isithalal.food

Halal-conscious recipe

Steak pie without ale or lard

A deep beef pie with slow-braised Halal beef shin in a rich gravy, Halal stock in place of the brown ale, no bacon, and an all-butter mustard pastry instead of lard.

  • Cuisine British
  • Meal Main
  • Difficulty Advanced
  • Yield One 26–28 cm pie, 6 to 8 portions
  • Time 5h 10m
  • Last updated

Each method follows published technique for the dish, and every Halal substitution is checked against the ingredient pages we cite. Photographs come from our ingredient library rather than the finished dish.

Printable view
A meat pie cut open to show the filling
Photograph from our ingredient library: a meat pie, not the finished dish.

Photo: davidsilver · CC BY-SA 2.0

Why Halal checks matter here

Steak and ale pie is braised in beer, BBC Good Food's version also adds smoked bacon and makes its pastry with lard, and the beef and stock are only Halal from Halal slaughter.

A steak and ale pie is beef braised slowly in beer and stock, then baked under a thick pastry lid. BBC Good Food's version adds smoked bacon to the braise, pours in 400 ml of sweet brown ale, and makes its pastry with lard as well as butter. That is three things to change, plus the usual check that the beef and stock are Halal (see meat pie).

This version keeps the method: the bacon goes (Halal beef bacon is an option), Halal beef stock replaces the ale, and butter does the work of the lard in the pastry. The tablespoon of tomato purée and the long braise give the gravy its depth. Two small items follow your practice: the teaspoon of vinegar, which is a scholarly difference, and the optional miso, whose label you should read.

Make the filling a day ahead if you can: the pie is better when the filling goes in fridge-cold, and the pastry holds its shape.

Halal-critical ingredients

  • Brown ale The original braises the beef in 400 ml of sweet brown ale. Cooking it does not make it Halal on this site. Use more Halal beef stock, as here. See Beer.
  • Smoked bacon It is pork, browned first so its fat flavours the filling. Leave it out, or use Halal beef bacon. See Bacon.
  • Lard in the pastry Lard is pork fat, and the original pastry uses 150 g of it. Use butter for all the fat, as here. See Lard.
  • Beef and stock Beef and beef stock are Halal only from Halal slaughter. Buy Halal beef shin and Halal-certified stock cubes. See Meat pie.
  • Vinegar and miso Malt and red wine vinegar are a scholarly difference, and some miso lists alcohol. Use the vinegar only if your school accepts it; read the miso label or leave it out.

Safe substitutes

  • Brown ale → The same amount of Halal beef stock
  • Smoked bacon → Nothing, or Halal beef bacon
  • Lard → Butter

Allergens

gluten (flour), milk (butter), egg (glaze), mustard, soy (miso, if used)

Ingredients

Filling

  • 1 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 100 g (3½ oz) optional Halal beef bacon, chopped, in place of the smoked bacon
  • 1 kg (2 lb 4 oz) Halal beef shin, in large chunks
  • 2 onions, roughly chopped
  • 3 carrots, peeled, in large chunks
  • 3 tbsp plain flour
  • 1 tbsp tomato purée
  • 1 tsp malt or red wine vinegar (see the vinegar check below)
  • 1 tsp brown miso paste, label checked (optional)
  • 400 ml (1⅔ cups) Halal beef stock, in place of the brown ale
  • 600 ml (2½ cups) Halal beef stock, from 2 certified cubes
  • a few thyme sprigs, stalks and leaves separated
  • 2 bay leaves

All-butter pastry

  • 700 g (5½ cups) plain flour, plus extra for dusting
  • 2 tsp English mustard powder
  • 150 g (⅔ cup) butter, in place of the lard
  • 150 g (⅔ cup) butter, plus extra for the dish
  • up to 250 ml (up to 1 cup) ice-cold water
  • 2 egg yolks, beaten

Method

  1. Brown the meat. Heat the oven to 160°C (140°C fan). Heat the oil in a large casserole. If using Halal beef bacon, fry it gently for 5 minutes and lift it out; the original uses smoked bacon here. Brown the beef well in batches for 5 to 8 minutes, then set aside.
  2. Braise the filling. Cook the onions and carrots gently for 5 minutes, stir in the flour, then the tomato purée, vinegar and miso if using. Return the meat and juices, pour in all the stock (the first 400 ml replaces the ale), add the thyme stalks and bay, season and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook in the oven for about 2 hours until the beef is very tender. Cool slightly, strain off about half the liquid to serve as gravy, and leave the filling to cool completely; it is best fridge-cold.
  3. Make the pastry. Mix the flour, mustard powder and all the butter with a good pinch of salt until combined, then add up to 250 ml ice-cold water a little at a time to make a soft dough. Knead in the thyme leaves, cover and chill for at least 1 hour.
  4. Line and fill. Heat the oven to 220°C (200°C fan) with a baking tray inside. Butter and flour a 26 to 28 cm pie dish. Roll out two-thirds of the pastry thickly, line the dish with an overhang and fill it with the beef, slightly above the rim. Brush the edge with yolk, cover with the rest of the pastry, trim, crimp, decorate with the trimmings, brush with yolk and cut a hole in the centre.
  5. Bake. Bake on the hot tray for 20 minutes, brush again with yolk, scatter with sea salt and bake for 20 to 25 minutes more until golden. Rest for 10 minutes while you reheat the gravy.

How this recipe was researched

Method adapted from BBC Good Food's 'Steak & ale pie' (bacon and beef shin browned, onion and carrot softened, flour, tomato purée, a little vinegar and optional miso, 400 ml sweet brown ale and 600 ml beef stock with thyme and bay braised 2 hours at 160°C, half the liquid strained off as gravy; a lard and butter pastry with mustard powder and thyme; baked 40 to 45 minutes at 220°C). We left out its 100 g of smoked bacon, replaced the ale with more Halal beef stock and the 150 g of lard with butter, and specified Halal beef and stock. Timings follow the published technique rather than a kitchen test.

Technique and ingredient sources

  1. Steak & ale pie — BBC Good Food Retrieved:

    Serves 6 to 8: 100 g smoked bacon, 1 kg beef shin, onions, carrots, flour, tomato purée, malt or red wine vinegar, optional miso, 400 ml sweet brown ale, 600 ml beef stock, thyme, bay; pastry of 700 g flour, mustard powder, 150 g lard, 150 g butter, egg yolks; braised 2 hours at 160°C, baked 40 to 45 minutes at 220°C. We removed the bacon, ale and lard.

  2. Meat pie analysis — isithalal.food Retrieved:

    Meat, gravy and pastry-fat checks for meat pies.

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