Game Pie

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •20cm deep loose-bottomed round cake tin or 900g loaf tin
• •Rolling pin
• •Small funnel for adding the stock
• •Baking tray

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare the filling

   Cut the pheasant and pigeon breasts into thick strips, roughly the width of your little finger. Season them well with salt, pepper, nutmeg, the crushed juniper, and the thyme leaves. Fry the bacon strips in a wide pan over a medium heat until the fat renders and the edges start to colour. Add the onion and garlic, lower the heat, and cook gently until soft and sweet, ten minutes or so. Add the port and let it bubble away to almost nothing. Tip the bacon and onions into a bowl with the seasoned game meat, tuck in the bay leaves, and mix everything together with your hands. Cover and leave in the fridge for an hour, or overnight if you have the time. The longer it sits, the more the flavours settle in.

   If you can get the carcasses from your butcher, simmer them with a carrot, an onion, a celery stick, and a bay leaf for a couple of hours. That stock, reduced by half and set with the gelatine, makes the jelly that turns a good pie into a proper one.
2. 2

   Make the hot water crust

   Put the flour and salt in a large bowl and make a well in the centre. Melt the lard and butter in the water over a gentle heat. When it's all liquid and just starting to simmer, pour it into the flour and stir quickly with a wooden spoon until it comes together into a rough dough. Turn it out and knead briefly until smooth. It should feel warm and pliable, like modelling clay. Work quickly. This pastry stiffens as it cools and becomes difficult to handle, so don't let it sit about.

   Hot water crust is the opposite of shortcrust: you want it warm and you want to handle it. Don't be timid. It's a robust, forgiving pastry that was designed to be worked with your hands.
3. 3

   Line the tin

   Cut off about a third of the pastry and set it aside, covered with a tea towel so it stays warm. Roll out the larger piece on a lightly floured surface to the thickness of a pound coin. Use it to line a deep, loose-bottomed 20cm round cake tin, or a 900g loaf tin if you prefer a longer shape. Press the pastry into the corners and up the sides, leaving a slight overhang at the top. There should be no gaps. No thin patches. Run your fingers around the base to make sure.

4. 4

   Fill the pie

   Remove the bay leaves and pack the filling into the pastry case. Press it down firmly so there are no air pockets. The meat should come right to the top. If there's a gap, the pie will collapse inward as it cooks and you'll lose the shape. Roll out the reserved pastry for the lid. Brush the rim of the case with beaten egg, lay the lid on top, and crimp the edges firmly together. Cut a small hole in the centre of the lid, about the width of a pencil, for steam to escape. Brush the whole surface with beaten egg. If you want to decorate the top with pastry leaves, now is the time. I usually do. It costs nothing and looks right.

5. 5

   Bake the pie

   Set the oven to 200C/180C fan. Place the pie on a baking tray and bake for thirty minutes until the pastry is set and beginning to colour. Then lower the temperature to 170C/150C fan and bake for a further hour and a quarter to an hour and a half. The crust should be deep golden brown, firm to the tap, and the kitchen should smell like a November afternoon: savoury, warm, slightly wild. If the top is browning too fast, lay a sheet of foil loosely over it. Trust your nose. It knows before you do.

   If you have a meat thermometer, the centre of the pie should read 75C. If you don't, bake it for the full time and trust the colour and the smell. People made these pies for centuries without thermometers.
6. 6

   Add the jellied stock

   While the pie bakes, warm the stock. Soak the gelatine leaves in cold water for five minutes until floppy, then squeeze them out and stir into the warm stock until dissolved. Let it cool to room temperature. When the pie comes out of the oven, let it settle for twenty minutes, then carefully pour the stock through the hole in the lid, a little at a time, using a small funnel or a jug with a good spout. The pie will absorb more than you think. Go slowly. Let it seep in before adding more. Leave the pie to cool completely in the tin, then refrigerate overnight. The jelly sets around the meat and fills every gap. This is what makes a game pie a game pie.

7. 7

   Unmould and serve

   Remove the pie from the tin carefully. The crust should be firm and self-supporting. Let it come to room temperature before cutting. A sharp knife, run under hot water and dried, gives the cleanest slices. Inside, you should see the layered meat in its dark, savoury jelly, encased in that thick, golden crust. Serve with a sharp chutney, pickled onions, and a green salad dressed with mustard. There are few better feelings than putting this on the table and watching someone's face as you cut the first slice.

Chef Tips

• •Ask your butcher to prepare the game for you. A good butcher will bone out the breasts and give you the carcasses for stock. If you can only get pheasant or only pigeon, use what you have. A game pie is flexible. Rabbit works beautifully here too, cut into small pieces.
• •The pastry must be worked while warm. Have your tin ready, your filling prepared, and everything within arm's reach before you start. Once the dough cools, it cracks and fights you. If it does stiffen, a few seconds in a warm oven will bring it back.
• •Don't skip the jelly. I know it seems fiddly, but the jelly is what turns loose, dry meat inside a crust into something cohesive and glossy. It's the difference between a pie and a proper pie.
• •This pie is better cold or at room temperature than hot. A game pie served straight from the oven is good, but one that has sat overnight and been brought to room temperature is magnificent. The flavours settle. The jelly firms. The pastry crisps. Give it the time.

Advance Preparation

• •The filling benefits from marinating overnight in the fridge. The port and juniper need time to do their work.
• •The finished pie must be refrigerated overnight for the jelly to set. Make it the day before you plan to serve it.
• •A whole, uncut game pie keeps in the fridge for up to five days. Once cut, eat within three days.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 250g)