Steak and Smoked Oyster Pie

Recipe:

For the Filling

– Cut the chuck steak into thick pieces. Season half the flour with salt and pepper before tossing the diced beef in it. Knock off any excess flour.

– Place a large cassarole dish over a high heat. When hot, add the vegetable oil and brown the beef.

– Remove the casserole dish from the heat and remove and reserve the beef.

– Return the pan to the heat (and add a little more oil if needed) and fry off the carrots, then add onions and garlic. Cook until soft but not coloured.

– Add the beef back to the casserole dish together with the tomato puree, Guinness, beef stock & herbs.

– Cover the casserole & place in a preheated oven at 140°C for 3 hrs.

– Remove the casserole from the oven.

– To thicken the stock start by cooking out the remaining flour & butter together in a saucepan over a moderate heat for two to three minutes to make a roux.

– Carefully strain out the braising liquor by pouring through a fine sieve and gradually whisk this into the roux, and gently cook until thickened. Add salt & pepper to taste, before adding back to the casserole.

 

For the smoked oysters

– Carefully open the oysters, taking care to keep as much juice in the half-shell as possible.

– If you have your own smoker, you can use your intuition here. The idea is to gently hot smoke the oysters to impart a smoky flavour without drying them out. This will generally take only a few minutes.

If you don’t have your own smoker, you can improvise; a large saucepan with a wire cooling rack over the top will work just as well. Place a thin layer of wood shavings in the saucepan and place over a high heat until the wood begins smoking, place the oysters on the cooling rack and place on top of the smoking pan. Remove from the heat and cover the whole arrangement with tinfoil, sealing tightly around the rim of the saucepan but leaving a domed shape above the oysters to allow the smoke to circulate. Use a pair of scissors to snip a small hole at the top of the dome to act as a chimney.

– After 5 minutes or so, the oysters should have take on a yellowish tinge from the smoke, yet still be moist. It may be necessary to do this in 2 or 3 batches.

 

To make the pies

– Divide the steak filling between 4 individual earthenware pie dishes. Add three smoked oysters to each dish along with any smoky juice remaining in the shells. Take care not to get any shell fragments in the pies.

– Divide the puff pastry into four pieces and roll out to 2-3mm thickness. Apply a little beaten egg around the rim of each pie dish to help the pastry to adhere. Carefully cover each pie with the pastry and trim off any excess. Brush the pie lids with the remaining beaten egg & score with a sharp knife.

– Place the pies in the oven at 180°C for 15-20 minutes until the pastry is risen and golden.