Beef-Stew-Pie

Beef-Stew-Pie Ingredients

Beef Stew Pie

1 lb beef stew meat, cut in small cubes and browned in dutch oven or iron skillet
1 onion chopped
3-4 carrots, diced
1 C fresh garden peas
1 C ½ inch diced potatoes
2 stalks celery
¼ tsp celery salt
3 garlic cloves minced
1 tsp salt
2 C water
3 Tbsp flour
1-2 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce to taste

Brown meat and onions and add remaining ingredients.
Simmer slowly for several hours stirring frequently. Cook down the water. Add extra water if it gets too dry. You want a little au ju left over as a gravy so don't be afraid to add enough water

Just before adding Beef-Stew-Pie to your pie crust, add the flour and Worcestershire sauce and bring to a boil. Boiling takes the flour taste out of it and heats it just before adding to the pie crust. .

PIE CRUST

Prepare pie crust=enough for a large pie. Any pie crust will do, but I prefer one with egg in it. Do not over knead your crust. Lightly toss until it is crumbly but sticks together when you roll it out. When you want to knead it some more, DON'T. Over kneading makes it tough!

On the table or counter top, put two pieces waxed paper and then about ½ C flour spread out. Now take about half of the dough and gently press it out in a circle on top of the flour. Flour your rolling pin and roll the pie dough out the size of your baking pan. (A wrought-iron skillet works well for Beef-Stew-Pie for a large family)

Spread a teaspoon or two of flour out over your pie dough. This flour will keep the dough from sticking. Now take one side of the waxed paper and fold it in half forming a half circle with the dough. Then remove waxed paper on top. Now flour the dough again lightly and fold in half again (making a quarter circle with the dough). Now place the point of the dough in the center of your baking pan. Open the dough from quarter circle to half, and from half to full circle. If this is your first time making pie dough you may have to try this a few times. However, bear in mind that each time you re-work the dough it gets tougher.

The wax paper helps you pick up the dough without it falling apart and making a quarter circle helps you pick up all the crust more easily

NOTE:.Sometimes, if dough falls apart, it's better to just “pick up the pieces” and, dip your fingers in a cup of water and rub it on the dough where you are going to put the piece of dough. The water acts like glue and helps it stick together. It may not look like much, but the crust will be so flaky, no one will mind the look of it.

Add the hot thickened stew to the pie crust. Then cover with another piece of pie crust using the point method described above.

Bake 40 – 50 minutes at 350 degrees. (Beef-Stew-Pie is already cooked and you just need to bake the crust. Crust should be golden brown.