Dartmouth Pie is a traditional English recipe for a classic Victorian pie of Venison (or mutton) with fruit and spices that's stewed and then finished by baking in a pastry crust. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic English version of: Dartmouth Pie.
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This is yet another Victorian variant on the traditional mince pie made with meat suet and fruit. The original recipe comes from the 1880s from Dartmouth in Devon. Originally it was made with mutton but tastes even better with venison (which links it directly back to its Medieval antecedents).
Ingredients:
500g lean venison, cubed (or use mutton)
salt, to taste
1 tsp cracked black peppercorns
1 tsp coriander seeds, crushed in a mortar
1/2 tsp ground mace
1/2 tsp ground allspice
3cm length of cinnamon stick
60g beef dripping or mutton dripping
250g onions, sliced
1 1/2 tsp plain flour
300ml game stock, venison stock, beef stock or mutton stock
60g dried apricots, chopped
60g prunes, chopped
60g seedless raisins
grated zest of 1 Seville orange
juice of 1/2 Seville orange
250g savoury shortcrust pastry (ie made with 250g flour)
1 egg beaten with 1 tbsp milk, to glaze
Method:
Season the meat with salt to taste. Grind all the spices in a coffee or spice grinder until finely powdered.
Melt the dripping in a cast iron frying pan, add the seasoned meat and fry until browned. Scatter over the spices and stir to coat then add the onions and cook gently, stirring for 2 minutes. Now scatter over the flour and mix to blend then stir in the stock before adding the fruit, zest and orange juice. Bring the mixture to a simmer then transfer to an oven pre-heated to 140°C and cook for 90 minutes, or until the meat is tender.
Remove from the oven and adjust the seasonings to taste. Tip the mixture into a pie dish and set aside to cool then remove all the fat from the surface.
Prepare the pastry according to the recipe then roll out and use to cover the pie. Cut steam holes in the top and glaze with the egg and milk mix. Transfer to an oven pre-heated to 200°C and bake for about 35 minutes, or until the pastry is golden brown and the filling is piping hot. Serve hot with mashed potatoes and green vegetables.
