pheasant pie
I made Pheasant pies for my grandfather for his birthday this past weekend. I have made meat/savory pies before but this time turned out particularly well. You could use any meat besides pheasant, if you're not a game meat person. Chicken or turkey makes and obvious substitute for this recepie, but beef or pork, or no meat at all, would all be workable.
So, my recepie for Pheasant Pie with Savory Wheat crust
crust:
1 cup white all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 stick butter (I prefer unsalted butter)
1/3 cup shortening
1 tsp salt
1 tsp celery salt
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp pepper
5 Tbs cold waster mixed with 2 Tbs white vinegar
2 whole boneless skinless pheasant breasts (4 halves)
(can substitute 1 whole boneless skinless chicken breasts. 1 half a turkey breast, ect. Basically you want about 1 1/2 lbs of meat)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp mace
1/2 tsp nutmeg
4 bay leaves
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp celery salt
pepper (to taste)
2 medium potatoes, diced
1 medium onion, diced
2 to 3 carrots, diced
3 medium celery stalks, diced
6-10 small to medium mushrooms, diced
salt and pepper
1. Preheat oven to 300. Place meat in a roasting pan with bay leaves, sprinkle w/ spices and add 1 cup water. Bake for 1 hour. Take meat out to cool before dicing.
2. whisk flour and spices together in a bowl. Cut in butter and shortening (you can use a patry cutter, a fork, I use a potato masher. Some of you might have instructions for using a food processor). One mixsure resembles crumbs or small peas add a few Tbs of water, stiring gently till mixture is just moist and sticking together. Roll out half on a floured surface and sit into bottom of pie pan. Save the other half of the dough for the top crust- cover with plastic wrap and set aside.
3. preheat oven to 375. add diced meat and vegetabeles to pie pan, add 2 or 3 pats of butter just to sit on top the filling mixture. Roll out top crust and cover. Press to seal edges of pastry and cust 2 to 3 slits in top of the crust to vent.
4. bake @ 375 for about 1 hour. You may need to check the edges of the crust after the first 45 minutes. If it's getting to dark cover just the edges in foil to avoid burning.
**edit** I use a HUGE, deep dish, ceramic pie dish, you may need to cut the amount of ingredients and cooking time signifigantly for smaller pie pans.
there are endless variations to this recepie. you can obviously use store bought crust. I do under salt my food because I am very sensetive to sodium, so feel free to add more to taste. The spices and veggies are all subject to individual preference.
So, my recepie for Pheasant Pie with Savory Wheat crust
crust:
1 cup white all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 stick butter (I prefer unsalted butter)
1/3 cup shortening
1 tsp salt
1 tsp celery salt
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp pepper
5 Tbs cold waster mixed with 2 Tbs white vinegar
2 whole boneless skinless pheasant breasts (4 halves)
(can substitute 1 whole boneless skinless chicken breasts. 1 half a turkey breast, ect. Basically you want about 1 1/2 lbs of meat)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp mace
1/2 tsp nutmeg
4 bay leaves
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp celery salt
pepper (to taste)
2 medium potatoes, diced
1 medium onion, diced
2 to 3 carrots, diced
3 medium celery stalks, diced
6-10 small to medium mushrooms, diced
salt and pepper
1. Preheat oven to 300. Place meat in a roasting pan with bay leaves, sprinkle w/ spices and add 1 cup water. Bake for 1 hour. Take meat out to cool before dicing.
2. whisk flour and spices together in a bowl. Cut in butter and shortening (you can use a patry cutter, a fork, I use a potato masher. Some of you might have instructions for using a food processor). One mixsure resembles crumbs or small peas add a few Tbs of water, stiring gently till mixture is just moist and sticking together. Roll out half on a floured surface and sit into bottom of pie pan. Save the other half of the dough for the top crust- cover with plastic wrap and set aside.
3. preheat oven to 375. add diced meat and vegetabeles to pie pan, add 2 or 3 pats of butter just to sit on top the filling mixture. Roll out top crust and cover. Press to seal edges of pastry and cust 2 to 3 slits in top of the crust to vent.
4. bake @ 375 for about 1 hour. You may need to check the edges of the crust after the first 45 minutes. If it's getting to dark cover just the edges in foil to avoid burning.
**edit** I use a HUGE, deep dish, ceramic pie dish, you may need to cut the amount of ingredients and cooking time signifigantly for smaller pie pans.
there are endless variations to this recepie. you can obviously use store bought crust. I do under salt my food because I am very sensetive to sodium, so feel free to add more to taste. The spices and veggies are all subject to individual preference.