Steak and Guinness Mini Pies
Pub style steak and Guinness mini pies are perfect for St. Patrick’s Day together with these Guinness Frosted Chocolate Cupcakes! Filled with tender steak and mushrooms, a flavorful gravy then topped with flaky puff pastry these personal pies will be a huge hit.
Table of Contents
Beef and Stout Pie
Hearty and comforting steak and Guinness mini pies are perfect for celebrating St. Patrick’s Day or to warm up on a cold spring day! I promise you don’t need the luck of the Irish to make them, it’s really quite simple.
Tender bites of steak, mushrooms and shallots are braised in a Guinness and broth sauce with hints of thyme and flavorful tomato paste then topped with puff pastry. It’s then baked in the oven for the best Irish meat pie you have ever tasted. Guinness gives these pies their signature taste and flavor, just like it does for our favourite Guinness Beer Bread. I promise it’s a meal you won’t forget!
While there is a little time involved to make these mini beef and guinness pies, it’s the perfect dish to make on the weekend and then enjoy during the week. You can even freeze them for another occasion or a busy night! It’s another great recipe from the Complete Irish Pub Cookbook.
Ingredients You Will Need
While you could just eat the beef mixture as stew, it’s really more fun when you make mini beef and Guinness pies! Using puff pastry as your crust saves you time, just like with these sausage rolls or Nutella puff pastry pockets.
- All purpose flour: Helps thicken the beef and Guinness mixture.
- Salt and pepper: To season and taste your steak.
- Round steak: You will need two pounds cut into 1- inch pieces. You could also use beef chuck steak.
- Vegetable oil: For browning your steak and mushrooms. Any oil with a high smoke point could be used.
- Beef stock: For making a flavorful broth.
- Shallots: Mild and sweet, these don’t have quite the bite of onions, but onions could be used if you can’t find shallots.
- Cremini mushrooms: These mushrooms have a deeper umami taste and hold up well in cooking.
- Tomato paste: Adds a rich, flavorful sweet taste to the broth.
- Thyme: Dried thyme pairs perfectly with these savory pies.
- Guinness: Adds a smooth, creamy taste with notes of chocolate and coffee.
- Puff pastry: Either store bought or homemade works.
- Egg yolk: Will be used to make the steak and guinness pies golden and gorgeous.
How to Make Steak and Guinness Pies
To make these steak and ale mini pies you must first cook the meat until it is tender, then you can assemble your savory pies.
Make the steak and Guinness mixture: Coat your steak pieces in the flour mixture and then cook them in a large skillet in oil over medium-high heat. When done, deglaze your skillet and transfer the meat to a large pot.
Saute mushrooms and shallots: Add more oil to the skillet and cook shallots and mushrooms until soft.
Braise beef mixture: Add the mushrooms and shallots to the pot containing your meat, then add tomato paste, thyme, Guinness and remaining beef stock. Heat the pot over medium-high heat, bring it to a boil, then simmer with the lid slightly askew for 1½ hours.
Cool: When your beef is tender, drain the meat mixture in a strainer set over a bowl, reserving the liquid. Cool completely.
Assemble beef and stout pies: Divide meat mixture and liquid between four small 6 oz ramekins or ovenproof bowls. Dampen the rims of the bowls and press puff pastry strips around the rims. Brush with egg yolk, then drape additional pastry quarters on top covering the strips. Trim and make slashes on top of the dough. Brush with the remaining egg yolk.
Bake: Place your pies onto the prepared baking sheets and bake for 20 minutes at 425 degrees F. After 20 minutes reduce the heat to 400 F and bake for another 5 minutes. Serve hot. Enjoy!
Expert Tips
- Prep beef mixture in advance to save time when preparing the steak and ale mini pies for a meal. It will actually get more flavorful the longer it sits!
- Puff pastry is easier to handle when it is cold. You can even run your hands under cold water so they don’t warm up the pastry too much.
