Guinness & Game Pie

Buckle your seatbelts for this fantastic take on a pub classic! Combining Guinness Extra Stout with your game harvest (venison, elk) makes for the penultimate mid-winter comfort food. My deepest thanks to Chris Gill and the Lonestar Warriors Outdoors program for the opportunity to harvest the amazing venison used for this recipe. Please check out and support the Lonestar Warriors Outdoors team as they do an amazing job helping Wounded Warriors heal through fellowship and the great outdoors!

Guinness & Game Pie

Too cold to Q (as if that happens in Colorado)? This mid-winter old-school pie is a wonderful comfort food and reminder of why we harvest game. In today's pub food, you see this served with beef instead of game, but I prefer to go back to our ancestors' day of hunting for your supper.
Prep Time1 hour
Cook Time4 hours
Resting time for pie to set15 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: English
Keyword: Caveman Rub, Elk, Pub Food, Venison
Servings: 6 people
Calories: 465kcal

Equipment

  • 1 12-qt Dutch Oven
  • 1 9" pie plate
  • 1 pastry brush

Ingredients

  • 1 lb venison tenderloin, 1" cubes elk is also a great meat for this recipe
  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 tbsp Commando Dave's Caveman Rub
  • 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil can substitute rendered bacon grease
  • 1 cup yellow onions, diced about 2 medium-size onions
  • 1/2 cup carrots, diced about 2 carrots
  • 1/2 cup celery, diced about 3 celery stalks
  • 1 cup russet potato, diced dice into the same size as the onions
  • 1 bottle Guinness extra-stout beer 11.2 ounce bottle
  • 2 cups beef stock
  • 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
  • 1 tbsp coarse ground black pepper
  • 1 tbsp tomato paste
  • 1 tsp dried thyme leaves
  • 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 each dried bay leaf
  • 2 prepared 9" pie crusts
  • 1 each egg, whisked
  • 1 tbsp water

Instructions

  • Combine all-purpose flour and Caveman Rub in a medium-size bowl.
  • Add diced game (venison, elk, or other game) and mix together by hand to ensure all sides of the meat are coated.
  • Heat olive oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat until oil is hot.
  • Add the flour-coated game to the Dutch oven and sear all sides of the beef until just browned. Using a slotted spoon, remove the game meat and set aside in a small bowl.
  • Add the onion, carrot, celery (collectively called a mirepoix) to the Dutch oven and stir frequently until the onion begins to turn translucent.
  • Add the Guinness beer and beef broth to the Dutch oven and stir, scrapping the browned bits (called the fond) off of the bottom of the Dutch oven.
  • Add the Dijon mustard, tomato paste, and Worcestershire sauce to the Dutch oven and stir until fully incorporated.
  • Add the salt, pepper, thyme, and bay leaf and gently stir (don't break up the bay leaf) until fully incorporated.
  • Stir the mixture until it begins to simmer. Turn the heat down to low and add the game (and any juices it released) and the diced potatoes into the Dutch oven. Gently stir to incorporate.
  • Cover the Dutch oven and gently simmer for 3-4 hours, stirring periodically, until the liquid has thickened to almost a gravy consistency. Be sure to avoid breaking up the potatoes when you're stirring. Note: I test the thickness by using the back of a spoon.
  • Once the liquid has thickened and the game is almost fall-apart tender, remove the Dutch oven from the heat and let the mixture cool fully (at this point you can also refrigerate the mixture over night).
  • Once the mixture is fully cooled and set (note: see how the spoon stands upright on its own), preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  • When the oven reaches temperature, add the mixture to the prepared pie crust and spread the contents equally in the pie dough.
  • Cover with the top half of the pie dough and seal the edges.
  • Whisk together egg and 1 Tbsp of water to make an egg wash. Use a pastry brush to lightly coat the pie crust.
  • Using kitchen shears or a sharp knife, cut a "x" into the center of the pie to allow steam to escape during baking.
  • Place the pie on the middle rack of the oven and bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.
  • Turn the oven down to 375 degrees and rotate the pie in the oven (to ensure even browning). Bake for 45 minutes until the pie crust is golden brown and the pie's internal temperature is 140-150 degrees.
  • Remove the pie from the oven and let cool for 10-15 minutes so the pie can set. Cut and serve.

Notes

The venison in this recipe was harvested from the Poverty Canyon Ranch in San Angelo, TX, where I was blessed to hunt with the Lonestar Warriors Outdoors Team. Folks, the Lonestar Warriors Outdoors Team does a wonderful job helping Wounded Warriors recover through the power of fellowship and the great outdoors. I highly recommend them and humbly encourage you to please support them.
A few key elements in this recipe. First, ensure you coat the game in flour at the start of the recipe. You may see other recipes add the flour later as a thickening agent, but this detracts from the recipe by 1) violating the cardinal rule of adding uncooked flour to a dish and 2) it will turn your liquid an unappealing gray color. Second, you can add sliced mushrooms, green peas, parsnips, and a slew of other vegetables and variations to this recipe. This versatile dish is designed to showcase the game and serve as a wonderful comfort food; consider this recipe a canvas to add different colors.
This dish is also PERFECT for camping and hunting trips. You can pre-make the game mixture at home and keep it on ice until you're at your campsite. Use either the pre-made pie crust, biscuit dough, or pastry dough and bake this in a Dutch oven at your campsite. I recommend using 6-8 coals under the Dutch oven and 12 coals on the lid to bake the pie. Check your pie top at 15-minute intervals to ensure it doesn't burn. Adjust your coals as needed.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 465kcal | Carbohydrates: 43g | Protein: 24g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 11g | Cholesterol: 64mg | Sodium: 520mg | Potassium: 711mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 1887IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 52mg | Iron: 5mg
  • Buckle your seatbelts for this fantastic take on a pub classic! Combining Guinness Extra Stout with your game harvest (venison, elk) makes for the penultimate mid-winter comfort food. My deepest thanks to Chris Gill and the Lonestar Warriors Outdoors program for the opportunity to harvest the amazing venison used for this recipe. Please check out and support the Lonestar Warriors Outdoors team as they do an amazing job helping Wounded Warriors heal through fellowship and the great outdoors!

don't worry
be happy.