Beef and Guinness Pie & Irish Soda Bread

by Gourmet (Contributed by Jane in Park City) Epicurious.com © CondéNet, Inc. All rights reserved

Irish stouts produce a thick head when poured, so chill the can or bottle well before measuring to reduce the foam.
Makes 4 main-course servings.

2 lb boneless beef chuck, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
3 tablespoons water
1 1/2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup beef broth
1 cup Guinness or other Irish stout
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons drained brined green peppercorns, coarsely chopped
2 fresh thyme sprigs
Rough puff pastry dough
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon water
Special equipment: 4 (14-oz) deep bowls or ramekins (4 to 5 inches wide; see Shopping List, page 301) or similar-capacity ovenproof dishes

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F.
Pat beef dry.
Stir together flour, salt, and pepper in a shallow dish. Add beef, turning to coat, then shake off excess and transfer to a plate. Heat oil in a wide 5- to 6-quart ovenproof heavy pot over moderately high heat until just smoking, then brown meat in 3 batches, turning occasionally, about 5 minutes per batch, transferring to a bowl.
Add onion, garlic, and water to pot and cook, scraping up any brown bits from bottom of pot and stirring frequently, until onion is softened, about 5 minutes.
Add tomato paste and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Stir in beef with any juices accumulated in bowl, broth, beer, Worcestershire sauce, peppercorns, and thyme and bring to a simmer, then cover and transfer to oven. Braise until beef is very tender and sauce is thickened, about 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours. Discard thyme and cool stew completely, uncovered, about 30 minutes. (If stew is warm while assembling pies, it will melt uncooked pastry top.)
Put a shallow baking pan on middle rack of oven and increase oven temperature to 425°F.
Divide cooled stew among bowls (they won't be completely full).
Roll out pastry dough on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin into a 13-inch square, about 1/8 inch thick. Trim edges and cut dough into quarters. Stir together egg and water and brush a 1-inch border of egg wash around each square. Invert 1 square over each bowl and drape, pressing sides lightly to help adhere. Brush pastry tops with some of remaining egg wash and freeze 15 minutes to thoroughly chill dough.
Bake pies in preheated shallow baking pan until pastry is puffed and golden brown, about 20 minutes.
Reduce oven temperature to 400°F and bake 5 minutes more to fully cook dough.
Cooks' note:
Stew (without pastry) can be made 2 days ahead, cooled completely, and chilled, covered.
Bring to room temperature before using.

Add onion, garlic, and water to pot and cook, scraping up any brown bits from bottom of pot and stirring frequently, until onion is softened, about 5 minutes.
Add tomato paste and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Stir in beef with any juices accumulated in bowl, broth, beer, Worcestershire sauce, peppercorns, and thyme and bring to a simmer, then cover and transfer to oven. Braise until beef is very tender and sauce is thickened, about 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours. Discard thyme and cool stew completely, uncovered, about 30 minutes. (If stew is warm while assembling pies, it will melt uncooked pastry top.)
Put a shallow baking pan on middle rack of oven and increase oven temperature to 425°F.
Divide cooled stew among bowls (they won't be completely full).
Roll out pastry dough on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin into a 13-inch square, about 1/8 inch thick. Trim edges and cut dough into quarters. Stir together egg and water and brush a 1-inch border of egg wash around each square. Invert 1 square over each bowl and drape, pressing sides lightly to help adhere. Brush pastry tops with some of remaining egg wash and freeze 15 minutes to thoroughly chill dough.
Bake pies in preheated shallow baking pan until pastry is puffed and golden brown, about 20 minutes.
Reduce oven temperature to 400°F and bake 5 minutes more to fully cook dough.
Cooks' note:
Stew (without pastry) can be made 2 days ahead, cooled completely, and chilled, covered.
Bring to room temperature before using.

