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A period dish

Venison Pasty

A grand raised pasty of venison and beef sealed in a thick crust and baked slowly for hours.

Serves 10

The pasty was the great baking-dish of the English country house, large enough to feed a hunting party and sturdy enough to travel. Venison pasty, made with a tough, slow-baked crust, was the most celebrated of them.

Ingredients

Meat & Poultry

  • 1 lb beef
  • 8 oz bacon

Pantry / Durable

  • 5 cup flour

Spices & Seasoning

  • 1/2 tsp nutmeg

Other

  • 2 lb venison
  • 6 oz lard
  • 1/2 cup claret

Method

  1. Make a strong hot-water crust and raise it into a large oval shape.

  2. Cut venison and beef into pieces and season them well with salt, pepper, and nutmeg.

  3. Layer the meat with bacon and a little butter in the crust, and add a splash of stock or claret.

  4. Cover with a thick lid, seal it, and make a hole in the top.

  5. Bake very slowly for four hours, then pour in a little warm stock through the hole and leave the pasty to cool.

Adapted from The English Huswife.

Served at

Dinner at Trinity · Cambridge, England