Sea Pie

Name: Sea Pie
Yield: Serves 4–6
Cuisine: United Kingdom
Ingredients: 225 g/ 8 oz self-raising flour; about 2 litres/ 3½ pints beer to cover; 1 tsp salt; 900 g/ 2 lb shin of beef, cut into 8 roughly equal pieces and trimmed of any large bits of fat; salt and pepper; 125 ml/ 4 fl oz ice-cold water; 1 bay leaf; 2 tsp chopped thyme or ½ tsp; 225 g/ 8 oz carrots, thinly sliced; 225 g/ 8 oz onion, sliced; 60 g/ 2 oz lard or beef dripping; flour for dusting

Preparation info

Serves
4–6

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

The Daily Mail Modern British Cookbook

By Alastair Little and Richard Whittington

Published 1998

About

Why a beef pie should have been called a ‘sea’ pie is not clear unless its simplicity meant a ship’s cook could produce one even in rough weather. This recipe daringly includes beer and a bay leaf. Use bitter or stout, not lager, but if you want to be basic just use water. Just-cooked Savoy cabbage makes a nice accompaniment.

Ingredients

900 g/ 2 lb shin of beef, cut into 8 roughly equal pieces and trimmed of any large bits of fat
flour for dusting

Method

Dredge the pieces of beef in flour and brown them in the lard or beef dripping in a medium-hot pan. Transfer to a shallow saucepan. Fry the onion and carrots in the remaining fat. When softened put them with the meat.

Add the bay leaf and thyme, season with salt and pepper, and push down with a slotted spoon or potato masher to compress, then pour over just enough beer to cover. Bring t