MARY BERRY’S RAISED GAME PIE

Taken from Mary Berry’s Complete Cookbook, DK, £25

Serves 20

2kg chicken, boned and skinned

1kg boneless mixed game meats, cut into 1cm pieces

375g belly pork, coarsely chopped

500g streaky bacon, cut into small pieces

Salt and black pepper

1 egg, beaten 450ml jellied stock (crack gamebird bones and put them in a stock pot; heat until browned; stir in a litre of water and bring to the boil; the stock will set when cool) For the marinade

150ml port

1 small onion, finely chopped

3 garlic cloves, crushed

Leaves of 4 thyme sprigs, chopped

1 tsp grated nutmeg For the hot-water-crust pastry

750g plain flour

1 tsp salt

400ml water

300g white vegetable fat

29cm springform or loose-bottomed tin

To make the marinade, combine ingredients.

Cut the chicken breast into long strips about 1cm wide and set aside. Cut the rest into 1cm chunks and add to the marinade with the game meats, belly pork and bacon. Cover and leave to marinate in the fridge for eight hours. Lightly grease the tin.

To make the pastry, sift the flour and salt into a large bowl. Put water and fat into a saucepan and heat until the water is boiling and the fat has melted. Pour onto the flour and mix until it holds together. Turn dough onto floured surface, invert the bowl over the top to keep moist and cool until lukewarm.

Take two-thirds of the pastry and pat it out over the bottom and up the sides of the tin until it stands 1cm above the rim.

Season the meat mixture and spoon half into the pastry shell. Smooth the surface.

Arrange the reserved chicken breast strips on top of the meat, radiating from the middle. Season. Top with the remaining meat mixture. Brush the top edge of the pastry with beaten egg. Roll out the remaining pastry and cover the pie, reserving the trimmings. Pinch around the edge to seal then crimp. Decorate with the trimmings, attaching them with beaten egg. Make three steam holes in the lid and glaze with beaten egg.

Bake in a preheated oven at 220°C/200°C fan/430°f/gas Mark 7 for one hour. If the pastry browns too quickly, cover with foil. Reduce the heat to 160°C/140°C fan/320°f/ Gas Mark 3 and cook for

2-2¼ hours.