Scottish Christmas Dinner: Beef & Mushroom Pie

The picture really doesn't do this traditional main dish from a Scottish Christmas dinner justice.  It's impossible to capture the incredibly moist and flavorful filling laced with a hint of thyme or the light and flaky crust in a single image.  You'll just have to take my word for it. But I have to warn you.  If you make this just this once, you will have the boys in your family asking that you make it year round.   It really is that good. 

My idea of meat pies growing up were those little frozen pot-pies that were only ever purchased and used when my mom was having a baby or my dad was out of town on a business trip and my mom didn't want to cook.  We had them so rarely that they felt like a treat, even though they were filled with strangely chewy vegetables (from being cooked, frozen, and reheated) and a flat, almost cardboard-like crust.  Marie Callender's raised the bar a bit with better fillings and a flakier crust, but still... nothing ever beats homemade.

As a cook, one of the things that I appreciated about this recipe (which I cobbled together from several different sources) was the relative ease of preparation.  Having a single crust on top of the filling simplified this considerably over a double crust.  The filling can be cooked all in a single pot before transferring it to the pie pan and topping it.  And while it is baking, you can make your side dishes.

If you are serving it with a non-holiday dinner, it is traditionally served with a green salad and some British cheese like Cotswald, Double Gloucester, Cheshire, Wensleydale, or Lancashire.  As part of a Christmas or St. Andrew's Day dinner, serve it with Brussels' sprouts and chips (which in America are called steak fries).

As a side note, one of my British professors insisted that we all practice in class the correct pronunciation of  Worcestershire, which is one word Americans repeatedly slaughter (as opposed to simply saying with a different accent).  So if you are curious, this was how he explained it:  Worcester rhymes with rooster and shire sounds like "sure".  Wooster-shur.  

I knew you could do it.

Beef and Mushroom Pie -- Yield:  1 9" deep-dish pie or about 8-12 servings
2 cups minus 2 Tbsp flour
1/4 tsp. salt
10 Tbsp cold, unsalted butter cut into pieces (1 stick + 2 Tbsp.)
1/4 cup cold water

6 oz. bacon, chopped (I like using my kitchen shears for this.)
1 1/2 lbs. beef stew meat
1 1/2 cups onions, chopped
2 tsp. garlic, minced
8 oz. sliced mushrooms
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
3 Tbsp. flour
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
12 oz. can apple beer (or apple cider, sparkling cider, etc.)
2 cups beef stock or broth
1 bay leaf
1 Tbsp chopped parsley
2 tsp chopped fresh thyme (fresh really makes a difference here)

1 large egg, beaten for glaze (optional)


For the crust:  In a medium bowl, sift together the flour and salt.  Cut in the butter with a pastry cutter until the butter bits are the size of peas.  Add the water a bit at a time, tossing the mixture with a fork after each addition until the dough begins to cling together.  Press the dough together (do not kneed!) until it forms a small ball.  Flatten into a disk, cover in plastic wrap, and chill until it is time to use it.

For the filling:  in a large pot with a lid,  brown the bacon and then remove it to drain on paper towels, reserving out 2 Tbsp of the drippings.  Add the beef and brown on all sides. Add the onions,  garlic, and mushrooms and saute until wilted.  Add the remaining ingredients (except for the egg for the glaze) and cook, stirring for 5 minutes.  Bring to a boil and then lower the heat, cover, and simmer for one hour or until the meat is tender.  Remove from heat and discard the bay leaf.  Add back the cooked bacon.

Preheat the oven to 400F.  Pour the meat mixture into a 9" deep-dish pie plate or round baking pan.  Roll out the pastry to a size that is a few inches larger than the top of the dish.  Fold into quarters and cut a few slits into the sides for vent holes.  Fit the crust over the top of the dish, tucking in the edges and then decorating by fluting or using the tines of a fork.  Brush with beaten egg if desired and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown.  Remove from the oven and serve hot.