Venison Pie with Pastry Crust
Beer-braised venison and mushrooms tucked under a flaky pasty crust. The cheese melts into the gravy and bakes into the crust for clean slices. A pot pie with big, bold flavors.
Ingredients
For the Filling
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 2 carrots, peeled and diced small
- 2 red onions, small dice
- 2 stalks of celery, small dice
- 4 cups chopped cremini or button mushrooms
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds, (optional)
- 1 teaspoon tomato paste
- 2 pounds venison stew meat, cut into 1 inch cubes
- 12 ounces dark beer, (stout or porter)
- Kosher salt and ground black pepper, (as needed)
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- Beef or venison stock, (to cover mixture for cooking)
- 8 ounces shredded or sliced cheese (I recommend smoked cheddar or gruyere)
- 2 frozen sheets of pie crust or puff pastry sheets
For the Egg Wash
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon milk
Instructions
Make the Filling
- Heat a large deep skillet or pot over medium heat. Add the butter. When melted, add the onions, celery, and carrots. Sweat until the onions are translucent, about 10 minutes. Do not brown.
- Add the mushrooms and garlic. Cook until the mushrooms just begin to soften. Around 5 minutes.
- Add the venison, rosemary, thyme, caraway, and tomato paste. Season with salt and pepper. Stir to combine and cook while stirring for 5 minutes.
- Sprinkle in the flour evenly and stir so there are no clumps. Increase the heat to medium-high and slowly add the dark beer while stirring.
- Pour in enough stock to just cover the mixture. Bring to a gentle simmer, cover, and cook until the venison is fork-tender, 2 to 3 hours. Stir and check liquid levels every 30 minutes.The mixture should be thick when cooking is complete. If not, remove the lid and simmer until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper. Let cool slightly and remove the bay leaf.
- While the mixture is cooling, preheat the oven to 350°F.
Assemble the Pie
- For a single-crust pie: Roll one sheet of dough to about 1/4 inch thick and place over the filling, tucking edges as desired.
- For a two-crust pie: Line the pan with the first sheet, add the filling and cheese, then top with the second sheet. Use any extra dough to patch cracks or holes.
- Pour the mixture into a 9 inch pie pan. Sprinkle the smoked cheddar evenly over the hot filling.
Apply Egg Wash, Vent Dough and Bake
- Beat the egg and milk together. Lightly brush the top crust with the egg wash. Make a few small slits in the center to vent. Set the pie pan on a baking sheet.
- Bake until the crust is golden brown, about 45 minutes. Rest 10 minutes before slicing.
NOTES
Double Crust and Patching Holes
- I listed 2 pastry dough sheets (pie or puff pastry). You can use one of the dough sheets to place on the bottom of the pie pan for a double crust. Or you can use the extra dough to patch any holes that may occur in the top later before cooking.
- Cool completely. Refrigerate slices in an airtight container up to 4 days.
- Freeze whole baked pie or slices up to 2 months. Wrap tightly, then place in a freezer bag.
- Freeze unbaked assembled pie up to 2 months. Add the egg wash just before baking from frozen.
- From fridge: 325 F on a sheet pan 15 to 20 minutes until hot and crisp.
- From frozen pre-baked: 325 F 30 to 40 minutes, loosely tent with foil if browning too fast.
- Pastry: puff pastry or standard pie dough both work.
- Dairy-free options: use a dairy-free pie crust, swap butter for olive oil, and use water instead of milk for the egg wash.
- Cheese: smoked cheddar is great. Sharp cheddar, Gruyere, or no cheese are all fine
- Rest 10 minutes for cleaner slices.
- Serve with buttered peas, mashed potatoes, or a bitter greens salad.
- For individual pies, portion the filling into ramekins and top with pastry rounds.
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Make this recipe?Mention @Larry__White or tag #WildGameGourmet!