A Man-Sized Snack (Ginsters Deep Fill Peppered Steak Slice)

Member Name: Emmald

Product:	Ginsters Deep Fill Peppered Steak Slice
Date:	08/05/09 (151 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Tasty, meaty and very filling

Disadvantages: High in fats

If I can manage to find the Ginsters deep filled peppered steak slice on offer or reduced in price then I will happily buy a couple but other than that at £1.59p a time they have to be considered a bit of a treat. I admit to being a fan of the Ginsters products, their steak slices make a decent snack and they certainly don't look out of place on a plate served with some creamed potato and vegetables, if you are going all out then you could even consider putting a few homemade chips on the plate with them.

Ginsters are based in Cornwall and produce good quality pastry products and sandwiches.
Pepper sauce always goes well with beef and Ginsters have capitalised on this and have come up with this tempting and well filled slice.

The steak slices can be heated using a microwave but I prefer to use the oven, if the slice goes into the microwave then bang goes that delicious puff pastry case.
If you pre-heat the oven and put the slice in to warm for about twenty minutes then not only do you get the privilege of eating the product but you are treated to the tempting aroma as it heats up.

Ginsters have gone the extra mile to make the steak slice appealing both inside and out, the puff pastry is plentiful and rich. There is layer upon layer of light flaky pastry which has been latticed on the top of the slice, so as the slice heats up the pasty has room to expand and the filling can sometimes make the odd bid for freedom through the top of the fluffy golden pastry.

Inside of the puff pastry there is 22% British beef and 14% potato, enough to make a satisfying filling. The beef is tender and seems to have been well cooked through and on the whole the pieces of beef are decent sized though some have fallen apart during the cooking process. I like the addition of the sliced potato, it adds substance to the filling and the starch in the potato helps to thicken the sharp pepper sauce.
The meat has been cooked in beef stock and a touch of cream has been added to the sauce which certainly helps towards making the sauce richer. Onion, salt, pepper and lemon zest have been added to the mixture to inject extra flavour.
Of course once the pasty has been heated the meat, potato and sauce all merge into one another. The sauce takes on that `meaty` appearance and the pepper flavour is there but not too pronounced.
The puff pastry stays crisp as you cut into the slice and retains its crispiness right until the end.

Ginsters make their pies and pasties without using any artificial colours, flavours or preservatives, this goes some way to explain the fact that their goods hold a heftier price tag.

The Deep Filled Steak Slice contains wheat, milk, gluten and eggs.
Each 180g slice contains 455 calories, 15.1g protein, 38.4g carbohydrate of which2.8g is sugar.
27.0g of fat, of which 12.7g is saturated fat, 2.9g fibre and 0.75g sodium.

A brief look at the nutritional content explains in no uncertain terms that these slices are rich, both the fat and the calorie content are high.
We and millions of others enjoy Ginsters pies and pasties, they make a good meal, they are great to take on a picnic and if you regularly travel up and down the motorways I am sure that you will have noticed them on sale at the service stations.

A delicious snack come meal that has appeal which comes at a price. But all in all the price is reflected in the quality of the product.
Ginsters are keen supporters of local charities. They are one of the main sponsors of `Chicks`, this charity provides country holidays for inner city kids, I am sure we all agree, this is a very worthwhile charity.

Summary: A great pastry product but a bit on the expensive side.