Steak, Guinness and Oyster Pie

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium high heat. Sear the beef in small amounts until well browned. Do this in batches—don’t over crowd your pot. Remove beef from the pot and set aside while you finish searing the rest of the beef. Then add the bacon lardons into the pot, lower heat to medium and fry until brown. Remove bacon from the pot and drain off fat.

Add 1 tablespoon of butter to the pan and saute shallots, onion, thyme, mushrooms and garlic scraping up the browned bits from the pan as the onion and mushrooms begin to sweat. Cook 5-6 minutes until onions are translucent and the mushrooms have lost their liquid. Add the beef and bacon back into the pot. Pour in the Guinness, red wine, Madeira and beef broth. Cover the pot and cook on a simmer for 1 1/2 hours. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper to taste.

In a small bowl, make a paste out of the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and flour then add it into the simmering stew. Stir until thickened. Remove from heat and add oysters.

Pour the mixture into a shallow oval casserole dish. Preheat oven to 400 F.

Roll out the the puff pastry on a floured surface and then place it on top of casserole. Trim off the extra dough so it fits the top of the dish. Brush the dough with the beaten egg. Using leftover pieces of puff pastry cut out three shamrocks with a cookie cutter and place on top of pastry at equal distances apart. Brush them with the beaten egg.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, until pastry has risen and is golden brown. Serve immediately. Enjoy with more wine or a Guinness. Now that’s Irish!!!