Game pie

[243deer]

Most game pie recipes seem to be made in an 8 inch springform tin - here is a recipe for a 9 inch tin which makes a flatter pie that is easily shareable.

Ingredients

For the meat

1400g of mixed game cubed, minced fatty pork and bacon cubed (I used about 500g minced pork, 100g bacon and the rest was made up of venison and pigeon) - 1500g would fit fine as well 

Salt and pepper

Flavourings to your taste - I used Italian herbs and juniper berries

For the pastry

580g plain white flour

120g strong white flour

100g cold butter (the chefs always seem to use unsalted but I really do not find this necessary I just use salted as it is a savoury pie after all)

125g lard

250ml water

Salt and pepper

To seal and glaze

1 beaten egg

Jelly

300ml boiling water 

1 sachet of powdered gelatine (or 4 leaves)

Flavourings of your choice (I used a level teaspoon of bovril, a splash of rick soy sauce, a splash of worcestershire sauce and a dash of fish sauce)

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6 and grease the tin well with lard

2. Prepare your meat on a board and season evenly

3. Mix your meat - I put the meat into the bowl in layers to get good distribution then massage together well to get a good bind with the minced meat.

4. Mix and season your flours

5. Prepare your fats

6. Cube the butter - top tip is to dunk each slice in the flour then cube as this helps to keep the cubes separate

7. Rub the butter into the flour until it resembles breadcrumbs

8. Put water and lard into a pan and bring just to the boil stirring to ensure the lard has melted - I rough cube the lard to help then form a well in your flour, add all the water and lard mixture and mix with a spoon to form a rough pastry.

9. As soon as you can handle it knead your pastry briefly until smooth

10.Split the dough into 3/4 and a 1/4 (I weighed the dough and it was around 1200g so I split 900/300)

11. Roll out your base using the bottom of the tin as a guide to allow for just a little overhang of the edge

12. fold the base inwards from the corners so you can get the base underneath

13. replace the side of the tin

14. Form the sides of the pie ensuring you have no holes

15. in with the meat

16. Roll out the top and glue the sides with egg

17. Attach your lid and crimp all round - create a decent sized breathing hole just smaller than a pop bottle spout

18. Glaze the top with egg

19. Place on a tray and cook for 30 minutes then turn the oven down to 160C/140C Fan/Gas 3 and cook for a further 1 hour and 40 minutes

20. Once your pie is out of the oven and cooling you can make your jelly. Add your gelatine to your boiling water, ensure it is dissolved completely then add your flavourings of choice

21. After the pie has been cooling for an hour make a funnel from a 2l pop bottle and screw it down into the hole you made earlier - bear with me

22. Whilst lifting the bottle gently upwards to lift the pastry lid pour your jelly in until the pie is full - my pie took only a desert spoonful less than I had made

23. Once cool, refrigerate overnight to let the flavours develop and for the jelly to set properly

 

 

 

 

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Edited December 20, 2022 by 243deer

[wisdom]

Brilliant thank you I'll save this for later.

[Morkin]

That looks absolutely fantastic 👍 thanks for putting that up and I hope you enjoy , which is a daft thing to say, of cause you will. Take care mate and have a good an 

🍷🍷🍷👍 

[wisdom]

Could this be pinned please in food and drink.