Saturday 24 May 2014

Going wild for Brockleby’s Beaver Ale Steak Pie

Brockleby’s “Wild Beaver” Steak and Beaver Ale Pie Review

Brockleby’s “Wild Beaver” Steak and Beaver Ale Pie Review

Brockleby’s “Wild Beaver” Steak and
Beaver Ale Pie Review


Before we go any further, the name of this pie has got to be clarified! After all the recent news headlines shocked at the production of squirrel pies by an exotic pie firm, we are not expecting people to give a dam about the meat used in this Brockleby’s Steak pie. For you won’t be gnawing into beaver flesh if you eat this pie – this is a beef steak filling and it is simply the Beaver Ale that is used in the pie that gives it the wild name. Phew!

So with that potential bombshell over let’s get on with the Steak and Beaver Ale pie rating! This pie was a present, provided to me frozen but defrosted before cooking and consumption. It is clearly a pie to be shared, with two large appetites well catered for by this pie and it retailing at the £6.50 mark from shops and farmers markets across the Midlands. You can also buy it online. Considering the quality of the pie and the capacity of good quality meat, this is quite a fair price for a pie for two (or three, if you share it out a bit more!)

Onto considering the content and the quality of the meat was very good. The meat was moist and very tender, not particularly chewy and flavoursome. Having said that, while the meat was nice and moist the pie did lack a bit of moisture in the pie filling, leaving me feeling a bit lacking in gravy. It didn’t help that – with some cracks in the pastry casing – this pie had leaked a bit during the cooking. However overall the meat, despite being just 35% of the ingredients, was the real highlight of this pie.

Brockleby’s “Wild Beaver” Steak and Beaver Ale Pie Review

Brockleby’s “Wild Beaver” Steak and Beaver Ale Pie Review

The rest of the content – consisting of quite a bit of onion and some mushroom and carrot – did make it feel like the pie was being slightly padded out, but overall the capacity of the pie was good. The ale gravy there was did taste good and for that, the Beaver Ale from local brewery Old Dalby did its job successfully.

The shortcrust pastry was quite firm and a bit too thick in places, leaving a slightly high pastry to filing ratio for the ideal pie, but the pastry generally held the content well. Despite a little gravy leakage through cracks in the side, the pie was generally presented well and one I would certainly welcome eating again, receiving Pierate Recommended status.

With the Brockleby’s Venison pie winning the “Other Meats” category recently at the British Pie Awards 2014 – and I am reliably informed that the venison pie contains exactly what it says on the packaging! – I certainly haven’t finished with their pies just yet!

Brockleby’s “Wild Beaver” Steak and Beaver Ale Pie
Score: 5.75/7
[Colour 5.5, Capacity 6, Consistency 5.75, Condition 5.5, Chewiness 6, Cheapness 5.75, Content 5.75, Total: 5.75/7]
RAS



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1 comment:

  1. It's a shame you thawed it, label says to cook from frozen, this helps with the pastry and the moistness of filling. Thanks for the review. Regards Ian Jalland

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for getting in touch with the Pierateers!