Venison pie with cumquat and star anise

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 Photo by Steve Shanahan

This column first published Canberra Times 8 September 2010 and  an updated version in November 2012.

This pie, now a family favourite started life as a simple and unadorned venison pie. Over the years I’ve modified the recipe to reflect the seasons and our changing tastes.  This recipe is by far my most popular post and still attracts the highest number of hits. The recipe has been scooped up by a number of foodies in the US and appears on websites as diverse as food history and game shooting. 

Venison is a sturdy meat that can be matched with bold and robust aromatics, and like other game meats has a tendency to toughen and tighten up. To avoid this, I generally slow cook my venison and I prefer to use the cuts from the shoulder or the rump, as when slow cooked it falls apart and melts in the mouth. These cuts deliver a rich and gamey pie topped with a crispy, buttery crust.

The Maggie Beer sour cream shortcrust pastry is the only pastry I would consider for this pie, as anything else would sell it short. The richness of the sour cream and the butter is a perfect match for the bold flavours of the meat. If you are a novice at pastry making this recipe is very forgiving and worth a try.

I find that I need to order the venison meat through my butcher as it’s not generally readily available. As this pie is worthy of a special occasion, it would be wise to check the availability of venison with your butcher. If you cannot get your hands on some deer meat, you could easily use beef and still have a delicious result. 

Venison pie is an exceptional special occasion meal, with an incredibly rich, complex and balanced set of flavours that can be served with a creamy mash or my new favourite, creamed cauliflower.  Broad beans or green string beans with a hint of butter and nutmeg work beautifully too. The perfect wine match is a rich Pinot Noir. 

If you cannot obtain cumquats, use 1/4 of an orange, including the skin and flesh. Remove before serving.

To make creamed cauliflower, blend cooked, hot cauliflower with 2 tbsp cream or butter, adding salt and nutmeg to taste.

Venison Filling

4 tbsp olive oil

250 g speck, diced

¼ cup plain flour

1.3 kg cubed venison

2 cloves garlic, chopped

10 golden shallots, diced

6 large mushrooms, sliced

375 ml red wine (pinot is good)

300 ml beef or veal stock

2 tbsp tomato paste

5 whole cumquats, halved and deseeded

½ tsp ground cloves

4 star anise

½ tsp ground cinnamon

1 level tsp juniper berries

extra stock if needed

2 sprigs of rosemary

salt and pepper to taste

Ensure the venison is trimmed of sinew and diced into small pieces. Roll the venison in plain flour, shaking off excess and setting aside. Bruise the juniper berries, cinnamon and cloves in a mortar and pestle. 

Heat the oil on medium heat in a large saucepan then add the shallots and garlic, frying until transparent. Add the juniper, cinnamon and cloves and mix well. Then add the diced venison and speck cooking until browned for about eight minutes. Add the stock, wine, cumquats, star anise, rosemary and mushrooms and cook on medium to high heat until bubbling. 

Reduce heat to low, place the lid on the pan and cook for approximately two to three hours, stirring occasionally until meat is tender and sauce is thick and dark. Add seasoning to taste and set aside to cool. Prepare the pastry while the filling is cooking.

Maggie Beer's Pastry

200 g of chilled unsalted butter, chopped

250 g of plain flour

½ cup of sour cream

1 beaten egg

Preheat the oven to 200 C

Grease a 23cm deep pie dish. Place the butter and flour into the bowl of a food processor, then pulse until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Add the sour cream and pulse again until the dough just forms a ball. Carefully wrap the dough in plastic film and leave to rest in the refrigerator for 15 to 20 minutes. 

Place the cooled filling into the greased pie dish, filling till it is about one centimetre below the rim. Roll out the dough until it is about 5 mm thick, then carefully folding the dough back over the rolling pin, place it over the filled pie dish and press to seal the edges. Cut three slits in the top of the pie to allow the steam to escape. Chill the filled pie for about 20 minutes before cooking as this will reduce shrinkage. 

Remove the pie from the refrigerator and coat the pastry top with beaten egg. Cook the pie for approximately 45 minutes until warmed through and the pastry is lightly golden.

Duck in master stock

Duck in master stock

Photo by Steve Shanahan

First published Canberra Times 7 December 2012 

Duck, cooked in a myriad of ways, is one of the most popular street foods across Asia. If you tend to avoid cooking duck because you believe it’s too difficult, this method of red braising will give you sweet and succulent meat with a deliciously crispy skin every time. Using this ancient but simple technique might give you confidence to add duck to your favourites list.

The very traditional method of red braising produces some prized master stocks, with recipes that are often handed down by families over generations. Many family master stocks are so highly valued they are given as a wedding present to represent good luck and a long and happy life.

I picked up my master stock recipe many years ago from Darren Ho, who was the executive chef at the award winning restaurant Terroir, in the Hunter wine region. Ho, steeped in the business of food since he was seven years old, hails from a long line of chefs and restaurant owners. His grandfather bestowed the family master stock recipe on him and the affable chef willingly  shares his knowledge of this cherished braising liquid. 

