Beef Shin Ragù Pie with Hot Water Crust
Slow-simmered British beef shin braised with red wine, mushrooms, and aromatics, crowned with crisp hot water pastry leaves. The ragù cooks for three hours until the beef falls apart, creating a rich, deeply flavoured filling. Topped with egg-glazed pastry leaves arranged in a circular pattern and baked until golden.
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 3 shallots, finely chopped
- 5 medium carrots, sliced
- 3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
- 7 oz chestnut mushrooms, halved
- 2 ¼ lb British beef shin, dicedbeef chuck or brisket1:1neutral
similar cooking time and texture
- ½ cups all-purpose flour, to coat
- 1 lb tinned chopped tomatoes
- 2 tbsp tomato purée
- 1 tsp superfine sugar
- 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 2 ½ cups red wine
- fresh oregano sprigs, a few(optional)
- fresh thyme sprigs, a few(optional)
- 1 ¾ tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 4 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra to dust
- 1 tsp fine salt
- 1 medium free-range egg
- egg yolks, lightly beaten, to glaze(optional)
- 5 ½ tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 ¾ oz lard, plus extra to grease
- 14 tbsp water, for pastry
Instructions
- 1
Heat butter and oil in a large deep casserole. Fry shallots and carrots gently for 5 minutes.
- 2
Add garlic and mushrooms, fry for 5 minutes, then remove and set aside.
- 3
Add remaining butter and oil to pan. Coat beef in flour, add to pan and fry until it starts to brown.
- 4
Return vegetables. Add chopped tomatoes, tomato purée, sugar, Worcestershire sauce, red wine and fresh herbs.
- 5
Bring to boil, then simmer gently on low heat with lid on for 3 hours, stirring every 20 minutes. Simmer for another 30 minutes if beef is not falling apart.
- 6
Stir in remaining wine and season. Remove from heat and cool almost completely.
- 7
Make pastry: combine flour and salt in heatproof bowl, make well, crack in egg and cover with flour. Heat butter and lard with water until boiling, pour into flour and mix with knife. Knead on floured surface until smooth. Shape into disc, cover loosely and rest 30 minutes.
- 8
Heat oven to 400°F or 350°F fan or gas 6. Cut off one third of pastry, wrap and chill. Roll out remaining pastry to circle about 15 ¾" diameter.
- 9
Grease 9" diameter, 2" deep fluted loose-bottomed tart tin. Line with pastry leaving 2-1 ⅛" overhang. Line with baking paper and foil, fill with baking beans or uncooked rice.
- 10
Blind bake for 20 minutes. Remove paper, foil and beans. Brush half the beaten egg yolk over pastry case, bake for 13-14 minutes until bottom feels sandy with no grey areas. Cut away overhang.
- 11
Fill pastry case with ragù. Roll out remaining pastry to thickness of a £1 coin. Stamp out leaves and arrange over filling in circular pattern, slightly overlapping.
- 12
Glaze with remaining beaten egg, chill in freezer for 15 minutes.
- 13
Place pie on baking sheet and bake for 40 minutes until pastry is golden. Turn oven down to 350°F or 300°F fan or gas 3 1/2 and bake for 20 minutes more.
- 14
Let sit for 10 minutes before serving.
Tips
Stir the ragù every 20 minutes during simmering to prevent catching on the pan base.
Cool the ragù almost completely before filling the pastry case to prevent the pastry from becoming soggy.
Roll out pastry leaves to the thickness of a £1 coin for even cooking and a crisp texture.
Chill the assembled pie in the freezer for 15 minutes before baking to help the pastry hold its shape.
Good to Know
Cover and refrigerate filled pastry case separately from cooked pastry leaves for up to 2 days. Reheat gently covered to prevent pastry drying.
Prepare and cool the ragù up to 2 days ahead. Make the pastry dough the day before and refrigerate. Assemble and bake on the day of serving.
Serve hot, allowing 10 minutes resting time after baking. Accompany with crushed potatoes or a winter greens salad.
Common Mistakes
Skip stirring the ragù every 20 minutes to avoid it catching and burning on the pan base
Do not fill the pastry case while the ragù is still hot to avoid a soggy crust
Do not skip blind baking to avoid a raw or soggy pastry base
Do not omit the egg yolk glaze on the pastry case before the final leaves are added to avoid poor browning
Substitutions
Vegan Options
General Alternatives
similar cooking time and texture