Venison and Wild Mushroom Hand Pies with Stout Beer

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Venison hand pies (or pasties) are the perfect handheld meal. These delicious little things are made of flavorful venison and mushroom filling with stout beer gravy wrapped in a flaky Irish cheddar crust. They're kind of like venison pot pie but WAY better. Give them a try today!

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Why This Recipe Works:
Ingredient Notes:
Step by Step Instructions:
What to Serve with Venison Hand Pies:
Recipe FAQ's:
Other Recipes to Try:
Recipe:
Venison and Wild Mushroom Hand Pies with Stout Beer
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Why This Recipe Works:

Venison pot pie (or meat pie) is a classic recipe for ground or shredded venison. But, the ratio of crust to filling is often not ideal. Enter venison hand pies! Hand pies (or pasties) have almost an equal ratio of filling to crust which is what makes them so delicious (and fun to eat)!

The flavors of ground venison, dried mushrooms, thyme, and stout beer come together for a deliciously rich and earthy filling. The flaky crust is packed with pieces of Irish cheddar that add a cheese cracker-like flavor and texture to the crust. Together, the filling and crust are almost too delicious to believe! For a fun alternative, try duck fat pie crust instead.

Since hand pies are much smaller than traditional meat pies, they bake quickly too. As an added bonus, they're even freezer friendly! You can make a big batch of hand pies, par-bake them, and freeze them for easy meals down the road. Full freezing instructions can be found in the recipe card below.

Ingredient Notes:

venison mushroom hand pie ingredients with labels.

Ground Venison: You can use any ground meat in place of ground venison. Elk, moose, antelope, beef, turkey, etc. will all work.
Dried Mushrooms: You can use any dried mushrooms you'd like for this recipe. If you want to use fresh mushrooms, use about ¾ cup chopped fresh mushrooms instead of dried mushrooms.
Stout Beer: This recipe uses a very smooth stout beer. If you choose a beer with a lot of hoppy flavor, your filling might be more bitter. Also if you want to add more beer flavor, you can omit the stock and double the amount of beer.
Homemade Pie Crust: This recipe calls for a homemade Irish cheddar pie crust. You can use store-bought pie dough instead. When you roll out the dough circles, sprinkle 1 tablespoon of cheese over each circle and use your rolling pin to press the cheese into the dough. It won't be quite the same as having the cheese in the dough, but it will still add that cheesy flavor!
Irish Cheddar: You can use sharp white cheddar or aged cheddar in place of Irish cheddar. Irish cheddar has a lower moisture content than other cheddar cheeses due to aging. If you use a traditional cheddar in your crust, the texture may turn out a little different.

Step by Step Instructions:

How To Make Venison Hand Pie Filling:

This venison pie filling has a very rich and earthy flavor. The dried mushrooms add a lot of umami flavor and the stout beer adds a deep richness to the gravy. Check out the steps below to make this delicious hand pie filling!

pouring boiling water over dried mushrooms. — **Step 1:** Rehydrate dried mushrooms with boiling water.

chopping rehydrated mushrooms. — **Step 2:** Chop mushrooms into ¼" pieces or smaller.

venison and mushroom hand pie filling ingredients. — **Step 3:** Gather other filling ingredients: ground venison, lard, shallots, garlic, thyme, salt, pepper, butter, flour, stout beer, stock, and half and half.

mushrooms, shallots, and thyme cooking in cast iron pan. — **Step 4:** Melt lard in a cast iron pan and add mushrooms, shallots, garlic, and thyme. Cook until slightly softened.

ground venison in pan of mushrooms and shallots. — **Step 5:** Add ground venison and salt and pepper.

venison, mushrooms, and shallots cooking in cast iron pan. — **Step 6:** Break up the venison and stir to combine with the mushroom mixture. Cook until meat is browned. Remove meat mixture to a bowl and set aside.

roux cooking in cast iron pan. — **Step 7:** Make a roux with butter and flour.

adding half and half to pan with gravy. — **Step 8:** Add stout, stock, and half and half.

stirring pan of stout gravy. — **Step 9:** Simmer until thickened.

adding mushroom and venison mixture to stout gravy. — **Step 10:** Add meat and mushroom mixture to gravy and stir to combine.

