"Beef and Potato Pie"

By RoketJSquerl

Ingredients

• Crust:
• 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 8 tablespoons leaf lard
• 1 tablespoons kosher salt
• 8 tablespoons cold water
• 1 egg (for egg wash right before baking)
• Filling:
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 medium onion, diced (about 3/4 cup of diced onion)
• 1 1/2 pounds lean hamburger meat
• 3 medium red potatoes, diced into 1/2” cubes
• 3 tablespoons of flour
• 3/4 cup low sodium beef broth
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (and possibly more, to taste)

Details

Adapted from themeaningofpie.com

Preparation

Step 1

To make the crust, measure the flour and salt into the bowl of a food processor. Add the cubed butter and lard. It is best to have these ingredients as cold as possible. Consider putting the butter and lard in the freezer for an hour before you start. Pulse 8 to 10 times or until the fats are the size of peas. Add water through the feed tube (or mix it in by hand in a bowl) but just enough that the dough will stay together. My doughs consistently take 8 tablespoons. Yours might take a few less or a few more. Remove the dough to a clean surface and shape it into a ball. Cut the ball in half and shape each half into a disk. Place each disk into plastic wrap and flatten it with your hand. Place the dough in the refrigerator for an hour to chill.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

To prepare the filling, sauté the onion in a tablespoon of oil for three minutes or until slightly softened. Add the hamburger meat to the onions and cook it until evenly browned. Use your spoon to break up the meat and incorporate it with the onions as it cooks. When the meat is browned, add the cubed potatoes and continue to cook for one minute. Turn off the heat and tip the skillet slightly so that the fat accumulates in the edge of the skillet. Use a paper towel to sop out most (not all) of the fat that accumulates. Discard the paper towel.

Return the meat to medium-low heat and sprinkle the flour onto the meat. Stir in the flour completely. Slowly add the broth to the meat. Allow the meat to cook for a minute or two more until the sauce thickens. Season it with the salt. Though the potatoes are not cooked at this stage, I recommend tasting the beef and adjusting the salt accordingly. Set aside to cool while you prepare the crust.

Prepare an egg wash by adding 2 tablespoons of water to an egg in a small bowl. Whisk it thoroughly, and find a brush. A paper towel will work in a pinch. Set aside.

Remove the pastry dough from the refrigerator and roll it out to a diameter that is approximately two inches wider than the top of the skillet. The dough will nestle down on top of the meat and this will give a bit of over-hang. While the dough is still on your board or pastry cloth, cut venting slits into the middle of the dough. Transfer the dough to the top of the meat mixture and gently crimp the edges to adhere to the skillet. Quickly brush the dough with the egg wash and sprinkle the top with a little more kosher salt.

Place the cast iron dish in the oven and bake for 45 minutes or until it is golden on top. Remove the skillet from the oven and let it rest for at least 10 minutes before serving.

Notes:

Measure the top of your cast iron skillet before you even take the dough out of the refrigerator so that you know just how big the crust needs to be. If your dough doesn’t quite reach at one spot…no worries…just call it rustic. It really looks lovely when it comes out of the oven.

I use leaf lard which I get from several outlets by mail order. If you need to, you can do an all butter crust or use shortening instead of lard. I have become truly devoted to using lard in my crusts, though.