A golden pie with a serving taken out revealing a meaty centre

Venison pie

Name: Venison pie
Total time: 2 h
Yield: Serves 6
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: 2 tbsp vegetable oil; 1kg stewing venison cut into chunks; 1 onion finely chopped; 3 tbsp plain flour plus extra for dusting; 1 bay leaf; 4 juniper berries; 400ml red wine; 200ml chicken or vegetable stock plus extra if needed; 200g chestnut mushrooms; 200g baby shallots or pearl onions peeled; 2 tbsp redcurrant jelly; 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar; 150g shredded vegetable suet; 250g self-raising flour; ½ tsp baking powder; leaves picked to make 2 tbsp thyme; ½ tsp fine sea salt; 1 egg beaten to glaze

Anna Glover

Published: October 4, 2021 at 11:40 AM

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Serves 6

Easy

Total time: 2 hrs

A star rating of 5 out of 5.1 ratingRate

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Make this comforting venison, chestnut mushroom and red wine pie with suet pastry for the crispiest topping. The filling is slow cooked until the venison becomes beautifully tender

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Alternatives

Complete the dish

Tuck into this venison pie, then check out our venison curry, venison wellington, venison stew, game pie, venison steaks, venison meatballs, venison burgers and more venison recipes. Also take a look at more of our comforting pie recipes. You could also make your own onion gravy with our recipe.

Recipe tip: Instead of buying diced venison, look for one piece of meat and cut it yourself so you have more control over the size and consistency – haunch or shoulder are good for slow-cooked pie fillings. Prepared venison is often a mixture of cuts, which require different cooking times.

Ingredients

Nutrition

2 tbsp vegetable oil
1kg stewing venison

cut into chunks
1 onion

finely chopped
3 tbsp plain flour

plus extra for dusting
1 bay leaf
4 juniper berries
400ml red wine
200ml chicken or vegetable stock

plus extra if needed
200g chestnut mushrooms
200g baby shallots or pearl onions

peeled
2 tbsp redcurrant jelly
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

PASTRY

150g shredded vegetable suet
250g self-raising flour
½ tsp baking powder
leaves picked to make 2 tbsp thyme
½ tsp fine sea salt
1 egg

beaten to glaze

Nutrition: per serving

kcal660
fat24.4g
saturates10.2g
carbs50.5g
sugars3.7g
fibre3.7g
protein45.3g
salt1.3g

Method

step 1

Heat 1 tbsp of the oil in large pan over a medium-high heat and brown the meat in batches until golden brown. Remove to a plate or bowl using a slotted spoon. Heat a little of the remaining oil in the pan and fry the onion for 5 minutes until lightly golden. Stir the meat back in, along with any resting juices, then sprinkle over the flour and mix well. Add the bay, juniper and wine. Bring to a simmer and scrape the base of the pan with a wooden spoon to loosen any browned bits. Pour in the stock so the meat is covered, then cover with a lid and cook for 2 hours over a low heat until the meat is tender. Remove the lid for the final 10 minutes to thicken the sauce, if needed – it should be quite a thick gravy that coats the meat. Top up with more stock during cooking if needed.
step 2

When the filling is ready, heat the rest of the oil in a frying pan over a medium heat and fry the mushrooms and shallots for 15 minutes, shaking the pan often, until the veg is golden and caramelised, and the shallots are tender throughout (make sure they’re soft as they won’t soften in the pie). Stir these through the pie filling along with the redcurrant jelly, balsamic and some seasoning. Cool. It will keep in the fridge for up to two days.
step 3

Mix together all the pastry ingredients except the egg, add 150-175ml of ice-cold water and mix in with a cutlery knife until it comes together. Roll into a ball, wrap and chill for 30 minutes.
step 4

Heat the oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Tip the pie filling into a 22cm lipped pie dish. Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured worksurface until large enough to cover the dish. Brush some of the beaten egg around the rim, then top with the pastry, crimping the edges and trimming any excess. Brush with the rest of the beaten egg and bake for 35-40 minutes or until golden and crisp.

Find more hearty pie recipes

Authors

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Anna GloverSenior food editor

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