Raised game pie

Serves: 12

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Prep Time: 65

Cook Time: 165

• 225g pheasant or duck breasts, skinned and cut into finger-width strips
• 300g venison, cut into bite-sized chunks
• 2 tablespoons port
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
• 650g minced pork shoulder
• 50g fresh breadcrumbs
• 1 tablespoon sage
• chopped small onion, grated
• 450g plain flour
• 150g lard, diced
• 1 medium egg, beaten
• 400-600ml game or chicken stock
• 4 teaspoons powdered gelatine

Method

1. Put the pheasant or duck and venison into a non-metallic bowl with the port, oil and thyme. Season and mix together. Leave to marinate overnight.
2. Mix the pork with breadcrumbs, sage and onion. Season well. Chill.
3. Sift the flour into a mixing bowl with a large pinch of salt. Put the lard into a small pan with 150ml cold water. Melt the fat slowly over a low heat and then bring to the boil. Tip into the flour and quickly mix together to form a dough. Knead on a lightly floured worktop until the dough is smooth and pliable.
4. Cut off a quarter of the dough and place under the mixing bowl to keep warm. Roll out the larger piece into a 35cm diameter circle and use to line a 2cm x 14cm raised pie tin, pressing it evenly up the sides and allowing the excess to hang over the edge – try to keep an even depth to avoid the pastry cracking when cooking.
5. Drain the game and layer in the pie tin with the pork mixture, packing it in well (the meat will shrink during cooking) and mounding in the centre slightly.
6. Roll out the smaller piece of pastry to form an oval lid. Brush the edges of the dough with egg, cover with the lid and press the edges to seal. Trim the excess pastry and brush the top with egg. Make a hole in the centre. Chill for 30 minutes.
7. Heat the oven to 190ºC (170ºC fan) gas mark 5. Brush the top of the pie with beaten egg again and cook for 45 minutes. Cover the top with foil and cook for a further 1 hour 30 minutes.
8. Carefully remove the edges of the tin (but not the base) and brush the sides with more beaten egg. Return to the oven for 15-30 minutes, keeping the top covered, until the sides are golden brown.
9. Leave the pie to cool until just warm. If there are any cracks in the pastry, don’t panic. Plaster them over with cold, pliable butter to stop the stock leaking and place the pie in the fridge to firm up.
10. Put 3 tablespoons stock into a small pan and sprinkle over the powdered gelatine. When the mixture looks spongy, melt slowly over a low heat. Stir into the stock and leave for 30 minutes until syrupy but still pourable.
11. Using a funnel or piping nozzle, pour the stock through the hole in the top of the pie until you can see it has reached the top. Chill overnight before slicing, removing any butter plastered over the cracks. Keeps for up to two weeks.

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