Epicurious.com © CondéNet, Inc. All rights reserved

Noreen Kinney's Irish Soda Bread from A Baker's Odyssey (Contributed by Jane in Park City to go with meal above)

Makes 1 round loaf

1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour or graham flour, plus more for shaping
3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon-sized pieces
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 3/4 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/4 cup wheat bran
1/4 cup oat bran
1/4 cup untoasted wheat germ
2 tablespoons flaxseed
1/3 cup raw sunflower seeds
1 large egg
About 1 3/4 cups buttermilk

Adjust an oven rack to the center position and preheat the oven to 425°F.
Coat a heavy baking sheet with vegetable cooking spray or line it with a silicone baking pan liner or aluminum foil.
In a large bowl, stir together the all-purpose flour and whole wheat flour.
Add the butter and work it into the dry ingredients with your fingertips until the fat particles are very fine. Stir in the baking soda, salt, sugar, wheat bran, oat bran, wheat germ, flaxseed, and sunflower seeds.
Beat the egg lightly with a fork in a 2-cup glass measure.
Add enough buttermilk to come to the 2-cup line and stir with the fork to combine well. Add the liquid to the dry ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until the dough gathers into a thick, wet-looking mass.
Sprinkle your work surface with whole wheat flour and scrape the dough onto it.
Dust the dough with a bit more whole wheat flour. Pat the dough into a circular shape about 7 inches across and 2 inches high and transfer it to the prepared baking sheet. Don't be concerned about evenness—the loaf should look rustic. Make a cross-shaped indentation on top of the loaf going right to the edges. I use a plastic bench scraper and press it into the dough very gently; don't actually cut the dough. During baking the indentation expands, giving the top of the loaf an attractive pattern.
Bake the bread for about 40 minutes, until it is well browned and sounds hollow when rapped on the bottom.
An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of the loaf should register 195° to 200°F. Cool the loaf on a wire cooling rack, and serve warm or at room temperature. Cut into quarters and slice each quarter with a sharp serrated knife. Delicious with butter.
Storing:
The loaf keeps well at room temperature, wrapped in plastic wrap, for 2 to 3 days.
The entire loaf or quarters of it can also be frozen when completely cool. Wrap in plastic wrap, place in heavy-duty resealable plastic bags, and freeze for up to 2 weeks. Thaw completely before unwrapping. If desired, refresh the bread in a preheated

Beef Pot Roast

contributed by Lindee in Pocatello

I pulled a roast out of the freezer, unwrapped it and put it in my crockpot, poured a cup of barley pearls around the edges and 2 cups of hot water, seasoned the top of the frozen roast with kosher salt (heavily) and fresh ground black pepper and went to work, leaving it on the low setting. Ten hours later I was home and could not believe how wonderfully the beef and barley had cooked up together. The barley was moist, flavorful and perfect, not soupy. The roast was that perfect welldone that I like for tender sandwiches, cut against the grain. How could something so easy be so good!?

Beer Braised Brisket

contributed by Mike B of Pocatello

Serves 4 to 6

 3 slices thick-cut bacon, diced
1 flat-cut beef brisket (about 3 pounds)
2 large onions, cut into thin slices
1 bottle (12 ounces) dark beer
3 cups beef broth
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Cook bacon in Dutch oven over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon to paper towels. Brown brisket on both sides in Dutch oven. Remove to platter.
2. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons fat. Add onions; cook and stir over medium-high heat, 3 to 4 minutes or until softened.
3. Add beer to Dutch oven.  Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring frequently and scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.  Add brisket and broth; bring to a boil.  Cover; transfer to oven.  Bake 3.5 to 4 hours or until fork tender.
4. Remove brisket to cutting board; let rest 10 minutes.  Using slotted spoon, remove onions and set aside.  Boil remaining liquid over high heat until slightly thickened.
5. Slice brisket.  Top with onions, sauce, bacon and parsley.

Mike's Notes:

Here is the brisket recipe that I told you about.  My wife and I both thought this was delicious.  We also don’t think that you really need the bacon, but if you are a bacon lover, I would leave it in the recipe.  One thing that I do slightly different than the recipe states is to sauté the onions longer.  I sauté them until they are starting to caramelize.  I think that makes them sweeter.  The recipe doesn’t call for garlic, so I didn’t use any.  Next time I will add garlic.  I use garlic in just about all meat dishes.  I used a brown ale, but I think any dark beer will work.

