Game Pie is an excellent dish to be done during the winter months. You can use any game but for this particular pie I used the meat off a brace of pheasants which I happily swapped for a bottle of home made wine.
I find pheasant lends itself to skinning readily and only takes a minute or two prepare. Once skinned cut the meat way from the breast and the thigh. Dice this meat and mix with the liver, heart and gizzard which should be finely chopped. I don’t bother with the meat at the bottom of the leg as this contains may tiny bones which are too difficult to separate.
TIP:
Before you start making the pie put the carcasses into a saucepan and make some stock. You can use this rather than make stock from a cube and any left over can be frozen for another day.
Take a deep pie dish (the one I used was 12” x 8” and 3”deep) and layer it alternatively with the meat, bacon, potato slices and leek slices. Season well each layer and sprinkle the meat with the herbs. I managed two layers of each in this particular dish.
Half fill with the stock and cover with the pastry. (Use the packet stuff from the local shop it’s easier!) Seal the edges and use the scraps for decoration. Put a couple of slits in the centre and glaze with egg or milk. Bake at 220 C or 425 F for about 15-20 minutes till the pastry has set than turn the heat down to 170/325 and cook for a further 1 1/4 hours.
INGREDIENTS:
Any game such as: brace of pheasant, one rabbit etc.
Some bacon rashers without the rind.
Leeks or onions if you don’t have any, sliced.
Potato, sliced.
Seasoning.
Mixed herbs finely chopped. (Fresh or dried.)
Stock.
Short crust pastry.
Egg or milk to glaze.
A Game Pie ready for the egg wash.
