Beef Pot Pie
This is a recipe that Consumer's Union once used as a standard of excellence
against which to compare commercial beef pot pies. They judged that a moderately
experienced cook should be able to prepare 8 pies in about three hours.
The survival strategy of this comes in making a number of pies and freezing
them for later use. To reduce fat, the filling can be served over rice, noodles,
or cornbread rather than in a pie. It's a short extension to replace the beef
pieces and broth with corresponding chicken ingredients. The vegetable assortment
can also be extended with fresh green beans cut in 1-2 in. lengths.
Filling Ingredients
- 5 Tbs. vegetable oil
- 2 lb. stew beef cut into ½ inch cubes
- 2 Tbs. all-purpose flour
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- ½ clove garlic minced
- 6 C beef broth (e.g. canned) or 4 cubes or packets of beef
bouillon and 6 C water (original recipe)
- ¾ tsp. salt
- ½ tsp. Worcestershire sauce
- ¼ tsp. black pepper
- 1½ C peeled potatoes cut into ¼ in. chunks
- 1 C peeled carrots cut into ½ in. chunks
- 1 C frozen peas
Method
- Heat oil in 6 qt. pot.
- Dredge beef cubes with flour and brown, a few cubes at a time, in
hot oil. Remove and set beef cubes aside as they brown.
- Add onions and garlic to pan drippings and cook, stirring occasionally,
until onion is transparent.
- Stir in broth (or bouillon and water), then all other ingredients
except vegetables, cover and heat to boiling.
- Reduce heat to constant simmer and cook about 1½ hour, stirring
occasionally.
- Add potatoes and carrots.; cover and simmer 20 minutes.
- Stir in frozen peas; cover and simmer about 7 minutes.
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- Taste meat and vegetables; if not tender, continue simmering until
tender.
- Fill eight 5x1¼ in. aluminum foil tart pans with ¾
C of filling mixture.
- Cover with pie crust (directions below); dust crust with flour,
and prick with fork.
- Pies may now be frozen in individual freezer bags.
- Before baking, preheat oven to 450°F.
- Center frozen pie (or pies) on cookie sheet and bake 40 minutes,
or until crust is brown.
Crust Ingredients
- 2 C sifted all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp. salt
- 2/3 C vegetable shortening (not oil)
- 6 Tbs. water
Method
- Sift flour and salt into a 4-qt. bowl
- Cut shortening in with 2 knives until particles are about the size
of corn kernels.
- Sprinkle water over flour – 1 Tbs. at a time – and stir
with fork until dough is moist but not sticky.
- Gather dough together, lift out, and press into a ball
- Divide dough ball into 8 pieces.
- Roll each piece between 2 sheets of wax paper until about ½
in. larger in diameter than top of foil pans.
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If you come to a fork in the road, take it. — Yogi Berra
