The Steak-Pie at the Black Knight Pub in Yellowknife was extremely simple, but beautifully rich and hearty. It earned a 5 out of 5 Rating.
My late father had a signature recipe for Steak and Kidney Pie that was so good that a local Pub in Fredericton, New Brunswick once adopted it and served it on their menu for a number of years. The pie you see above was served to me at the justly famous Black Knight Pub in Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories. Their version didn’t contain kidney, just lots of steak, but it was every bit as tasty and satisfying as my father’s pie.
In almost twenty years of travelling the North for Court sittings in Arctic communities, it was frequently necessary to go through the Northwest Territories in order to get from one part of the Nunavut Territory to another. This often involved a layover in Yellowknife and, given the vagaries of Northern travel, this could be just overnight, or end up being several days.
On may such layovers, I would spend at least one evening at the small, but extremely comfortable and friendly Black Knight Pub. Some of these visits I actually remember quite well. Mostly, to be honest, I generally went with colleagues for a beer or seven, and on the times we did go for a meal, it usually was for their steaks, which were always very good. On this particular occasion, though, I decided to try their Steak and Guinness Pie and ended up being justly rewarded.
For those who are unfamiliar, Guinness is a Stout, or dry, black beer, brewed in Ireland. It is very thick bodied and has an incredibly potent flavor due to the roasting of the Barley from which it is brewed. It is often added to stews, where it gives a rich depth to the ‘gravy’ and other ingredients.
When I was mulling over my choice from the menu that night, I asked my sever what the Pie was like and she said it was very good (although I could hardly suppose she would say otherwise). She did elaborate, however and said that the cook didn’t add a lot of ‘bits or other stuff’. As it turned out, she was dead right about that for, other than just a little onion, there was no filler of vegetables, just generous amounts of thick chunks of tender steak.
Anyway, I have included this second picture here so that you can see the beauty of the ‘dome’ of crust that covered the Pie before I attacked it. I am not a big pastry fan but this was really nicely made and was light and really tasty too. What with the juicy Beef and the umami rich sauce, this Pie was truly excellent, and so filling that I barely touched the French fries on the side.