Venison Skillet PotPie

Sitting on the ground glassing behind every tree and rock all my mind thinks about are the meals I can make if today goes how I hope it does. Suddenly from behind a tree I see him, a beautiful 7 point whitetail. This is the first time this California kid has hunted whitetail in Mississippi and there before me is the first mature whitetail buck I’ve seen in the wild. Slowly he walks into a clearing and smells the air searching for a scent, but lucky for me the wind is blowing right at me. I pull my rifle to my shoulder, take a breath and squeeze the trigger. The buck dropped where he stood and I knew my freezer would now be a little fuller. I also knew that the first meal I wanted to make was a delicious skillet potpie. Here is that recipe for my first Mississippi Whitetail buck.

Venison Skillet Potpie “Skillet Version”

Ingredients:

1 pound Venison stew meat

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons cracked pepper

3 tablespoons olive oil

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 medium brown onion, chopped

1.5 cups carrots, chopped

1.5 cups celery, chopped

½ cup mushrooms

1 teaspoon thyme leaves, minced (or dried)

1 teaspoon rosemary, minced (or dried)

1 tablespoon parsley, minced

¼ cup flour

1 cup red wine, dry

½ cup whole milk

1.5 cups venison stock (sub beef if you have to)

1 box puff pastry

Egg wash (1 egg with 1 teaspoon cold water

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees
• In large cast iron skillet over medium heat 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Season stew meat with salt & pepper, brown meat in batches, you’re not cooking the cook all the way through you are just browning the outside to for a seal.
• Transfer meat to plate and add remaining oil to skillet
• Cook garlic & onions until onions start to sweat and become soft, scrape the bottom of skillet getting all the goodness that’s been cooking in the skillet
• Add carrots, celery rosemary, thyme and parsley seasoning with remaining salt and pepper
• Cook veggies for 6-8 minutes
• Coat veggies in flour and stir cooking one more minute
• Add red wine, milk and broth, bring to a boil and add meat back to mixture
• Reduce heat to low and simmer for 45-60 minutes, sauce will thicken
• While base is cooking roll out puff pastry and cut into a circle large enough to cover skillet
• Remove skillet from heat and carefully cover with puff pastry
• Brush with egg wash and cut a couple slits on the top of puff pastry to act as vents
• Place skillet on rimmed backing sheet and place in oven
• Cook for 18-20 minutes or until puff pastry is golden brown and cooked
• Remove from oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes
• Serve and enjoy

Jeremiah Doughty

From Field To Plate