Dinner Jan 31, 2024
Note: It's been awhile since I made this, and I didn't take the best notes, so I'm kind of guessing as to what exactly this recipe was. It honestly wasn't that great of a pie, I wouldn't make this exact pie again even if I knew exactly what was in it. This was more of a learning experience, so reading my notes will probably be more helpful than my "recipe".
Hot water crust is a really easy pie crust to make and to get to look nice because of how hardy it is, and tastes fine. Normal pie crust tastes better, but is a little more difficult to make and work with. I didn't do it this time, but you can also add herbs to the dough.
For my own future reference or anyone using a spring-form pan: DO NOT CRIMP DOUGH OVER THE PAN EDGE JUST BECAUSE IT'S PRETTY, YOU'LL HAVE TO TRIM IT OFF TO FREE THE COOKED PIE FROM THE SPRING-FORM PAN!
Filling Ingredients:
1½ pounds Stew Beef
2 tablespoons Worcester Sauce
2 tablespoons (Beer) Mustard
2 tablespoons Soy Sauce
¾ pounds Carrots
1¾ cups Kohlrabi, cubed
1 pound raddishes
1 pound Cremini Mushrooms
1 small Yellow Onion
4 Shallots
1 cup Dark Beer (Sketchbook's Common Culture Stout)
Kosher Salt
Black Pepper Corns
Cornstarch
Flour
Sage
Rosemary
Thyme
Garlic
Hot Water Pastry Ingredients:
4 cups (480g) All-Purpose Flour
1 teaspoon table Salt
1 cup (227g) Water
8 tablespoons (113g) unsalted butter, beef suet, or lard
1 large Egg
Filling Directions:
I think I started by making my own stock: Sear the meat in a dutch oven till browned, then add the worcester, mustard, soy sauce, peels from the carrots, stems from the mushrooms, 1 teaspoon of black pepper corns, the contents of a ¾ full gallon bag of scraps I had in my freezer, and enough water to cover everything.
Simmered for maybe 1-2 hours.
In the meantime: cut the carrots, kohlrabi, and radishes into bite-sized cubes. Chop the onion and shallots. Cook until a little softened and has released some moisture. Cut the mushroom caps into quarters and also cook until they've released some moisture.
Remove the beef from the stock. Strain the stock, discard everything left but the liquid.
Add a ladle of stock to a sauce pan with ⅓ cup cornstarch and ½ cup flour. Whisk into a smooth paste
Whisk paste into the rest of the stock and heat. Add beer.
Over-season with salt, pepper, sage, rosemary, thyme, and garlic because the steak and veggies will dilute it.
Add more cornstarch and/or flour if needed.
Add meat and veggies to the gravy.
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Hot Water Pastry Directions:
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and salt. Scoop out a well in the center.
In a medium saucepan, bring the water and fat to a boil, stirring to melt the fat.
Pour the liquid into the well in the flour mixture, stirring until everything is evenly moistened and cool enough to handle comfortably (it will feel as comforting as warm towels out of the dryer).
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead a few times. Cut off one-third (about 267g) for the top and place it aside to keep warm; under the mixing bowl is a good spot.
[I put it in the saucepan used to heat the water and fat, cover it with a lid, and place the pan close to the oven's vent since it's letting out heat while preheating.]
To make a deep-dish pie: Roll the larger piece of dough into a 13” circle. Transfer it to a 9” or 10” deep-dish pie pan and press it down into the bottom, letting ½” hang over the edge. Spoon in the filling.
To make a loaf-shaped pie: Roll the dough into an oval 16” long and 12” wide. Press it into a 9” x 5” loaf pan with the edges just hanging over the sides. You should have some overlap at the corners; press these together to create a seam. Spoon in the filling.
Roll the remaining dough about ¼" thick. Trim the dough to match the shape of your pan; there should be slightly less than ½" of excess dough hanging over all sides of the pan.
Bring the overhanging bottom crust up and over the top crust, pinching to seal the two and making a decorative crimp. Make a few cuts in the top crust to allow steam to escape. Or cut decorative vent holes, if desired.
Separate the egg yolk from the white, saving the white for another use. beat the yolk with 1 tablespoon of water. Brush the top of the pie with the egg wash.
Pie Directions:
If you are worried about liquid oozing out, place pie pan on a baking sheet
Bake until it has an internal temperature of at least 130°F (55°C), for 30-40 minutes and is golden brown
Once removed from the oven, allow to cool for 15-20 minutes before removing from pan and serving.
Final Notes:
My gravy had a very nice thickness when the filling went into the crust, but I guess the meat and veggies released even more moisture in the oven (even though everything was precooked!) because it became so runny! Maybe it should be more like a paste next time.
Too much radish, I was just trying to get rid of them and wouldn't normally add as many as I did. It affected the taste.
The chunks of steak were too big. I was worried about overcooking them if they were smaller, but they were too difficult to eat and not well distributed compared to the little veggie cubes.
Needed to be seasoned more with salt, pepper, and herbs. It was pretty bland, I think I was too distracted with making everything to remember to check the seasoning. And the gravy probably became a little diluted when it thinned out.
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