Pro Tip: The key to making this filling so delicious is the perfect gravy-to-meat/mushroom ratio. Too much gravy leads to a soggy crust and too little gravy makes for a dry filling. Follow the recipe below for the perfect ratio!

How To Make Cheddar Pie Crust:

Homemade pie crust can't be beat. Now add some tangy Irish cheddar to it? Now we're really talking. The flavor of the cheddar adds a cheese cracker-like flavor and texture to the crust that pairs perfectly with the rich venison filling. See the steps below on how to make it!

mixing flour, salt, and sugar with pastry blender in glass bowl. — **Step 1:** Combine flour, sugar, and salt.

squishing piece of butter between floured hands. — **Step 2:** Add cold butter pieces to flour mixture. Squish them between your fingers until all pieces are flattened.

using pastry blender to blend butter and cheese into bowl of flour. — **Step 3:** Add shredded cheese.

flour with pea-sized pieces of butter and cheese in hand. — **Step 4:** Use pastry blender to break cheese and butter into pea-sized or smaller pieces.

adding ice water to bowl of pie dough. — **Step 5:** Drizzle ice water over flour mixture.

mixing cheesy pie dough with hand. — **Step 6:** Use your hands to bring the dough ingredients together.

hand mixing cheesy pie dough. — **Step 7:** Gently work the ingredients with your hands until a dough is formed.

2 discs of pie dough wrapped in plastic wrap. — **Step 8:** Split the dough into 2 pieces and wrap them in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Pro Tip: Don't overwork the dough or it will become tough. Gently fold the ingredients together until a dough is formed. Add more water as needed if your dough is dry.

How To Make Venison Hand Pies:

You have your filling and dough, now all that's left is assembly, baking, and eating! See below for a few tips and tricks for assembling your hand pies.

dividing pie dough into portions. — **Step 1:** Divide each dough disc into 8 equal portions (16 portions total).

rolling pie dough into balls. — **Step 2:** Roll dough portions into balls.

rolling pie dough into circle. — **Step 3:** Roll dough ball into a 6-inch circle.

adding grated cheese to pie dough circle. — **Step 4:** Add 1 tablespoon shredded cheese to half of the dough circle.

adding meat and mushroom mixture to pie dough circle. — **Step 5:** Add 2 ½ tablespoon of the venison filling on top of the cheese.

patting water around the edge of pie dough circle. — **Step 6:** Wet your fingers with water and lightly wet the outside edges of the dough circle.

sealing hand pie edges with fingers. — **Step 7:** Seal the edges of each pie by folding the bottom edge over the top edge and crimping with your fingers.

cutting slits into venison mushroom hand pies. — **Step 8:** Place hand pies on a parchment paper-lined sheet pan. Cut slits in the tops to vent.

brushing hand pies with egg wash. — **Step 9:** Brush egg wash over the top of each hand pie.

baked hand pies in oven. — **Step 10:** Bake at 425°F for 18-22 minutes.

Pro Tip: Hand pies make great freezer meals. These venison pies freeze beautifully and make for an easy dinner down the road. Check out the freezing instructions in the recipe card below!

What to Serve with Venison Hand Pies:

These little pies are packed with flavor and are a bit on the rich side. A fresh green salad with honey mustard dressing or roasted vegetables work great as a side dish.

These hand pies can also be served as an appetizer or as part of a "snack dinner" with cheese boards, fresh fruit, etc. However you choose to serve them, you're definitely going to want seconds!

venison mushroom hand pies with stout beer glass.

Recipe FAQ's:

What is a pasty?

Pasties are handheld pies typically filled with meat and vegetables. Traditional pasties originated in England but cultures all over the world have a version of these meat-filled hand pies.

What is the difference between a meat pie and a pot pie?

Meat pies are typically enclosed in crust (top and bottom) while pot pies typically only have a top crust. Pasties (or hand pies) are miniature meat pies.

What is the secret to a good pie crust?

The secret to a good pie crust is to not overwork the dough. Gently folding the ingredients together helps keep the crust flaky and not tough. Adding aged cheese to pie crust for savory pies also helps make them flaky.

Other Recipes to Try:

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Why This Recipe Works:

Ingredient Notes: