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Venison Pub Pie with Chestnuts and Parsnips
Difficulty Level Moderate
I usually write about recipes you can make that don't take a lot of time, or are really economical. I'm going to do something a little different today. I wanted to try a recipe for venison that I found in a fabulous new cookbook Earth To Table: Seasonal Recipes from an Organic Farm by Jeff Crump and Bettina Schormann, two Ontario chefs. The recipe called for stewing beef, but the vendor at my farmers' market had a beautiful 2 lb roast, so I decided to buy that and cut it up myself. The cost of the roast was comparable to a good cut of beef, which put it into the once in a while splurge category, rather than the once a year category such as the venison tenderloin we have for our Christmas Eve dinner.
I knew the pie was going to be too much for us to eat alone, so I called 4 close friends and asked them to come and join us for an impromptu dinner. None of them had ever had venison before, so they were taking a bit of a leap of faith. It wasn't beautiful, but it turned out to be one of the best dinners I have made in a very long time. The pie was rich and incredibly delicious with wonderful layers of flavours and the venison was as tender as any meat I have ever eaten. If you aren't a turkey fan, this would be a fantastic dinner for Thanksgiving.
This isn't a difficult recipe, but it does require some time, so it's really a weekend dish. One of the most time consuming aspects to it was roasting and peeling the chestnuts. If you can't get fresh chestnuts, I guess you could substitute bottled, just make sure they aren't sweetened. There's a fair bit of chopping, and the vegetables and meat both have to be browned first and there is a two hour cooking time, but if you like working in the kitchen, this is a recipe for you. You'll end up with the most satisfying dinner of the season.
Regular readers know that I often substitute ingredients or adapt recipes a bit, but in this case I followed it exactly. If you can't get venison you could substitute beef, but it's well worth it if you can get your hands on some venison. This dish is definitely going on my list of recipes that must be made again.
INGREDIENTS
| Venison Pub Pie: | |
| 3/4 cup | extra virgin olive oil, divided |
| 4 oz | pancetta or smoked bacon, chopped |
| 2 cloves | of garlic, minced |
| 1 | medium red onion, chopped |
| 2 | large parsnips, finely chopped |
| 1 | large carrot, finely chopped |
| 1 | stalk celery, finely chopped |
| 1 cup | roasted chestnuts, finely chopped |
| 1/4 cup | all purpose flour |
| sea salt and freshly ground black pepper | |
| 2 lbs | venison stewing meat, cut into 1 inch chunks |
| 3 cups | water |
| 1 cup | dry red wine |
| 3 tbsp | sherry vinegar |
| 1 tbsp | juniper berries crushed |
| 2 | dried bay leaves |
| 1/2 | recipe Pate Brisee |
| 1 | egg yolk, lightly beaten |
| Pate Brisee: | |
| 2 1/2 cups | all purpose flour |
| 2 tsp | salt |
| 1/2 tsp | granulated sugar |
| 1 cup | cold unsalted butter |
| 1/4 to 1/2 cup | ice water |
PREPARATION:
Venison Pub Pie:
- In a large skillet, heat 4 tbsp of the oil over medium-high heat. Add bacon and saute until crispy and golden brown, about 4 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and add garlic and onion, saute until softened, about 10 minutes. Add parsnips, carrots, celery and chestnuts, saute until softened, about 15 minutes. Transfer mixture to a 12 cup ovenproof casserole dish.
- In a large, shallow dish combine flour and salt and pepper to taste. Add meat and toss to coat. In a clean large skillet, heat 4 tbsp of the oil over high heat until smoking. Add meat, in batches and saute until browned on all sides, about 10 minutes per batch, adding more oil between batches as needed. Transfer to casserole dish and toss with vegetables. Stir in water, wine and vinegar.
- Preheat oven to 400F. Wrap juniper berries and bay leaves in cheesecloth, tie with string and add to the casserole dish. Place dish on stovetop and bring to a boil over high. Remove from stovetop. Cover loosely with foil and bake, stirring occasionally, until meat is tender, about 1 1.2 hours.
- Meanwhile, roll out pate brisee to 1/4 inch thickness and cut to fit top of casserole dish. Remove dish from oven and discard juniper berries and bay leaves. Carefully place pastry over dish and brush with egg yolk. Return to oven and bake until pastry is golden and crisp, about 20 minutes.
Pate Brisee:
- In a bowl, combine flour, salt and sugar. Using a box grater, grate butter into the flour mixture. Toss together, like a salad, using your fingers. Add water, a few tablespoons at a time, kneading dough until it comes together.
- Turn dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Divide in half and shape each half into a disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled, about 1 hour.
From Earth to Table: Seasonal Recipes from an Organic Farm by Jeff Crump and Bettina Schormann
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