Two recipes for pheasant pies
Who doesn't like a pie? They're great to take out as a snack in the field, for a picnic or to have for a hearty supper. So here's two recipes for delicious pheasant pies. One uses a ladle to create the shape, which is unusual but it works well!
Pies are such a good invention. They are perfect comfort food on a dark winter evening. They are also superbly portable – so you can take a slice out for a snack in the field, for elevenses or for a picnic. (Read some more shoot lunch ideas here.)
Here are two recipes for delicious pheasant pies. If you’d like to add a bit of venison to the mix, take a look at our recipe for gamekeepers pie.)
I remember playing with the pastry cut-offs when my grandmother was making pies. Slightly unusually, one of the pheasant pie recipes below uses a ladle to create the shape – but it works well and is certainly a talking point.
One last word – don’t feel you have to make your own pastry. The standard of puff pastry you can buy in chiller cabinets at the supermarket is excellent nowadays. (Take a look at our other pie recipes here.)
Pheasant pies with sausagemeat
Ingredients:
- 2 pheasant breasts
- 150g puff pastry
- 6 chopped chestnuts
- 1 sausage (skinned)
- 2 tbsp mashed potato
- 2 chopped spring onions
- handful chopped parsley
- salt and pepper
- glug of brandy
- thyme
- 1 crushed garlic clove
- 2 eggs
- plain flour
Method
- Heat the oven to 170 degrees
- Cut the pheasant breasts into evenly sized small cubes.
- Put the sausage, one egg and chopped chestnuts in a bowl, along with the chopped parsley, and mix together with the chopped spring onion and mashed potato.
- Fry the meat to seal in a pan with thyme and garlic, season with salt and pepper and add a glug of brandy.
- Set to one side to cool and then add to the sausage mix.
- Sprinkle flour on a clean surface, roll the pastry out and line a ladle, making sure that there is some overhang.
- Fill the ladle with the meat mix.
- Paint the edges with egg wash and then fold over
to seal. - Remove from the ladle by turning it over and place in the fridge on a plate for about 10 minutes for the pastry to harden off.
- Score the pie from the middle downwards all the way around.
- Paint with egg wash.
- Place in the oven and bake for 30 minutes at 170 degrees making sure the top doesn’t burn.
- Remove and eat either hot or cold.
Farmhouse pheasant pies (serves 4-6)
Ingredients (serves 4-6)
- 1 oz butter
- 1/2lb bacon, diced
- 1 chopped onion
- 6oz chopped mushrooms
- 2 cloves crushed garlic
- 1 lb cooked pheasant, diced
- 8 oz broccoli, blanched
- 2 tsp chopped coriander
- 2 chicken stock cubes
- 1 pint white sauce
- 2 tbsp double cream
- 1/2 pint white wine
- 8 oz frozen puff pastry
- A little milk
Method
- Turn the oven to200°C
- Melt the butter in a large saucepan, and fry the bacon, onion, mushrooms and crushed garlic for about eight minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Spoon everything into a pie dish, and add the pheasant, broccoli and coriander.
- Season and crumble over the stock cubes.
- Pour the white sauce over the mixture, add the cream and wine and stir gently.
- Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface.
- Cover the pie with the pastry, and moisten the edges so it is well sealed.
- Brush with milk to glaze.
- Bake at 200°C for approximately 25 minutes until golden brown.