WHY IRISH BEEF STEW?
Irish beef stew is the secret ingredient in a delicious stew! Our cattle get plenty of exercise because they spend an average of 220 days a year outside. Then they eat fresh juicy grass. But even in the winter months they eat mainly grass, in the form of hay and silage. Thus, their diet consists of 90% grass and you can taste it! Lots of exercise and lots of grass gives Irish beef a nice fat marbling and a full intense flavor. Perfect for stewing! Enjoy your meal!
Method
- Preheat the oven to 160° C. Cut the meat into pieces of about 1½ cm and sprinkle with flour.
- Heat casserole, add 2 tablespoons olive oil, cinnamon and ginger powder. Fry for 3 minutes. Then add the meat and fry all around over high heat for 5 minutes until golden brown. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste and remove the meat from the pan with a slotted spoon.
- Meanwhile, chop the onions, scrape and slice the carrot.
- Pour the rest of the olive oil into the pan and add the onions, carrot and tomato paste. Press the garlic over it. Stir-fry the mixture for 10 minutes over medium-high heat until golden brown. Add the thyme, bay leaf and star anise and fry for 2 minutes.
- Pour in the wine and beer, add the tomatoes, cranberries and fried meat and bring to a boil. Put the lid on the pan and put the pan in the oven. Stew the meat in the oven for about 3 hours until soft and tender. Ladle occasionally.
- Remove the skin from the sausages and cut into pieces. Fry the meat in the skillet until tender. Let it drain and cool.
- Remove the casserole from the oven and drain the meat in a strainer and collect the gravy. Let the stew meat cool slightly and mix in the sausage. Season with salt and pepper, if necessary.
- Roll out half of the puff pastry on a lightly floured work surface into a large piece at least 28 cm in diameter. Using a plate or the ring of a springform pan, cut out a circle 27 cm in diameter. Place it on a baking sheet lined with baking paper.
- Spread the meat-cranberry mixture over it but keep a border of about 3 cm free all around.
- Roll out the rest of the puff pastry, brush the edge with water, place the puff pastry on top of the filling and edge and trim nicely. Cut a few leaves from the leftovers and glue them with a little water. Brush the pie with beaten egg.
- With a sharp knife, make a small hole in the center and make nice lines on the cake. Let the cake rest in a cool place for at least 1 hour (maximum 4 hours).
- In time, preheat the oven to 190° C. Bake the cake for 20 minutes in the center of the oven, lower the oven to 160° C and bake for another 30 minutes. Remove the cake from the oven and let it rest for 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, if desired, boil the gravy down to a nice, thick sauce.
- Serve the beef pie with a fresh salad of red-leaf or radicchio, red beets, walnuts and a mustard dressing.
