Venison-Apricot Pie

I bought some ground venison with this in mind.  We didn't have enough dinners at home during Techie Smurf's visit to make this pie, so it got postponed a month.  This is why the meat I buy goes straight into the freezer.

My only previous experience with a hot-water crust was the pork pie.  I didn't really like that crust and went searching for something better.  I settled on the one in the Scottish Pie recipe from ProFoodHomemade, by a British chef.  There is a prominent link on the page to watch the YouTube video, which is slightly different than the blog post.  The filling and sauce recipe here is largely the same as his from the Scottish Pie post, replacing some of the liquid with a jar of Apricot-Date Chutney.  If you don't have the chutney, substitute apricot jam, mincemeat, or even just chopped dried apricots and extra cooking liquid.  It won't have as much complexity as the chutney, but will be far more interesting than just the meat alone.

Most of the effort in this went into the broth and crust.  The filling is super easy to make.  If you have unsalted beef stock at home, all the better.  I just got out the broth bag and some chicken bones and let that simmer while working on the crust.

I went ahead and did the crust in metric rather than trust his conversion.  All lefties know that the backside of a Pyrex measuring cup has milliliter measurements, and my scale has a button for grams.  Either way, you're going to need a scale because the flour is by weight.  This dough was much better than the one for the pork pie, so it's better to do it this way.

Crust

400g / 14 oz flour
160 g / ml water
90 g / 3-1/4 oz unsalted butter
100 g / 3-1/2 oz shortening or lard
8 g / 1 tsp salt
1 egg beaten with 1 Tb milk or water for an egg wash

1.  In a medium bowl, stir together flour and salt.  Set aside.

2.  In a small saucepan, heat water, butter, and lard over medium-low heat until fully melted.

3.  Pour hot liquid into flour.  Stir until fully mixed.  It's going to smell like the first step of choux paste, which isn't all that pretty.

4.  Turn out dough to a lightly floured board and knead until it comes together as a smooth dough.  Flatten into a disc, wrap with plastic or parchment, and refrigerate 1-2 hours.

Filling & Sauce

*1 lb ground venison
*3/4 C apricot chutney, or 1/2 C apricot jam
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 Tb olive oil
*1/4 tsp ground mace
*1/4 tsp dried oregano
*1/4 tsp dried parsley
salt and pepper to taste
2 C venison, beef, or lamb stock
1 Tb cornstarch mixed in 2 Tb cold water
*1/4 C bourbon (optional)

1.  In a medium saucepan over medium heat, warm the oil.  Add in diced onion and cook until softened, not browned.  This takes about 10 minutes.  If it starts to brown, turn down the heat.  Add mace, oregano, parsley, salt, and pepper and cook another minute.

2.  Add ground venison to the pot and cook until browned and crumbly.  If desired, pour off fat, but it's a lean meat.  Add pint of unsalted stock and bring to a simmer.  Cover and cook 10 minutes, to flavor the stock for when it becomes the sauce.

3.  Strain off and reserve stock.  In a bowl, add chutney to the cooked filling and work in until well distributed.

Assembly

1.  Preheat oven to 340ºF.  Cut dough into two pieces, one larger than the other, as though you were making a 2-crust pie.  You can make this in 4" mini pie pans, an 8" pie tin, or I chose a deep 6" springform.  The brave can also do what's called a hand-raised crust, with no pie tin to support it.

2.  On a lightly floured board, roll dough 1/4" thin.  If using a mini pie tin, go for 1/8".  Press into your pie pan(s) or carefully shape the bowl of your free-standing crust.  This might take a while.  Patch any holes or cracks so the pie doesn't leak.

3.  Add filling to the crust, packing down.  Add about 1/2 C of the broth to the pie (2 Tb for each if individual).

4.  Roll out your top crust from the remaining dough.  Use the egg wash to brush the filled portion before pressing on the top.  Crimp the two crusts closed, trim off any excess, then cut a vent hole in the center of the pie.  Brush with more egg wash for a lovely glaze.

5.  Place pie(s) on a rimmed baking sheet, in case of leaks or overflows.  Bake mini pies for 40 minutes, full-sized for 55.  The filling is cooked.  You're baking the crust.  Allow to cool slightly on a rack while you make the sauce.

Sauce

1.  Pour remaining broth into a small saucepan and add the bourbon, if using.  Bring to a boil, then add the cornstarch slurry.  Continue to cook until thickened.  It won't be very thick.  If you prefer that, start with a light butter and flour roux and then mix in the broth and bourbon.

2.  Gently remove pies from the tins or springform and serve with gravy.

Difficulty rating :-0