Elk Sausage and Apple Hand Pies
These little pies are such a treat to eat! The sweet and salty combination of the apples and sausage wrapped up in a cheesy, flaky pie crust makes the perfect handheld comfort food!
Servings: 32 hand pies
Calories: 195kcal
Equipment
Ingredients
Sausage:
- 1 lb ground elk meat (or deer, antelope, moose, etc.)
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon ground fennel
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon minced fresh garlic
- 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
- 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme
Pie Crust:
Pie Filling:
- 1 lb elk sausage (see above)
- 2 tablespoon lard (or other cooking fat)
- 1 ½ cups baking apples, peeled and chopped, ¼" dice - about 1 large apple (SweeTango, Jonathan, Braeburn, Honeycrisp, etc.)
- ¼ cup unsalted butter
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup wild game stock or broth (or beef stock)
- 1 cup unfiltered apple cider
- ½ teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
- ½ teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Egg Wash:
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon cold water
Instructions
Sausage:
- Combine all ingredients except meat in a small bowl. Add spice mixture to ground meat and mix by hand until spices are well-incorporated into meat. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight.
Pie Crust:
- Combine flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl.
- Add in butter and shredded cheese. Squish pieces of butter between your fingers to flatten them.
- Once all butter pieces are flattened, use a pastry blender to blend the butter and cheese into the flour mixture. Blend until all butter and cheese pieces are pea-size or smaller.
- Drizzle ice water over flour mixture and incorporate water into crust using your hands. Start with ½ cup water and add more as needed. Amount of water needed will depend on the type of flour used, humidity, etc.
- Add water until you can form the dough into a ball. Dough should stick together and be pliable but not sticky.
- Form dough into 4 discs. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Filling:
- After dough is in the fridge, prepare filling.
- Heat a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add in lard and swirl to coat the pan. Break up meat until it makes a layer on the bottom of the pan. Let it cook for a while (3-5 minutes) before stirring or flipping it.
- Once the bottom layer of meat has a nice crisp to it, flip the meat and redistribute in the pan. Continue cooking until meat is mostly browned, about 2 more minutes.
- Add in chopped apples and stir to combine. Continue cooking for 2-3 minutes or until meat is fully cooked. Remove meat and apple mixture to a plate.
- Lower heat to medium-low and add butter to pan. Once butter is melted, whisk in flour. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until browned and bubbly.
- Add in cider, stock, rosemary, thyme, salt, and pepper. Bring to a simmer, stirring frequently. Simmer until thickened, about 3-5 minutes.
- Add sausage and apple mixture to pan. Stir to combine and simmer and additional 1-2 minutes.
- Let filling cool slightly before making hand pies.
Hand Pies:
- Preheat oven to 425°F. Line 2 large sheet pans with parchment paper.
- On a lightly floured surface, divide each dough disc into 8 equal parts. Roll each piece of dough into a ball. You should have 32 balls total.
- Roll each ball into a 6" rough circle. Add 2 tablespoon filling to each circle. Wet the edges of the circle slightly and fold dough over filling to make a half circle.
- Seal the edges of each pie by pressing a fork down on the edges.
- Place pies on parchment paper-lined sheet pans. Cut 3 lines in the top of each pie to vent.
- Note: You can roll out each ball into a circle before filling or work in batches of a few at a time.
- Whisk together egg and 1 tablespoon cold water. Using a pastry brush, brush the top of each pie with the egg wash.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes or until crust is lightly browned and filling is bubbly.
Freezing Instructions:
- Follow all steps above through hand pie assembly.
- Place hand pies on parchment paper-lined sheet pan and cut slits in the tops to vent but don't brush with egg wash.
- Bake at 425°F for 8-10 minutes or until crust is set but not browned.
- Let pies cool slightly then place entire sheet pan in the freezer. Freeze until solid.
- Place frozen hand pies in zippered bags or vacuum seal bags. Freeze for up to 3 months.
- Thaw pies on a parchment paper-lined sheet pan overnight in the fridge. Brush with egg wash and bake at 425°F for 20-22 minutes.
Nutrition
Calories: 195kcal | Carbohydrates: 15g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 42mg | Sodium: 256mg | Potassium: 98mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 322IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 61mg | Iron: 1mg
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