Venison Pot Pie

Vegetables:

2 medium turnips, peeled, cut into 3/4-inch chunks
1/2 cup green peas
2 carrots cut into 3/4-inch chunks

The stew:

3 pounds venison (rump, chuck roast, top or bottom round)
4 ounces lean bacon
2 medium carrots, minced
1 onion, minced
1 stalk celery, minced
6 tablespoons butter
6 tablespoons flour
Pinch cayenne
3 cups red wine (wine you would drink)
6 cups beef stock
3 tablespoons tomato paste
2 garlic cloves, minced

Herbs tied in cheesecloth: 3 to 4 parsley sprigs, 2 bay leaves, 2 teaspoons thyme

Equipment:

deep heavy soup pot
6 – 4 1/2 inches round pot pie pans

Cooking Directions

Procedure: Filling is made in 2 parts and then combined: the stew and the vegetables. The crust is partially baked before filling.

Cooking the vegetables: Bring a pot of salted water to a boil, add the turnips and then the carrots until fork tender. When tender remove and immediately cool under cold running water. Add the 1/2 of peas to the boiling water for 2 minutes then drain and cool. Mix all three vegetables together.

Cooking the stew: Cut venison into 1-inch chunks and dry thoroughly with a paper towel. Cut the bacon into 1-inch pieces and brown slowly in a deep large pot. Remove the bacon and set aside, and turn the heat to high. Brown the venison quickly in the bacon fat. Add olive oil if necessary. Remove the venison from the pot and set aside with the bacon. Add the minced carrots, onions and celery and brown on medium high heat in the remaining fat. Remove the vegetables from the pot and add to the venison and bacon. Melt the butter and add to the pot and sprinkle in the flour. Stir constantly until the flour browns. Return the bacon, venison and vegetables to the pot. Stir to coat them with the browned flour and cook for 1 minute on medium-high heat. Lower the heat, add the cayenne, wine, beef stock, the tomato paste, the garlic and the herb bouquet tied in a cheesecloth. Stir to mix well and simmer for at least 3 to 4 hours, stirring occasionally. When
done the meat should be very tender. Skim fat if necessary. Check for seasoning, add salt pepper or herbs as desired. Remove the meat from the gravy with a slotted spoon and set aside. Remove and discard the herb bouquet. Reserve the gravy in a separate container.

Crust:

4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
2 sticks cold butter
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup ice water

Making the crust: Preheat oven to 400 degrees Process the flour, butter, shortening, and salt until mixture is like coarse cornmeal. Add the ice water and cut until dough begins to clump. Scrape dough onto a board, divide in half and put each half in a plastic bag. Working through the bag, quickly press the dough into a ball. Refrigerate dough for at least 1 hour. Roll 1 of the balls out to about 1/8-inch thick. Butter pans and line with the dough. Butter pieces of aluminum foil and line the crust in the pans with them so that the crust is between the pan and aluminum foil. When you bake the crust to brown it, it will keep its shape. Roll the second ball of dough out and cut to approximately 1/8-inch larger than the top of the pot pie pan.

Place the top crust circles on a cookie sheet and prick with a fork. Bake both the crust in the pan and the the tops for about 10 minutes. Crust should just start to brown.

Cooking the Pot Pie: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Warm the stew and gravy separately on the stove until they just begin to simmer. Add gravy back to the stew a little at a time until it is liquid enough but not soupy. Stir well to mix. Mix the vegetables into the stew just before you assemble the pie. Spoon the filling mixture into the partially baked pie shell. It should fill it right to the top. There may be some filling mixture left over. Bake for about 8 to 10 minutes, until the crust starts to look quite brown at the edges and the filling is bubbling. Allow to rest for 5 to 10 minutes before serving. This is great served with wild rice