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Roast Beef Pie with Potato Crust

A roast beef pie with a potato crust, baked with gravy, butter, onion, flour, and egg.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By F. L. Gillette and Hugo Ziemann · From a historical cookbook (Project Gutenberg) · 2 ingredients
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Roast Beef Pie with Potato Crust

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the filling

  1. Cut a cold roast of beef into slices enough to half-fill a baking dish sized for your family.

  2. Place the sliced beef in a stewpan with any saved gravy, a lump of butter, sliced onion, pepper, salt, and enough water to make plenty of gravy.

  3. Thicken the stew by dredging in a tablespoonful of flour; cover and simmer gently over low heat, avoiding burning.

Make the potato crust

  1. While the meat stews, boil a sufficient quantity of potatoes to fill the baking dish.

  2. Mash the boiled potatoes smooth, then beat them with milk and butter until they resemble a smooth, buttery mash.

  3. Spread the mashed potatoes in a thick layer over the stewed meat in the baking dish.

Bake and serve

  1. Brush the potato crust with beaten egg, then bake the dish in an oven until the crust is browned.

  2. Serve the pie with tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce, or another sauce of your choice.

By F. L. Gillette and Hugo Ziemann. Recipe from a historical cookbook (Project Gutenberg).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures. See the original page.

Explore the science

What each ingredient does

Roast beef (in the method)
Provides the meat that forms the savoury filling of the pie.
Potatoes (in the method)
Form the mashed topping that becomes a soft, buttery crust when baked.
Flour
Thickens the stewing liquid into a rich gravy that holds the filling together.
Egg (in the method)
Brushed on the crust, it promotes browning and a glossy finish.
Butter (in the method)
Adds fat and richness to the gravy and the mashed potato topping.

The step that matters

Avoid burning the stew while thickening. Flour-thickened gravy can scorch on the base of the pan over direct heat. Gentle simmering over low heat, with the lid on, keeps the sauce smooth and prevents a burnt taste.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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