VENISON PIE

Prep time: 45 minutes, plus cooling time Cook time: 2 hours 35 minutes

Serves 4

When buying the meat for this, it’s best if it comes from a single cut or joint, so that the pieces all cook in the same time. Shoulder or neck meat works well. If you are a fan of offal, you might like to add some pan-fried heart and kidney pieces to the meat once it’s tender, in the manner of a good old-fashioned steak and kidney pie.

INGREDIENTS For the filling

– 1kg venison shoulder or neck, cut into rough 2-3cm chunks

– 3 tbsp plain flour

– vegetable oil, for frying

– 30g butter

– 2 medium onions, finely chopped

– 1 garlic clove, crushed

– 1 tsp tomato purée

– 200ml red wine

– 1.5 litres dark meat stock

– 1 tsp chopped thyme leaves

– 10 juniper berries, crushed

– 1 small bay leaf

– 1-2 tsp cornflour (optional)

For the pastry

– 225g self-raising flour, plus extra for dusting

– 85g shredded beef suet

– 60g butter, chilled and coarsely grated

– 1 medium egg, beaten

METHOD Season the venison and lightly dust with 1 tbsp of the flour.

Heat a little oil in a large, heavy-based frying pan and fry the meat in 2-3 batches over a high heat, until nicely browned. Set aside on a plate or tray.

Meanwhile, melt the butter in another large, heavy-based pan or flameproof casserole and fry the onion and garlic for a few minutes, until lightly coloured. Add the remaining flour and tomato purée.

Stir over a low heat for a minute or so, then slowly add the wine and stock, stirring to avoid lumps forming.

Add the venison along with the thyme, juniper berries and bay leaf. Bring to a simmer, cover and simmer very gently for 1-1½ hours, or until the meat is tender (you can also cook it in the oven at 160C/140C fan/ gas mark 3 if you prefer, for a similar amount of time, until tender).

When the meat is cooked, the sauce should have reached a thick, gravy-like consistency. If not, mix the cornflour to a paste with 1 tbsp water, stir into the sauce and simmer, stirring, for a few minutes.

Leave to cool completely.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas mark 6, and make the pastry. Rub the flour, suet and butter together in a large bowl along with 1 tsp salt, and make a well in the centre. Mix in enough cold water (about 150ml) to form a smooth dough and knead for a minute.

Spoon the cooled filling into a large pie dish, or 4 individual dishes, to come up to about 1cm from the rim.

Roll the pastry out on a floured surface to a 7-8mm thickness. Cut out a disc (or 4 smaller ones) to make a pie lid, making it about 2cm larger than the dish diameter all the way round. Brush the edges of the pastry with a little of the beaten egg.

If using a pie funnel or pie bird, place it in the centre of the filling. Cut a small hole or slit in the centre of the pastry lid and lay it over the dish so the funnel pokes through. Press the egg-washed sides on to the rim of the dish.

If not using a funnel, cut out a 2cm circle in the centre of the pastry lid but leave it in position on top of the pie.

Brush the pie(s) with beaten egg and bake for 40-50 minutes (30-35 minutes for small individual pies), until the pastry is golden.