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Beef-Steak Pie
749. Prepare the steaks by cutting into long strips, and when seasoned as above, and rolled with fat in each, put them in a dish with paste round the edges: put a little water or gravy in the dish, and cover it with a good short crust or puff paste (see pars. 725 and 732), which must be pressed down upon that part round the edge. A few oysters mixed with the beef are a great improvement, adding their liquor to the water or gravy.
A plain Victorian steak pie, written for a cook who already knew the seasoning and the pastry from the preceding pages. The whole trick is a long, gentle bake so the steak strips braise in their own liquor under a sealed lid.
- The seasoning "as above"The recipe refers back to an earlier steak entry not reproduced here; for Victorian steak in this vein that generally means salt and pepper, possibly with other seasonings. A generous pinch of salt and plenty of black pepper per pound of beef will answer.
- Cut and rollThe recipe calls for long strips, each rolled with fat inside; chuck or skirt suits. Modern lean braising steak gives a drier pie, so do not skip the fat.
- "Paste round the edges"A strip of pastry pressed onto the wetted rim of the dish before the lid goes on. It gives the lid something to grip and stops it sliding into the gravy.
- Liquid"a little water or gravy" means exactly that: a small amount, no more than a shallow pool in the bottom of the dish. The meat throws its own juices, and a flooded pie will lift the crust and boil over.
- OvenThe recipe specifies no heat or time. As a modern working guide: start hot, around 425F for 15-20 minutes to set the pastry, then drop to about 325F until the meat is tender, covering the crust with foil if it colours too fast.
- The oystersOysters cooked for two hours become rubber. Slip them in raw through a hole in the lid in the last ten minutes, or poach the steak filling first and add the oysters as the pie is assembled.
- Which pastryThe recipe allows short crust or puff (pars. 725 and 732). Puff gives a lighter lid but is more apt to slump over a long bake; a short crust stands up better. Cut a steam vent whichever you use.
- YieldThe recipe gives no quantities. Roughly two pounds of steak in a family-sized pie dish will serve four to six with potatoes.