In which I make beef and venison hand pies

It was chilly and overcast today – a high of 42-ish. I remembered a recipe for Cornish Pasties I saw in a recent South Dakota magazine and someone on facebook posted a meat pie idea which jogged me into action.

1 - beef and venisonI defrosted the hamburger (from our home raised beef) and the venison (harvested by our son in law) right in the pan till it was crumbly.

2 - meat cooked and crumbledIt rested in a bowl with the juices while I sauteed the onion and garlic.

3 - onion and garlicWhile that was happening I diced up 5 potatoes (this is a very casual recipe so I didn’t keep track of exact amounts!) Then the meat and the potatoes went into the pan with a short cup of water so nothing would stick and the potatoes would steam tender.

4 - add diced potatoesOnce it was all bubbling along I gave it a good stir and covered it – dropping the heat to low. When the potatoes were done I added a slurry of flour and water – maybe 2TBLS flour to 1/2 cup water – to thicken up any juices in the pan. At this point I preheated the oven to 400 degrees.

5 - meat and potatoesOn to the pastry. For this I used the Mary Randolph’s recipe “TO MAKE PASTE FOR THE PIE” which uses very hot lard dumped right into the flour and salt and mixed with warm water till it can be gathered in a ball. It’s still very warm and rolls a bit stiff but is fabulous and savory.

6 - cut doughI cut around a small bowl for the size I wanted but the real Cornish size is about the size of a dinner plate!!

7 - fill with meatA brush all around the edges with an egg yolk mixed with water and a nice spoonful of the filling then a tight crimp with a fork.

8 - edges crimpedHere they are ready for the oven.

9 - ready to bakeThey bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes and then at 350 degrees for another 30 min. And here they are hot and brown and ready to eat.

10 - baked

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