CookEat Recipe
Venison Pot Pie Santa Barbara
Venison, lean salt pork and soaked California dried figs braised with Zinfandel and two sauces, then baked beneath a folded-butter pastry lid.
Method
Steps
Step 1
Soak the pound of California dried figs in enough cold water to cover for three hours, covered in the refrigerator at 4°C or below. Drain and discard the soaking water, remove the stems and quarter the figs. Use two pounds of raw venison shoulder or leg meat and cut it into one-inch pieces. Keep it and the half pound of lean raw unsmoked salt pork refrigerated until needed; cut the pork into quarter-inch squares.
Step 2
Measure two gills of the linked finished demi-glace before loosening that portion with a little hot linked white broth made only from unsalted veal bones and vegetables. If the demi-glace is refrigerated or thawed, bring the loosened portion to a full rolling boil while stirring and check that it reaches at least 165°F. Have two gills of the linked finished tomato sauce hot and the half pound of linked raw pie paste chilled and ready; keep unused preparations cold.
Step 3
Heat a conventional oven to 180°C. Quarter the medium carrot and onion, then slice them finely. Put them in a hob- and oven-safe saucepan fitted with a lid and large enough for the filling, with the two tablespoons of melted butter and the prepared salt pork. Fry gently on the hob for about five minutes, stirring.
Step 4
Add the venison, one and a half teaspoons of salt and half teaspoon of black pepper. Fry briskly for about fifteen minutes, stirring occasionally. Pour in the two gills of Zinfandel red wine and let the wine reduce by half before adding the prepared demi-glace portion and the two gills of tomato sauce.
Step 5
Add all the drained fig quarters. Tie the two branches of parsley, one branch of chervil, blade of thyme, bay leaf and clove into a bouquet, using food-safe cooking muslin to retain the clove if needed. Add it to the pan, mix well and cover. Put directly in the oven for about forty-five minutes, continuing as needed until the venison is tender and the largest pieces of both meats across the pan reach at least 74°C. Check occasionally that the filling is cooking gently and is not catching.
Step 6
Remove the bouquet and skim the fat from the surface. Choose a deep ovenproof baking dish that holds all the actual filling below the rim and whose opening can be covered and sealed by the half pound of pastry rolled to a quarter-inch thick. Transfer all the filling to this dish and sprinkle a little chopped chives over it.
Step 7
On a lightly floured table, roll the half pound of chilled linked pie paste to a quarter-inch thickness. Brush the dish rim lightly with beaten egg, cover the filling with the pastry and press it down all around the edges. Make a few incisions in the centre, trim the excess around the rim and brush the surface lightly with beaten egg.
Step 8
Bake at 180°C for about forty-five minutes, continuing as needed until the lid is fully baked through, flaky and golden, with no raw pastry underneath, and the filling is hot throughout at least 74°C. Send the closed pie to the table and serve promptly.
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