Berkshire venison, pheasant and partridge gamekeeper’s pie

Landlord Lee Hart is a keen Shot and runs the Dundas Arms, Kintbury. He says: “Our focus is seasonality and local produce. I’m a huge advocate for game and we always have four to five game dishes on the menu during the game season; we try and make game as accessible as we can to everyone.”

Here Lee shares his recipe for gamekeeper’s pie. Serves 6.

Berkshire Venison, Pheasant and Partridge Gamekeeper’s pie

Ingredients

1 large onion (diced)

3 carrots, diced

½ swede (small dice)

100g smoked fatty bacon lardons

3 sticks celery, diced

500g venison confit – shredded

200g pheasant leg confit – shredded

200g partridge confit – shredded

(cook the venison shoulder, pheasant legs and partridge in duck or goose fat beforehand, in a low oven for approx. 3-4 hours until meat is tender and easy to shred)

4 tbsp tomato puree

25ml Worcester sauce

200ml red wine

500ml game stock

400g potatoes (peeled and diced)

75g melted butter

50ml milk

3 sprigs thyme – pull off the leaves

Shortcrust pastry (rolled out onto a floured board and cut to fit pie dishes)

Method

Turn the oven to 180 degrees C.

Put the diced carrots, onions, celery in a medium hot pan with the smoked bacon lardons. Once the vegetables and bacon start to cook, add the shredded game meat and brown off in the pan.

Add the tomato puree and stir, then add red wine and thyme. Reduce, then add stock and Worcester sauce. Cook for 40-60 minutes until desired consistency and season well.

Season the diced carrot and swede with thyme leaves, salt and pepper and mix in 75g of melted butter.

Divide the mix into 6 pie dishes of desired shape, line with the shortcrust pastry and top with the buttered, diced potatoes and swede. Bake in a medium to hot oven for 20 minutes until topping is cooked and golden.

Serve with crusty bread or buttered winter greens

You can also pour the game mixture into a pie dish and top with ready rolled puff pastry (which you can buy in the chiller cabinet at good supermarkets).