Hollands Pies sent us a few samples of their recently launched Steak and Guinness pie for taste testing. Frankly I'd forgotten they were on their way but hey ho...., Mr LF was put in charge of tasting given that they contain pastry and beer, two things that are off the menu for me now that I'm gluten free.
Initial impressions were good, the pictures on the box of a juicy well packed pie with a rich dark gravy all contained in Hollands trademark pastry looked tempting.
Hollands have been making pies for 160 years and this new introduction to their range retails for around the £2 mark and is available through Tesco and other retailers.
On opening the box Mr LF was a little disappointed as the pie definitely wasn't as tall as the one pictured on the box, for the purposes of taste testing the pie was cooked both in the oven and in the microwave following the instructions on the box. In both cases the flavour of the filling was good, the gravy rich with only a slight hint of the classic Guinness flavour. The pie did contain chunks of steak but also some shredded steak as well with a good quantity of gravy. The oven baked pie's pastry was crispy and crumbly and was the much preferred pie by Mr LF, but the one microwaved was soggy and a little rubbery.
Overall this is not a bad addition to the Hollands range but definitely not a rival to the classic Potato and meat pie.
Disclaimer
The pies where supplied on a complimentary basis by Hollands for review and testing purposes, any opinions expressed are my own.