Brecon Venison & Red Wine Pie by Hywel Jones of Lucknam Park Hotel

Serves

4

Prep Time

60 mins

Cooking Time

2 hours

Ingredients

For the pie filling

• 700g diced venison haunch/shoulder
• 150g diced streaky bacon
• 1 onion, peeled and diced
• 1 large carrot, peeled and diced
• 1 clove of garlic, crushed
• 350ml beef stock
• 200ml red wine
• bouquet garni
• 12 large shiitake mushrooms
• Chopped parsley
• 30g plain flour

For the pastry

• 225g plain flour
• 110g butter, unsalted & cold
• Pinch of salt
• 1 egg, beaten

Method

To make the pastry

• Dice the butter and rub into the flour until it looks close to breadcrumbs.
• Add the salt and egg and work gently to form a dough. Do not let it get too warm.
• Cover the pastry and chill for a minimum of 15 minutes before using.

To make the pie filling

• Gently cook the bacon in a large saucepan to release the juices and fat – keep it on a low heat to avoid it burning.
• Remove the bacon once the pan is moist, and cook the diced venison until it is browned all over. If the venison doesn’t all fit into the pan easily then do this in batches to avoid the pan cooling.
• Remove the venison from the pan once brown.
• Add the onion, carrot and garlic and gently cook until soft and the onions are sweetened.
• Sprinkle in the flour and toast until just brown.
• Add the stock, wine and bouquet garni and gently boil.
• Add the venison and bacon.
• Cook in a pre-heated oven at 160˚c for about 1 ½ hours but allow up to 2 hours.
• Pan roast the mushrooms and add them to the mix with the herbs.
• Chill the mixture – preferably overnight as this will help the flavour.

To finish

• Build the pie by putting some of the mixture into a pie dish.
• Roll out the pastry to about 4mm thick and top the pie dish then flute the edges.
• Egg wash and decorate with pastry leaves then bake in a hot oven at 180˚c for 15-20 minutes until golden brown.