Braised Short Ribs, Stout and Potato Potpies

Short ribs slow-cooked in Guinness make up the filling of this delectable, Irish meat pie, while crisped potatoes form the crust on top.  Or, you can top with mashed potatoes to make a Shepard's pie.  Both are really good and worth the time this takes to prepare...a perfect project for a fall, weekend day.  As a side note, when making again, I would use more potato slices to top the pie than pictured above.


Makes eight mini potpies or one 12-inch potpie.

This recipe is adapted from Martha Stewart's Living Magazine.

For The Filling:

5 - 6 lbs bone-in short ribs
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
3 TBSP safflower oil
1 medium yellow onion, halved and thinly sliced
8 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 bottles (12 ounces) stout, preferably Guinness (3 cups)
4 rosemary sprigs
1 lb cipollini onions, peeled
8 carrots, sliced
2 packages of McCormick's Brown Gravy


For The Topping:

6 medium russet potatoes (3 1/2 pounds)
Extra-virgin olive oil, for brushing
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

Make the filling: 


Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Season short ribs with salt and pepper. Dredge short ribs in flour, coating all sides. Transfer to a large plate. Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over high heat. Working in batches, brown short ribs, about 1 minute per side. Transfer to a large plate using kitchen tongs.

Reduce heat to medium. Add yellow onion to Dutch oven, and cook until golden, about 8 minutes. Add garlic. Cook for 2 minutes. Return meat to Dutch oven. Add stout and rosemary. Bring to a simmer. Cover, and transfer to oven. Bake for 2 1/2 hours.

Remove Dutch oven from oven, and add cipollini onions and carrots. Braise until meat is tender and onions are cooked through, about 30 minutes. Shred meat using 2 forks, saving the sauce to make a gravy. Season with salt and pepper. Divide filling among eight mini (1-cup) pie plates, or transfer to a 12-inch (8-cup) gratin dish.


Strain the braising sauce and transfer to a saucepan, gradually whisk in the 2 packages of brown gravy.  Stirring frequently, cook on medium heat until gravy comes to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer 1 minute.  Gravy will thicken upon standing.  Ladle about a 1/4 cup of gravy over each pie.

Make the topping: 


Raise oven temperature to 375 degrees. Peel potatoes, and very thinly slice each (preferably on a mandolin). Arrange potatoes over meat to form tight concentric circles, working around the edge and overlapping each potato by three-quarters. Brush with oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake until topping is golden and filling is bubbling, about 45 minutes for mini potpies (1 hour for large potpie).