MEAT PIE

This is my own version of a meat pie..

there is really now wrong way to make a meat pie. Because there are soo many versions out there.. and people claiming to have started them..

after a little research you will find meat pies date way back to the days of old. A favorite for the king as well as the peasants.

Classically meat pies were made with Venison, chicken, pork, rabbit, and any feathered friend they could find.

It had a bottom crust and a top crust. The pie contained mainly meat but could be savory or sweet.. savory pies would usually have potatoes and a gravy or sauce inside sweet would be layered with fruit and meat such as pork and apples for example.

This meat pie I am making comes from no recipe other than what I am visioning as I go along..

Serena’s Meat Pie

First I took one package of cubed venison from my freezer  (it is about 2 lbs in weight)

put it in my crock pot

I added one frozen large boneless chicken breast

add one packet of onion soup mix on top of your meat. a little pepper

add 1/2 cup water

1/2 cup of sweet apple juice.. I used the juice off of some of my canned apples. very sweet

and put the lid on turn it to low and let it slow cook till meat is falling apart and smell is wonderful.  (I did this the night before but you could easily put it in the crock that morning and it be ready in time to assemble your pie by dinner time)

Next you will take potatoes and cut thin.. I am actually using my apple peeler to get the job done quickly and break the rings apart.

Next take a very small onion or half of onion and mince up.. put with your potatoes.

Put into pot and boil till potatoes are tender.

While potatoes are boiling you can be working on your pie dough. You will need enough for a top and a bottom.

drain off  all your water from your potatoes. add salt pepper and butter  but do not mash.

Put your bottom crust into pie dish

take fork and poke holes in crust and sides

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and put in bottom pie crust to bake, not till brown, just till starting to crisp, this will prevent your pie bottom from being soggy

assemble pie

take  some of your potatoes first and layer then dot with butter all around

next place most of your meat on top of potatoes, leaving a little for the very top layer

place all the rest of your potatoes on top of meat. making a mound.

then the last of your meat

cut slits to vent steam in top pastry before putting on pie

then place top of pastry on pie, pressing down on edges around plate then cut off excess  use the leftovers to make your top leaves

use milk or an egg wash to paint over top your pastry dough so it will be shiny and beautiful

put in oven on cookie sheet and into oven at 400 degrees for 10 minutes.

Then turn down heat to 350 for 15 minutes or till browned watch it. ( I actually almost always put mine on broil a few minutes also at the end to make my top beautiful golden)

the top should be golden but not burned

We chose to serve this with garden green beans, buttered seasoned egg noodles, and fried yellow squash

slice and enjoy.. gravy goes well with this as well

if you have any left from your crock pot use it or you can easily make some