Brexit Game Pie

Ingredients

Ingredients for the filling

500g of pheasant meat
500g of wild mallard meat
800g of venison meat
200g of bacon lardons
200g of Lardo or bacon fat if you have left the EU and can’t get it.
4 leeks (The national symbol of Wales but grown in other EU countries too.)
2 teaspoons of tomato paste
4 cloves of garlic
2 teaspoons of sea salt
2 teaspoons of juniper berries
1 teaspoon of black peppercorns
1 teaspoon of allspice
1 teaspoon of mace

Ingredients for the pie jelly
Left over game carcass to make stock
A couple of bay leafs and a few black peppercorns
Gelatine (or lots of time to reduce stock)*

Ingredients for the pastry
110g of lard
230 ml of water
580g of plain flour
An egg to paint on the top during cooking
You will need to have an 8? springform baking mould too.

Method

Chop all the meat ingredients into bite sized pieces.

Chop and fry the leeks until they are very soft and separated. Fry the lardons in the same pan to release their fat. Add the venison and brown it on all sides.

Peel the garlic and put it, the junipers, salt, pepper, tomato, mace and allspice in a mortar. Beat it with the pestle (pretend you are trying to bash out an agreement) until you have a smoothish paste.

Slice the lardo (fat) into small pieces. Add all the filling ingredients (not the gelatine or stock bones) to a big bowl. and mix well.

Make up the pie pastry, using the hot water method. It is very simple and only requires you to be quick (unlike a Brexit negotiation) and to not mind getting your fingers burned (just like a Brexit negotiation).

Do your best to make the pie look nice by trimming. Cut a hole in the centre to allow steam out and to allow the gelling mixture in.

Place the pie in a 200º C (400º F) oven for 30 minutes. Turn the heat to 170ºC (350ºF) for another 30 minutes. Remove the pie from the oven and paint on a nice egg wash. Return it to the oven for another hour.

Meanwhile, add the stock bones to a saucepan along with a quarter litre of water, a bay leaf, some black peppercorns and bring to a gentle simmer.

Cover and let it boil under for a couple of hours. Take the lid off and reduce to about 100ml. Turn it off and let it cool. Strain and add the gelatine (or highly concentrated stock as I did). This gave me a very concentrated jelly when the heat recedes. You will have to follow pack instructions on the gelatine to ensure you get a good jelly-like consistency when cool.

Remove the pie from the oven and let it cool overnight. Remove the springform carefully. Gently warm the jelly to make it just viscous. Pour it into the pie, a little at a time, giving it every chance to cool down and stick.

Credits: Conor Bofin

Photo Credits: Conor Bofin