Birds Eye Steak & Kidney Pies

Description: Prime steak pieces and kidney, within rich gravy and delicious shortcrust pastry.

Cooking: Number 6 for 35 minutes from frozen.

Verdict: Having tried a few steak and kidney pies in my time I was really looking forward to this one. 35 minutes in the oven isn't bad from frozen and I had this one with new potatoes and carrots to make a nice change. The shortcrust pastry was lovely, really tasty and crumbly in the mouth. Inside, loads of gravy came flooding out once cut, nice, tasty and just the right thickness. The downside I found was whilst there were nice small chunks of kidney there was literally no mince. I honestly didn't find a bit anywhere. It was like having a lovely thick beef/onion soup with some kidney. Still, it was very tasty and if Birdseye just added some lumps of beef this would be an awesome pie.

Calorie wise, each pie is 505calories.

Rating? 5 out of 10.

Pukka Pies Shortcrust Minced Steak & Onion Pie

Description: Minced steak, chopped onions and dark gravy in a shortcrust pastry case.

Cooking: 45 minutes number 4

Verdict: Pukka Pies need no introduction, and as regular readers of my blog know I am a big fan. The last one I had I gave a beefy 9 out of 10. Cracking pies.

To my surprise, I found these lurking in the back of my freezer which was a lovely surprise. As a special treat I also let Mrs Pieman have one, so I put 2 in the oven and set the timer.
 
Out of the oven and on the plate, they looked great, along side some mash and peas. Cutting them open I dived in and was immediately disappointed. I had to double check to make sure I was actually eating a Pukka Pie. The filling was bland, no taste and not much mince at all. In case my pie was faulty I had to check Mrs Piemans one on her plate, and it was unfortunately the same. She confirmed my opinion and expressed her disappointment too. I don't know what Pukka Pies are playing at, so I am hoping this was a one off and the next pie from them I try is back up to their usual standards.

Sadly I cant recommend this pie. If you want a minced steak & onion pie, id reach for the Tesco own brand ones instead.

Calorie wise its 414 calories per pie.

Rating? 2.5 out of 10.

Ginsters Peppered Steak Pie

Description: British steak with onion in a creamy pepper sauce in a shortcrust pastry base topped with light puff pastry.

Cost: £1.89 for an individual pie.

Cooking: Number 6 for 25minutes from fresh. Add 10minutes if frozen.

Verdict: I didn't realise Ginsters did pies like this, I normally associate the brand more with slices and pasties which you might get from your local garage. Still, I do enjoy a nice steak pie and since this is a peppered steak I thought it would give the pie a nice twist.

In the oven the pie went, one pie is a single serving. Its a typical sized pie, ideal for one person. I had it with my usual peas and potatoes. Cutting the pie open, it started to disappoint. There were only a few very small pieces of steak. At one point I did wonder if it was minced beef instead of steak as I couldn't find any, but eventually I did find a couple of small pieces. The gravy for me was the biggest disappointment. There was plenty of it, but it was like water. You could taste the onion & peppers in all fairness, but it was just too watery. If they put 4 times the meat in the pie and made the gravy a bit thicker then it would be much better. All in all it was quite a let down, especially after the last steak pie I tried. I wouldn't buy again.

Calorie wise, 534 calories per pie.

Rating? 1 out of 10.