Rustic Venison Pie
Venison pie is a relatively simple dish to make with very few ingredients required.
Admittedly I am not the best pastry chef, so if you are like me, the good news is you can buy the pastry ready-made.
Ingredients
As I just mentioned above, there are very few ingredients, but two of them are pastry.
Pastry
For this pie, you will need pie crust on the bottom, and puff pastry on top.
I like to make my own pie crust as it’s easy and in my opinion, tastes better than storebought.
Puff pastry is also easy, but takes more time. If you wish to make your own and have the time, go for it, otherwise, store-bought pastry will work fine.
Meat
For this recipe, I used 2.5 pounds of cubed venison. Any cut will work here as long as it’s lean.Â
If you trimmed up some neck or shoulder it would be fine, or you could use some of the rounds from the hind quarter.
Cube the meat into about 1-inch pieces.
Wine
For me, the wine elevates this dish. However, I know not everybody likes cooking with wine.
I recommend using wine in this recipe, but if you prefer not to, you can replace the wine with an extra cup of venison stock.
For this recipe I used red wine, you could also use white wine, although it will not have the same depth as red wine.
Regardless of which color wine you use, ensure that you use a dry wine. I opted for a dry cabernet sauvignon.
Instructions
This dish is made in two parts. The first part is to make the venison filling, and the second part is to cook the whole pie.
To make the filling, start by browning the venison in a Dutch oven. This step is crucial for the success of the dish, as it adds a lot of flavor, and helps texture the sauce.
When browning the venison, do so in batches to prevent stewing the meat.
Once the meat is browned remove it from the pot and set aside.
Reduce the heat and add the onions and garlic and cook for one to two minutes.
Add the flour and stir, then return the meat along with the juices back to the pot.
Add the remaining filling ingredients, increase the heat, and bring to a simmer.
Place the lid on the pot and place into a preheated oven. Cook in the oven for about 2-3 hours, until the meat is tender.
Allow the filling to cool before placing it in the pastry.
Making the Pie
Once the filling has cooled you can assemble the pie.
Roll out your pie crust and place it in your pie dish.Â
Add the venison filling. Cover the pie with the puff pastry and gently squeeze the edges of the two pastries together to form a seal.
Cut a little cross in the center of the pie to allow the steam to escape.
Place in an oven preheated to 360F for about 20 minutes, or until you get the doneness on the pie crust.
Venison Pie
Equipment
- 1 pie dish
Ingredients
Filling
- 2.5 pounds venison cubed (note 1)
- 1 medium white or yellow onion finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 cup venison stock note 2
- 2 cups dry red wine note 3
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp dry sage
- 2 sprigs thyme remove leaves from stalk
- 5 tbsp flour
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp black pepper
Pie Crust
- 1 pie crust
- or
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 4.5 oz butter cold
- 3 tbsp milk
Pie Lid
- 1 sheet puff pastry chilled
Instructions
- Brown the venison in a dutch oven in small batches
- Reduce the heat and add the onions and garlic and cook for one to two minutes.
- Add the flour and stir, then return the meat along with the juices back to the pot.
- Add the remining filling ingredients, increase the heat and bring to a simmer.
- Place the lid on the pot and place into a preheated oven (400F). Cook in the oven for about 3-4 hours, until the meat is tender.
- Allow the filling to cool before placing in pastry.
Assembling the pie
- Roll out your pie crust and place in your pie dish.Â
- Add the venison filling. Cover the pie with the puff pastry and gently squeeze the edges of the two pastries together to form a seal.
- Cut a little cross in the center of the pie to allow the steam to escape.
Pie Crust
- Add butter and flour to food processor or mix with hands until it resembles breadcrumbs
- Add milk and mix until a dough is formed
- Gently form into a disc and wrap with film. Place in refrigertor for at least 2 hours to chill
Notes
- You can use almost any cut of venison as long as it is lean. Good cut choices for this recipe would be top round or bottom round.
- I recommend using venison stock for this recipe. However, you can use beef stock. If using store-bought stock, ensure you use a low-sodium one.
- Both red wine and white wine will work for this recipe. The most important thing about the wine selection is to use a dry wine. A sweet wine will not work for this recipe.