- Instead of making individual pies you could make one large steak and Guinness pie in a pie dish.
- Cool your stew mixture before baking it in the oven. This gives everything time to thicken and get more flavorful.
Variations
- Feel free to add some chopped carrots and celery to the beef mixture.
- It’s tempting to eat the beef and Guinness right away when it’s done, and if that is you, serve it with mashed potatoes for a delicious dinner.
- Add some bacon when frying your mushrooms and shallots for a delicious smokey taste.
- Using pie dough instead of puff pastry for your steak and Guinness mini pies really takes that homemade taste to another level.
FAQs
What’s the best ale to cook with?
Guinness is our preference for these beef and stout pies, but you can use any ale you like! Just note that the type of ale you choose will change the final taste of the pie, so use one you like.
Can I prep these in advance?
It is recommended to only make the savory pie mixture in advance. The steak and Guinness mini pies with puff pastry are best baked fresh.
Can I freeze these mini pies?
Yes! You can make these in advance to freeze, though! Assemble, bake, flash freeze and then store in a freezer safe bag. Then just take out of the freezer, reheat in the oven and serve.
How to make an egg wash?
Making an egg wash is simple and makes your puff pastry turn out nice and golden! Just whisk your egg yolk in a small bowl and brush on the pastry before cooking.
More Savory Recipes to Try
- Fig goat, cheese and prosciutto pizza
- Focaccia bread
- Pizza muffins
- Cheddar jalapeno bread
- Homemade cheese buns
Steak and Guinness Mini Pies
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons All purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- ½ teaspoon Black pepper
- 2 pounds Eye of round steak – cut into 1 inch pieces
- 5 tablespoons Vegetable oil
- 1¼ cups Beef stock
- 2 small Shallots
- 8 ounces Cremini mushrooms – stems discarded and caps quartered
- 1 tablespoon Tomato paste
- 2 teaspoons Thyme – dried
- 1 cup Guinness beer
- 1 pound Puff pastry – store bought or homemade
- 1 large Egg yolk – beaten
Instructions
- In a medium bowl mix together the flour, black pepper and salt. Add the steak pieces and coat them in the flour mix.
- In a large pan heat 3 tablespoons of oil over medium-high heat. Cook the beef and then transfer the pieces to a large pot. Deglaze the pan with ¼ cup of stock and then transfer the liquid into the pot.
- Heat another 2 tablespoons of oil in the pan and cook the shallots and mushrooms until soft, about 6-7 minutes. Add the mushrooms and shallots to the pot together with the tomato paste, thyme, Guinness and remaining beef stock. Heat the pot over medium-high heat, bring it to a boil, then simmer with the lid slightly askew for 1½ hours. Add salt if needed.
- When ready, drain the meat mixture in a strainer set over a bowl, reserving the liquid. Let it rest until cool.
- Pre-heat the oven to 425F (220 C). Put a baking sheet in the oven while the oven is pre-heating.
- Divide the meat mixture and the liquid between four small 6 oz ramekins or ovenproof bowls. Dampen the rims of the bowls.
- Cut the puff pastry into quarters, roll out each piece to about 1 inch bigger than the bowls. Cut four ½ inch strips of dough and press them onto the dampened rims. Brush with egg yolk, then drape the pastry quarters on top covering the strips. Trim and crimp the edges and make slashes on top of the dough. Brush with the remaining egg yolk.
- Place the pies on top of the hot baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes reduce the heat to 400 F (205C) and bake for another 5 minutes. Serve hot. Enjoy!
In making these tomorrow for dinner! Thanks for the recipe.
Amazing! Enjoy! they’re so good 🙂
This looks really good, but I have some people in my family who won’t eat mushrooms. What would you suggest to substitute? Potatoes, onions, ?
Hi Nancy, you can definitely substitute mushrooms for potatoes, carrots or even squash and add onions instead of shallots. Hope that helps! Enjoy the mini pies, they’re delicious!