As the seasons change and weather cools, Steak and Kidney Pie with Rosemary is a lovely way to warm your home. And to introduce organ meats (back) into your kitchen. Besides, everyone loves pie.
The meat pie
If a good thing is bound to persist over time, meat pie qualifies. Original versions used the inedible crust to protect and cook the meat within.
I know you can’t believe everything that you read on the internet, but Wikipedia says they’ve been around since 9500 BC (ancient Egyptians). The Greeks and Romans followed. The French and Italians improved the pastry. And the Brits and Aussies certainly seem to have taken all this to heart.
Alas, even the saccharine American palate has room for chicken pot pie. Don’t get me wrong, I love a creamy chicken pot pie. But even better… is steak and kidney pie.
Steak and Kidney Pie with Rosemary
I adapted this recipe from Jennifer McLagan’s Meat and Kidney Braise in Odd Bits. (Yes, you may skip the pie and serve the braise on it’s own.)
For newbies, use a lower kidney to meat ratio. McLagan proposes two parts meat to one part kidney. Mine was a bit higher based on what I had available, but you can go even less. (No shame in that – some really is better than none!) And if your intention is to hide the kidney, just chop it small enough so that it gets lost in there. No one will even know.
Also, as I recently learned that Worchestershire Sauce is actually derived from fermented fish sauce, I skipped it and added anchovies instead. (Of course, that’s not the first time, or even the second.) The resulting braise was more complex than I remember in the past. Mmmm.
Well, I have no idea why I continue to call it steak pie when it’s got a homely chuck roast all loved up in there. But it does sound nice and I encourage you to do the same. Enjoy!
Steak and Kidney Pie with Rosemary
Notes
Cook time divided.
Ingredients
For the braise
- 24 oz chuck roast, cut into 3/4" cubes
- 1 beef kidney, with connective tissue and fat removed, lobes separated, and coarsely chopped
- salt
- pepper
- 6 T lard
- 1 onion, chopped
- 3 celery sticks, chopped
- 1 lb assorted mushrooms (lion's mane, king trumpet, and maitake here), coarsely chopped
- 1 c red wine
- 2 c (gelatinous) chicken broth
- 12 thyme sprigs
- 1 rosemary sprigs
- 6 parsley sprigs
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 small celery root, peeled and cut into 1/2" cubes
- juice of half lemon
- 1 2 oz can of anchovies in olive oil, drained and chopped
For the pastry
- 2 c sprouted spelt flour
- 1/2 t finely chopped rosemary
- 3/4 t salt
- 6 T unsalted butter
- 6 T lard
- 1/2 c icy cold water
To assemble the pie
- Cooled meat and kidney braise
- 2 rosemary pie dough balls
- flour, to dust rolling surface
- 1 egg, beaten
Instructions
For the braise
- Preheat oven to 325 F.
- Season meat and kidney well with salt and pepper. Heat 1 T lard in dutch oven on medium-high heat and brown meat. Add a tablespoon of lard each time and brown meat in batches. Remove meat and drippings from pan and reserve.
- On medium heat, add remaining lard and cook onion and celery until soft. Season gently with salt. Add mushrooms and red wine. Use wine to scrape up brown bits, then cook down for a few minutes until about half the wine has evaporated, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, tie up the thyme, rosemary, parsley and bay leaves with kitchen twine into a bouquet garni.
- Add the meat and it's juices, coarsely chopped kidney, bouquet garni and broth into the pot. Bring to a boil, give a good stir and transfer to the oven. Cook for 90 minutes.
- Meanwhile, peel and cut celery root into cubes. Juice half a lemon into a small bowl, add celery root, then add enough water to just cover. Reserve. After 90 minutes, drain can of anchovies and finely chop. Drain lemon-water from the celery root. Add both of these to the braise and stir well. Cover and return to oven for another hour.
- Sneak a few bites. Here you can either serve your braise with mashed potatoes and greens. Or let cool for making a pie.
For the pastry
- Mix flour, rosemary and salt together. Cut butter and lard into smallish irregular pieces into the flour. (Or, add to food processor and pulse a few times.) Pour in half to three-quarters of your water, continuously stirring until the dough begins to come together. Check by taking a ball of dough into your hands and see if it comes together. If not, add a bit more water and repeat stirring and checking until dough forms a nice ball. (Or, add some water into food processor and pulse, stopping as soon as a ball comes together. Add water just a bit at a time. If you add too much, you can add a bit more flour and pulse a few times so that it is doughy, but not sticky.) Split dough into two balls. Wrap in parchment paper, flatten and let rest in the fridge for an hour or overnight.
To assemble the pie
- Add some flour to your clean work surface and roll out the first dough ball, large enough to cover the bottom of your pie pan, with overhang on the sides.
- Add the cooled meat and kidney braise.
- Roll out your second dough ball to cover the top of your braise. Fold up dough overhang (or trim excess quantities) and pinch the top and bottom edges together. Brush egg mixture over the dough. Cut a few slits to allow steam to escape. Cook for 45 minutes.
- Allow to rest for a few minutes, if you can, before diving in.
I’ve never had kidney before, but have been wanting to try this for a while. Do you brown the kidney too? Of just the meat? The instructions are a little unclear on that part.
@Steve sorry for the late reply! I don’t usually brown the kidney in advance because I don’t want to overcook it in general, but browning does enhance the flavor – if you try it, let me know how it goes!
I am having a hard time finding kidney but I do have beef heart in the freezer. Can I substitute?
Of course! Heart doesn’t have the same complexity of flavor as kidney, but it’s much easier to love! I hope you and your people enjoy it!
What does this pie taste like? Does it just taste like beef or can you taste the kidney? I tried to make this before and did everything including soaking the kidney in milk and vinegar to lessen the taste and it still tasted like urine.
Hi Annie,
I won’t lie. Kidney always smells like urine to me and everytime I make it I am sure I won’t like it or eat it. But I am always wrong. I find the strong minerally flavor of liver to be far more intense than the flavor of kidney. But vice versa with the smell. Liver doesn’t smell so intense (unless seriously overcooked), but a strong flavor can bite you. I think that kidney is minerally, but more savory. Honestly, every kidney recipe I have on this site, I really like. And my whole family eats them. That said, if you are concerned 1) definitely soak it. 2) Reduce the amount of kidney in the kidney to steak ratio. 3) Try the steak and kidney tartlet filling and just put it in a pie. I think that recipe is – well, it’s just less British than this one. This one has celery and celery root and it’s more… bitter. The other filling has tomato paste and that lends a sweet bright flavor that cancels more of the savory kidney instead of celebrating it – if that makes sense. No, but seriously, just use more steak and less kidney. Refreeze half your beef kidney for later (not supposed to refreeze, I know – but I’ve done it a few times). Or, try the shawarma or stir-fry recipes with the other half – we really like them! Oh, and consider it an experiment, don’t take it too seriously. Have fun! Good luck!
Hi Janine. I’ll be butchering two beef this fall and definitely intend to render the tallow around the kidneys if there is enough. My question: Does this steak and kidney pie recipe adapt to empanadas? Seems like it would. Thanks.
Hey Ivan! Yes, it does! I love these kidney pie recipes because they are super adaptable. If you’re grain free, skip the filling! If you want individual servings, use a ramekin or make tartlets or – like you suggest – empanadas! 🙂 I’m feeling inspired from this question, I am thinking some individual steak-and-kidney somethings are in our near future lol. Keep me posted if you make this recipe! I’d love to see a photo 🙂
Cheers, Janine