Scottish Venison Pie

Ingredients:

675g venison stewing joint
allspice and freshly-grated mace to taste
salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
butter for dotting
50ml port or claret
50ml eschalot vinegar
2 tbsp walnut pickle
2 onions, halved
puff pastry to cover

Method:

Bone the venison, then beat the meat with a mallet or rolling pin to tenderize and flatten. Rub the meat allover with the spices and seasonings. Turn the meat so that the skin side is downwards then dot the top with butter. Roll the meat up tightly and tie securely with butcher's twine.

Sprinkle a little more spice over the meat, sit in a casserole dish then pour around enough stock (use the bones and trimmings for this) to come half way up the meat then add the halved onions. Sit a sheet of foil over the top then place the lid over everything (this seals the casserole well). Bring to a simmer and continue cooking gently for about 3 hours, or until the meat is very tender.

Remove the meat from the pan and set the casserole aside to cool over night. The following day, skim off all the fat from the surface then strain the stock. Remove the string from the meat and cut into small pieces. Arrange these in a pie dish then mix a little of the stock with the wine, vinegar and walnut pickle. Pour this over the meat then roll out your puff pastry and use to cover the top of the pie. Cut a cross in the middle and peel back the edges to leave a hole large enough for a kitchen funnel to fit inside.

Transfer the pie to an oven pre-heated to 180°C and bake for about 30 minutes, or until the pastry is brown and puffed up and the contents of the pie is hot.

Remove from the oven, bring the remaining stock to a boil then pour into the pie through a funnel until the pie is filled. Serve immediately.

Find more classic Burns Night recipes here.