Filet Mignon with Green Peppercorn Cream

Sauce from Bon Appétit (contributed by Nancy in Logan)
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Filet-Mignon-with-Green-Peppercorn-Cream-Sauce-15687

1 3/4 cups beef stock or canned beef broth
3 tablespoons butter
4 6- to 8-ounce filet mignon steaks aka Tenderloin (each about 1 inch thick)
1/4 cup chopped shallots
1 cup whipping cream
3 tablespoons Cognac or brandy
2 tablespoons drained green peppercorns in brine

Preparation: Boil stock in small saucepan until reduced to 3/4 cup, about 7 minutes. Meanwhile, melt butter in large skillet over medium-high heat. Season steaks with salt and pepper. Cook steaks to desired doneness, about 4 minutes per side for medium-rare. Transfer steaks to plate (do not clean skillet).

Add chopped shallots to same skillet and sauté 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Add reduced beef stock, 1 cup whipping cream, 3 tablespoons Cognac and green peppercorns. Boil until mixture thickens to sauce consistency, about 6 minutes. Season sauce to taste with pepper. Spoon sauce over steaks and serve.

Hanger Steak Recipe

contributed by Brandon of SLC

As for that good Hanger steak recipe I’ve been meaning to give you… here is the one we’ve been using lately because it’s a perfect summer steak recipe and it’s light enough that it doesn’t cover up the amazingly unique flavor of a hanger steak.

The only “difficult” part of cooking a hanger is removing the membrane that is in the center of each cut (This article talks about how to remove it; http://french-cooking-techniques.suite101.com/article.cfm/grilled_hanger_steak). You guys may be far better at carving meat than I am, but thought I’d pass along the info regardless.

After you remove the membrane, I like to use a chimichurri marinade and a fresh bell pepper relish over the top. I usually prepare about 1.5-2 lbs of hanger at a time and this is the recipe I usually use to feed 2 hungry people. Serve with fries or any freshly grilled veggies.

For the chimichurri;
1/2 Cup Olive Oil
1/4 Cup Red Wine Vinegar
1 small bunch flat leaf-parsley; chopped
1 medium onion; finely chopped
4 cloves garlic; finely minced
1 Tablespoon dried oregano
1 Tablespoon paprika
1 bay leaf
1 Tablespoon coarse salt
1 Teaspoon ground black pepper
hot chili flakes to taste

Put them into a food processor or blender and mix (This will make a good amount of chimichurri, but you you’ll want to save the excess for after the marinade to complete the recipe). Add the meat to the marinade and let sit for at least 6 hours (I think it works best with 24 hours to marinade).

For the relish;
¼ yellow bell pepper; copped
¼ orange bell pepper; copped
1/3 white onion; chopped
¼ pasilla or pablano pepper; chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
(you can chop all of these ingredients individually, or just throw them into a food processor at the same time, it doesn’t matter)
This makes a good amount of relish, but we always use any left-over’s with our salsa (it’s also great over some Lau Family Farm lamb chops?). Cover mixture and put in the fridge for at least an hour.

After the meat has marinated, remove it from the fridge at let it sit uncovered for about ½ hour.
-Heat a cast iron skillet or your grill to high heat and preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
-If using a skillet, cook each side of the meat for about 3 minutes (for rare, maybe 4 minutes for medium rare). If using a grill, about 4 minutes per side
-Transfer the steaks to the oven and let “finish” for about 6-8 minutes (depending on desired temp. Personally, I wouldn’t cook hangers any higher than medium, because they start to get tough and it looses some of its unique flavor). Reduce heat on the skillet to med- high in preparation for sauce.
-After you’ve placed the steaks in the oven, take about 1/3 cup of white wine/cooking wine and add it to the skillet (be careful if using wine because it may catch on fire if it catches an open flame). Reduce the wine and try to scrape up any meat sticking to the pan for about 45-60 seconds.
-Add about 1/3-1/2 cup of the left over chimichurri marinade to the wine reduction. Bring to a soft boil (but DO NOT BOIL) and then reduce heat to medium.
-Let that mixture reduce for about 3-4 minutes and then remove from heat and stir in a ½ tablespoon of butter.
-Remove steaks from the oven and let stand about 5 minutes, and then slice into strips.*
-On a plate, pour a little of the chimichurri sauce and then place strips of steak over the sauce. Garnish steaks with bell pepper relish. Place extra chimichurri sauce and relish into bowls for the table and those wanting some extra for dipping.
-Enjoy!!!

*The hangers tend to be a little “bloody”, so if you can be patient, I recommend letting them sit for 8-10 minutes so that more of the blood soaks out and doesn’t turn your beautifully finished plate of colors red.