Venison Pot Pie

“There’s no way in hell that you’re gonna get me to eat venison”, my buddy Jim declared. Knowing what he is missing by taking such a stand, I decided to see if I could find a recipe that would turn his world around and change his mind. This may very well be the one.

Start with venison steak. Well, actually, you’re going to want to start with the pastry crust, but this is my recipe, so I’ll cover that later.*** Now back to the venison pie filling. Use three small venison steaks, about a pound of uncooked venison. Cut the venison into bite-sized cubes. Pour some herb infused olive oil into a skillet. Seasoned cast iron is best providing more uniform heat and no hot spots. Saute medium to finely chopped onion and minced garlic over medium heat, taking care not to burn the garlic. Once the onion becomes translucent, add the venison, keeping the heat low enough to brown without burning. Add salt and pepper to taste, or don’t, its your pie.

You can also add chopped mushrooms if you wish. I didn’t, but only because Boo isn’t crazy about them. But I think they add a lot of flavor to a dish like this. As the venison slowly browns, add a sprinkle or two of caraway seed and some seedless red grapes. I used a dozen, you decide. But crush them to expose the inner flesh and toss ‘em in, skins and all. This is going to add a really nice slightly tart character when blended with the caraway essence and tawny port wine.

After five minutes, add an ounce and a half of tawny port wine and simmer uncovered for about seven minutes, to allow the alcohol to boil off. Now you have options. You can add water and then later thicken your sauce, or you can add a pre-mixed canned gravy. I used turkey gravy, but chicken will work as well.

Then once that is well mixed into your now nicely browned and seasoned venison, you can add whatever vegetables you intend to use in your pie mix. I used a frozen mixed vegetable, but if you do that, be sure you thaw the vegetables before adding them in. About now would be a good time to preheat your oven to 425 f.

If you feel that you want a thicker sauce, after incorporating the vegetables, you will pick up some water there, you can thicken it with some cornstarch dissolved in cold water. Stir, as it boils lightly, until the sauce has reached the consistency that you want.

*** Now, let’s think about the pastry crust. If you are going to use a single crust, then this recipe will work well. One and a quarter cups of flour, mixed with a quarter teaspoon of salt, and then blended in a food processor with a stick of cold, hard butter, chopped into small chunks until it resembles meal. Then add up to a quarter cup of ice cold water. Continue to blend until it rolls into a ball. Remove and roll out into a rough circle between two floured sheets of waxed paper. Refrigerate until you need it, which, by the way is now.

Pour your pie mix into a deep walled pie dish. Cover the mix with the pastry, trimming of the excess and doing a two finger pinch around the rim to seal the pastry. Into the oven it goes, for fifteen minutes, then reduce the heat to 350 f for another thirty minutes. You’re gonna like this a lot, but just a hint. Pot pies always taste better on day two after the flavors have melded. So don’‘t be afraid to refrigerate and savor it as a left over, later.