Greggs Steak Bake Recipe: Homemade Steak Bakes

This Greggs-style steak bake recipe wraps finely chopped braising steak in a red wine, mustard and onion gravy, sealed inside egg-glazed puff pastry. So it makes 4 big bakes at about 610 calories a bake, in roughly 3 hours 40 with an hour of chilling the filling.

Here you get a homemade take on the high-street bakery’s hangover favourite, with wine, mustard powder and thyme giving the gravy its depth. And the steak is chopped small before it’s seared, so to my eye the meat spreads evenly through each bake.

Chilling the filling for at least an hour before it meets the pastry is what everything hangs on. Then the pastry stays crisp, because a warm filling turns it soggy and sends the gravy running out of the sides.

Greggs Steak Bake Recipe: Homemade Steak Bakes

Author: Alex Saidani Cooking Method:Baking Cuisine:British Courses:Lunch

Difficulty:BeginnerPrep time: 25 minutesCook time:1 hour 45 minutesRest time:1 hour 30 minutesTotal time:3 hours 40 minutesServings:4 servingsCalories:610 kcal Best Season:Summer

Description

Seared steak simmers with onion, garlic, red wine, stock and thyme until tender, then the filling cools and chills. Then spoonfuls are sealed between rectangles of puff pastry, brushed with egg and baked until golden and puffed. And it’s adapted from Brilliant Bakes by Si King and Dave Myers.

Ingredients

For the filling

• 2 tbsp olive oil or dripping
• 400g stewing or braising steak, finely chopped
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 heaped tbsp plain flour
• 1 tsp mustard powder
• 1 tsp tomato purée
• 100ml red wine
• 200ml beef stock
• 1 thyme sprig
• salt and black pepper

For the pastry

• 1 x 320g pack of ready-rolled puff pastry
• flour, for dusting
• 1 egg, beaten

Instructions

1. Sear the steak: Heat half the oil or dripping in a frying pan, season the steak and sear it over a high heat on all sides. Then lift it out and set it aside.
2. Start the gravy: Heat the rest of the oil in a saucepan and soften the onion, then add the garlic for a couple of minutes. Stir in the flour and mustard powder for another couple of minutes, then the tomato purée.
3. Simmer the filling: Pour in the wine and let it bubble and reduce, then add the stock, thyme, a little salt and the beef. Bring back to the boil, cover and simmer for 45 minutes to an hour, until the beef is tender.
4. Chill: Take the pan off the heat and leave the filling to cool. Then chill it in the fridge for at least an hour.
5. Shape the bakes: Preheat the oven to 200°C/Fan 180°C/Gas 6 and line a baking tray, then unroll the pastry on a lightly floured surface. Cut it in half lengthways and each half into 4 rectangles, then put a quarter of the filling on one piece, leaving a 1cm border. Brush the edges with egg, cover with a second piece and crimp with a fork, then repeat to make 4 parcels.
6. Bake: Put the bakes on the tray, brush them all over with egg and cut 2 small steam holes in each. Then bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until puffed up, golden brown and piping hot.

FAQs

What’s in a steak bake?

A steak bake is small pieces of beef in a thick gravy, sealed between two layers of puff pastry. And the ingredients here are braising steak, onion, garlic, red wine, mustard powder and thyme, rather than the bakery’s own recipe.

Is a steak bake a pasty?

Not quite, since a traditional Cornish pasty is shortcrust crimped round a raw filling, while a steak bake seals a cooked filling inside puff pastry. So if you want the real folded thing, this traditional Cornish pasty with beef skirt, potato and swede is the one to make.

Which steak is best for steak bakes?

Stewing or braising steak, because it turns tender after 45 minutes to an hour of gentle simmering. And the same cut goes into this braised steak with gravy, if you’ve bought extra.

Can you make the filling ahead or freeze it?

Yes, and making it well ahead is the best way to get it properly cold. Plus it’s worth making a double batch and freezing half of the filling, so the next round of bakes only needs pastry.

And for a bigger steak and pastry fix, try this steak and Stilton pie.

How do you reheat a steak bake?

I’d reheat it in the oven at about 180°C for 15 minutes, until piping hot in the middle. But I’d skip the microwave, because it turns the puff pastry soft and chewy.