Beardo Posted December 3, 2008 Report Share Posted December 3, 2008 (edited) made this at the weekend, absolutely knocked my taste buds socks off - very tasty bit o'pie ***note*** i've now modified this a bit to suit more people's taste (and my own) Pigeon Pie with Port and Juniper 150 ml red wine 2 tablespoons (30 ml) port 8 juniper berries, crushed 2 tablespoons (30 ml) vegetable oil 8 pigeon breasts (4 pigeons worth) 25 g butter 1 tablespoon plain flour 1 tbsp (15 ml) vegetable oil 1 onion, finely chopped 4 rashers streaky bacon, rinds removed, chopped 450 g stewing steak, trimmed and cut into 1 inch cubes 175 g flat mushrooms, thickly sliced few sprigs of parsley, chopped 1/2 tsp dried thyme 350 g shortcrust pastry 1 egg yolk 1. Mix together wine, port, juniper berries and oil for the marinade and season with freshly ground black pepper. Cut pigeon breasts into large pieces. Put Pigeon and steak into a non-metallic dish, pour over the marinade, cover. Leave in fridge overnight. 2. Melt the butter and oil in a frying pan, add the onion and bacon and fry gently for 4 minutes. Sprinkle with the flour then fry for 1 more minute. Remove with a slotted spoon, reserve. 3. Remove meat from the marinade, drain. Reserve marinade. Increase heat and fry the pigeon and the steak in batches, sealing on all sides. 4. Put the pigeon, steak, onion and bacon into a 2 pint (1.25 litre) pie dish and top with the mushrooms. Sprinkle with herbs, pour over the reserved marinade. 5. Roll out the pastry to 1/4 inch (5 mm) thick, put a pie funnel into the dish. Cut a 1/2 inch (1 cm) strip of pastry and place around the edge of the dish. Brush with water and top with the remaining pastry. Use the pastry trimmings to decorate the top of the pie. Brush the top with the egg yolk. 6. Bake at Mark 4 (180°C) 350°F for 20 minutes, then reduce the heat to Mark 2 (150°C) 300°F and cook for a further 1 1/2 hours. Cover the pastry with foil if it browns too much during cooking. Serves 5 - 6 Edited December 24, 2008 by nickbeardo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirusman Posted December 3, 2008 Report Share Posted December 3, 2008 Would you like to adopt me or maybe i can become a lodger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
p-a-s Posted December 3, 2008 Report Share Posted December 3, 2008 sounds a good recipe nick im on the woodies on fri fingers crossed i will give this one a try Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beardo Posted December 4, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 4, 2008 Would you like to adopt me or maybe i can become a lodger you can join the que! i feed half my mates as it is Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beardo Posted December 4, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 4, 2008 (edited) i left off brushing the pastry with egg yolk, you don't have to do it, but it adds that lovely pro-pietm look to it Edited December 4, 2008 by nickbeardo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirusman Posted December 4, 2008 Report Share Posted December 4, 2008 Bloody hell with recipes like that i bet you are not short of mates Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beardo Posted December 5, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 5, 2008 crazily i have to get my mates round to eat it, as my wife won't eat any game i've shot! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cleaner4hire Posted December 5, 2008 Report Share Posted December 5, 2008 sounds very nice- funnily enough i normally have to 'scale down' anything i cook that involves me shooting it as my wife wont eat it either. the thing that annoys me most is that if it cost £50 in a restaurant she'd bloody eat it!!!! i have a happy little springer though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jinxy72 Posted December 5, 2008 Report Share Posted December 5, 2008 crazily i have to get my mates round to eat it, as my wife won't eat any game i've shot! same here m8 lol ..... does sound delicious !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George1990 Posted December 5, 2008 Report Share Posted December 5, 2008 Thanks for the recipe! Haven't really got into shooting pigeons properly yet as I can only do it when my mum is work - she doesn't agree with it you see. But now I'll have good excuse! Did make HenryD's pigeon stroganoff once and she didn't comment on where I got the meat (first time i cooked at home you see haha!) Sounds F-A-B. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitebridges Posted December 5, 2008 Report Share Posted December 5, 2008 Looks a good one. Juniper is cracking with game. This a recipe i'm going to try. If I get 4 pigeon tomorrow I'll let you know how I do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
