Last year I attended the launch of Cape Winelands Cuisine at Pierneef à La Motte and one of the recipe cards we were given was for this Venison Pie With A Buttermilk Pastry Topping. I am very lucky in that we have a few friends with access to venison through their hunting and we were given quite a bit of springbok at a bargain price. I try and stock up on venison during hunting season. For us in South Africa, this is uusually around June. This buttermilk pastry was a new one for me, and I just loved the way it taste. When ever I make pastry there are left overs, and I have frozen the rest for future use. I cannot imagine what life would be like without my freezer. I prefer to buy meat on special and in bulk, so this means I can preserve my meat easily. Can you imagine a life without this luxury. It is something we can take for granted really.
Do you buy and freeze, or buy as you need?
Venison Pie With A Buttermilk Pastry Topping
Ingredients
For the venison filling:
- 7.5 mls clarified butter
- 250 g venison cubed
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to season
- 1 small onion sliced
- 4 rashers bacon sliced
- 60 mls dried peaches
- 180 mls red wine
- 1.25 mls ground cinnamon
- 2 whole cloves
- 0.625 mls ground ginger
- Pinch of saffron
- 2 carrots, sliced
- 125 mls vegetable stock
- 5 mls fructose
- 3 juniper berries, lightly crushed
- 125 mls frozen peas
For the buttermilk pastry:
- 750 mls flour
- 5 mls fructose
- 5 mls salt
- 5 mls thyme leaves
- 180 g butter
- 175 mls buttermilk
- 60 mls milk
- 1 egg
- 1 egg yolk
- Milk for brushing
Instructions
- For the venison filling:
- Melt the clarified butter in a large pot
- Add the venison, season and brown
- Add the onion and bacon and sauté until the onion is soft
- Add the peaches, the wine and the spices
- Bring the wine to the boil and add the carrots, the stock, the sugar and the juniper berries
- Reduce to a simmer and cook until the pastry has rested
- For the buttermilk pastry:
- Mix all the dry ingredients in a stand mixer bowl
- Work the butter into the mix on a low setting with a dough hook
- Mix all the wet ingredients together and add to the dry ingredients
- Mix on a low setting until the dough forms
- Dust with flour and wrap in cling wrap
- place in the fridge to rest for an hour
- To finish:
- Preheat the oven to 160° Celsius
- Remove the lid and add the peas
- Bring to the boil before placing the ingredients – without the sauce, into ramekins – do not fill more than ¾ of the way up
- Reduce the sauce and pour over the meat
- Roll the pastry into 20g balls and pack closely together on top of the meat
- Brush with the milk and bake for 25 minutes
Notes
Click on the links for conversions and notes.
What I blogged:
- one year ago – Calamari Risotto
- two years ago – Challenge Round Up
Yum, that sounds delicious. The topping looks a little like a British cobbler. I am dreadful with my freezer. I shove all sorts of odds and ends in but then forget what I have.
I have never tried a cobbler before 🙂
A gorgeously browned and delicious looking pie my friend – well done 😀
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
thank you dear CCU 🙂
It’s a bit too hot for a pot pie here but I bet come winter this would be great!
you are lucky you are enjoying summer 🙂
I’ve printed this one out and will give it a go over the weekend. But I think I will use some beef instead of venison.
I think beef will be perfect 🙂
The good thing with venison pie is that it keeps the meat moist and brings out the gamey flavour. Nice one.
Thanks Roger 🙂
Wow, what a gorgeous pie! I love it!
Thanks Asmita 🙂
This looks fantastic. A perfect way to use up some of the venison we have lingering in the freezer! It sounds like a great mix of flavors!
Do let me know if you give it a try 🙂
I love pies and this sounds like a winner. Maybe I´ll be able to get hold of some decent meat in the UK to give it a go! And yes, I freeze, especially as I can´t get to the shops that often. Also when we buy lamb or goat here, we get the whole beastie at once!
I would love a whole beastie every now and then 🙂
Ooh love the idea of the buttermilk pastry.
🙂 Mandy
It is so easy to work with 🙂
That pastry looks so melt in the mouth and the filling sounds wonderful.This pie would be such a treat, I’m thinking. 😉
It would indeed be a great treat 🙂
I have access to venison through Rocky Mountain Game Meats.. a friend of ours runs this shop in Calgary. I haven’t bought any yet.. I’ve not had a recipe to try. My goodness this one looks just perfect!! I buy and eat as I go.. I tried freezing but ended up forgetting to thaw out so food was wasted.
I wish we had a decent shop near to us so that I could buy and eat 🙂 Please let me know what you think of the recipe once you try it xox
Lovely recipe, Tandy, it will go on my winter list. Venison is in season in autumn and winter in Switzerland, you get frozen venison all year round but I prefer to buy locally. I buy big quantities of organic Angus beef and lamb which will last 6 – 9 months as we not not eat meat every day. And my freezer is like a miracle box and I get inspired when I open it and compose a meal around what is left in the freezer.
I usually also let the freezer inspire me during the week 🙂
I know adding buttermilk in pastry is a real added bonus & your venison pie looks stunning too:) I would really want to savour it right now, even that I just ate lunch! 🙂
MMMMMM,..!!!
thanks Sophie, you always bring a smile to my face 🙂
This looks delicious!! You were busy! We went away for a couple of days and it seems like I have missed a lot of your posts!
I am back to my normal 5 posts a week (and over the weekends reposting what was lost) – where did you go?
Tandy, gorgeous look pie, and I agree 100% with you on the freezer. I don’t know how I’d manage without ours! We freeze everything, and whilst we pay for electricity, the savings in our grocery bills outweigh that many time over!
Thanks Celia! I agree with you on the long term savings 🙂
We made this last weekend for my future in-laws. It was fantastic! Everyone loved it!
We modified a bit for what we had on hand (no bacon and we used fresh peaches), and since we didn’t have much time for prep work, we just dumped everything in a casserole dish and slow cooked it in the oven, then served it with buttermilk biscuits. Thanks for an awesome recipe! Definitely a keeper!
Thank you so much for letting me know – it makes my day to know a recipe has worked for someone else 🙂