage areas and – onwards and upwards – more staff. I like things small but done well, and this was getting too big for my style.

Reluctantly, and after much deliberation, I decided it was once again time to move on; I was going to go it alone. 

Bye for now.