Recipe: Game Pie

Recipe Source: Lennon, Biddy White and Georgina Campbell.  Irish Food and Cooking.  Anness Publishing, London, 2007 p. 164

This is a tasty, hearty dish for Fall.  The original recipe called it "adaptable" and let me tell you that I made sure of that.  I made a few changes, then I made a few more.  I also cooked the finished pie on the Big Green Egg, which gave it a wonderful color and a delicious, rustic, cooked-on-a-wood-fire flavor.  Since it's so adaptable, feel free to use whatever bird (and stewing meat) is available to you, just as I did.  I will warn you that some of the meat can dry out a bit if it gets re-heated a few days later.

Game Pie (serves 8; approx. $2.90/serving

1 duck

1/2 pound stewing lamb

4 ounces beef bacon (you can use pork bacon here if you can eat pork; it's cheaper and better)

4 ounces butter

2 onions, finely chopped

5 garlic cloves, crushed

1 tablespoon flour

1/4 cup duck stock

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

1/4 teaspoon grated lemon peel

1 tablespoon lingonberry jelly (redcurrant or rowan would be more appropriate, but I had lingonberry open and taking up space in the fridge.)

4 ounces Baby Bella mushrooms, chopped

1 pinch ground nutmeg

1 pinch ground cloves

8 ounces flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1/2 cup butter, cut into "walnut-sized" pieces

Equipment:

• Food processor
• Rolling pin
• Large, deep pie plate
• Deep sauteuse or pot
• Big Green Egg (optional; this is the best way to cook it, but you can certainly do it in the oven and do it well, too.)

1. Combine the flour, salt, lemon juice and butter in the food processor.
2. Add just enough iced water that the ingredients come together.
3. Turn the mixture out onto a floured surface and roll out into a rectangle. 
4. Fold the rectangle into thirds, in on itself, and roll it out again.
5. Repeat step 4 three more times, then refrigerate. 
6. Remove the meat from the duck bones.  This will be kind of messy.  Discard the skin and fat and reserve the carcass for making stock (possibly the same stock you use in this dish!)
7. Slice the meat you've just carved from the duck into thin slices and set aside. 
8. Slice the stewing lamb into thin strips. 
9. Slice the bacon into thin strips as well. 
10. In the deep saute pan, cook the bacon until the fat runs. 
11. Add the butter.
12. When the butter melts, add the duck and lamb meat.  Brown the meats in the fats, in batches if need be, and set aside.
13. Cook the onions and garlic in the fat over medium heat.  Remove and set aside.
14. Stir the flour carefully into the remaining fat and cook 1 - 2 minutes.
15. Add the stock and make it into a fairly thin gravy.
16. Add the tomato paste, parsley, lemon peel and jelly along with the mushrooms.
17. Season to taste with the nutmeg and cloves. 
18. Return the meats to the pan and mix well.
19. Turn the mixture out into the deep pie plate. 
20. Preheat your Big Green Egg or oven to 425.
21. Top the pie with the dough you prepared in steps 1 - 5.  The crust should overhang the pie enough to make a seal with the scraps.  Do so. 
22. Glaze the top of the pie in whatever way seems best to you - I used milk, you can use egg if you like.
23. Bake 20 minutes at 425, then reduce the heat and bake at 300 for 1 1/2 hours. 
24. Serve hot. 

Comments

[Natasha - 5 Star Foodie]

This sounds wonderful! Reminds me of a pie I had at Williamsburg!

[nora@ffr]

m gonna make this pie for dinner tonight! :)
cheers!!