p-a-s Posted December 7, 2008 Report Share Posted December 7, 2008 well lads/lasses, i gave this pie recipe a try today (thanks nick) it was well worth the effort.i followed the recipe to the letter and would you believe it,the chuck steak was tough.the pigeon was A1 just crumbled in the mouth but it wasnt a dry crumble i must add.im not being crittical now but for my taste buds(smoker) on the next pie i make i think i will add a few extra juniper berrys and drain some of the juices off after cooking and add some thickener to make a realy nice gravy. but it gets my 10/10.i would like to ask tho nick. where on earth did you find this discovery any more like it mate keep them coming.paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitebridges Posted December 11, 2008 Report Share Posted December 11, 2008 (edited) Thanks for the recipe it was very nice. One of the best pigeon pies i've cooked. I thickend it it bit and the meat was marinaded for 48 hours. Edited December 11, 2008 by Whitebridges Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beardo Posted December 12, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 12, 2008 i'm not sure where it came from originally, i've had it in my big folder of recipes for ages. As with any recipe, i find it's best to make it as it says the first time, then tailor it to your own tastes. Incidentally i was reading an article in the latest Sporting Shooter yesterday about Juniper and that Juniper poisoning can cause miscarriage, so worth avoiding if you're preggers! Did a bit more research on Juniper and came across this as well (from Wikipedia) Juniper berries act as a strong urinary tract disinfectant if consumed and were used by American Indians as a herbal remedy for urinary tract infections. Western tribes combined the berries of juniperus communis with Berberis root bark in a herbal tea to treat diabetes. Clinical studies have verified the effectiveness of this treatment in insulin-dependent diabetes. Compounds in these plants when combined and ingested have been shown to trigger insulin production in the body's fat cells, as well as stabilize blood sugar levels. Native Americans also used juniper berries as a female contraceptive. The 17th Century herbalist physician Nicholas Culpeper recommended the ripened berries for conditions such as asthma and sciatica, as well as to speed childbirth. Fascinating stuff! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
holly Posted December 12, 2008 Report Share Posted December 12, 2008 crazily i have to get my mates round to eat it, as my wife won't eat any game i've shot! funny blokes women Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beardo Posted December 24, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 24, 2008 i've just modified the above recipe, it'll now be a thicker gravy and the beef will be more tender. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nial Posted August 27, 2009 Report Share Posted August 27, 2009 I've got the meat in the fridge marinading in preperation for making this tonight. One question, I've never used juniper berries and could only find dried ones in Tesco. Is this what you're supposed to use or can you get fresh ones? It didn't smell very 'junipery' so I put 12 in rather than 8. Nial. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beardo Posted August 27, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 27, 2009 dried is what is use (difficult finding fresh round here), i'd upped the original recipe from 6 to 8, so you may find 12 is a little strong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nial Posted August 29, 2009 Report Share Posted August 29, 2009 That was great, I will definitely do it again, I'd have given it 8.5/10 if I'd been served that in a restaurant. I messed up the pastry slightly, I was doing things from memory and put the 1cm strip on top of the main cover instead of round the side first. I think this meant the pastry didn't seal the contents and I lost quite a bit of moisture, but I'll get it right next time. I don't think that 12 juniper berries was too much, although I might cut it down to 10 just in case next time. Nial Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomV Posted October 20, 2009 Report Share Posted October 20, 2009 Im going to give this a try at the weekend, where do you get juniper berries from? can the be bought at supermarkets? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beardo Posted October 20, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 20, 2009 health food shops might sell them, i got mine from a great little market stall we have that sells all sorts of herbs, spices etc. here's some if you can't find them locally.... http://www.goodnessdirect.co.uk/cgi-local/...rries__15g.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomV Posted October 20, 2009 Report Share Posted October 20, 2009 health food shops might sell them, i got mine from a great little market stall we have that sells all sorts of herbs, spices etc. here's some if you can't find them locally.... http://www.goodnessdirect.co.uk/cgi-local/...rries__15g.html Thanks for the link, do you think it will make a big difference if you left the juniper berries out? what sort of flavour do they give? Ive not tried them before!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beardo Posted October 20, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 20, 2009 they give a very distinctive taste. pm me with your address and i'll stick some in an envelope for you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nial Posted October 20, 2009 Report Share Posted October 20, 2009 Im going to give this a try at the weekend, where do you get juniper berries from? can the be bought at supermarkets? I think I got mine from Tesco, in a Schwartz herb type glass jar..... http://www.schwartz.co.uk/productdetail.cfm?ID=5144 Nial. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beardo Posted October 23, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 23, 2009 did you get the berries in the post Tom or have they been lost in the delays? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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