My master stock is more than a decade old and, like a good red wine, has aged gracefully, with its well balanced flavours bearing testament to many past meals. I have named my pre-adolescent stock Mao, as the erstwhile Chairman of the Peoples’ Republic insisted that his dishes were cooked in this way.

Preparing your first master stock is simply a matter of combining the ingredients in a large stockpot and simmering until the flavours are infused. If you follow some basic rules, the stock will keep in the refrigerator for many years, ready for when you next need it. Before refrigerating, the stock should be strained and brought to a rolling boil for a few minutes after each use, to keep it free from nasty bacteria. The complexity and depth of flavour of the master stock continues to grow based on the accumulated meat and vegetable infusions.

The flavours in master stock are incredibly versatile and will provide just the right base for sauces, soups or gravy. It can even be reduced down to a paste to make a glaze for pork or ham, and it makes an easy stir fry sauce or as a natural enhancer for casseroles instead of using stock cubes. 

Duck legs, or marylands, are the best cut of duck meat for this recipe, and the skin can then be crisped up under a hot grill before serving. I like to serve the duck with a fresh Asian style salad of mint, coriander, lychees and ginger to cut through the richness of the duck meat.

If you are cooking for a special occasion and you have a large enough pot, a whole red braised duck is an impressive dish, just make sure you make enough stock to cover the bird in the pot and cook slowly for three and a half hours on top of the stove on a very low heat. You will need to double the recipe quantities below to cook a large piece of meat. Pork belly can also be braised in this way, adding some onion, cloud ears (black fungus) to the stock.

For your initial batch of master stock, prepare it a day before you are ready to cook your duck, so the flavours will have time to infuse. Each time you use the stock you can add to it by replenishing the ingredients to ensure you keep a large enough quantity for your next use. The ingredient quantities are approximate, you can adjust these based on your taste.

The ingredients in the recipe are available at Asian grocery stores and the quantity serves 4.

Master stock

2 litres of water

250ml Shaoxing wine

125ml light soy sauce

75ml dark soy sauce

100g yellow rock sugar of palm sugar

3 cumquats or 3 pieces of orange peel

2 cinnamon quills

4 star anise

1 knob of ginger, roughly chopped

4 cloves of garlic, peeled

5 dried Chinese mushrooms

Duck

4 duck marylands or 8 duck legs

full recipe quantity of master stock

2 shallots, chopped

12 lychees, peeled and chopped or tinned

½ cup mint leaves

½ cup coriander leaves

½ red chilli, chopped

2 tbsp ginger, peeled and finely chopped

4 kaffir lime leaves, finely shredded

juice of half a lime

To make the master stock, bring all the ingredients to boil in a large stock pot, simmer for half an hour. Strain. This recipe makes about two and a half litres. Any leftover master stock can be refrigerated for up to two weeks or frozen for longer periods. With regular resuscitation, rejuvenation, boiling and refreezing, your stock can be made to last for generations.

To prepare the duck, preheat the oven to 160C. Trim any excess fat from the duck and slit the joint in the leg to keep it flat. Place in a baking dish, skin side down. Bring the master stock to the boil in a saucepan and pour over the duck pieces so they are almost submerged. Cover with a lid or aluminium foil and place in the oven. Cook for one and a half hours and then remove the lid or foil and turn the duck over to skin side up. Cook for another 45 minutes until the meat is almost falling from the bone.

Remove the duck from the stock and refrigerate until needed. Completely chill the master stock in the refrigerator and then remove the fat that has accumulated on the top. Place two cups of master stock in a saucepan, bring to the boil and reduce by half. The duck pieces can be either reheated in the reduced stock or, for a crispy skin, placed in a shallow pan, skin side up and reheated in a 180C oven for 10 minutes or reheated under a hot grill.

While the duck is reheating and sauce reducing, make the salad by combining the remaining ingredients in a bowl and tossing with a squeeze of lemon juice.

Transfer the duck pieces to a serving bowl and pour over the reduced stock, then pile the lychee and ginger salad on top of the duck.

Semifreddo

Berry Maple Semifreddo

Photos property of Steve Shanahan

First published Canberra Times 16 January 2013.

In the midst of what feels like a never ending summer, my thoughts turn to cool and easy desserts. The brief at this time is no fuss; something I can prepare in advance but will still look and taste fresh on the day.

These are just the ticket, no fussing with an ice cream maker, all you will need is an electric mixer with two bowls or a spare hand mixer for whipping cream.

You can freeze the left over egg whites in an airtight container. To track your frozen egg whites, place a small piece of masking tape on the lid and write the date on it. When preparing to use the egg whites, thaw completely to use in meringue or coconut roughs below. 

Berry maple semifreddo

500g raspberries, frozen thawed, or fresh

250g caster sugar

8 egg yolks

600ml pure cream

100g maple syrup

Combine the raspberries and 50g of the sugar in a small saucepan over low heat. Cook gently for four minutes until the berries just begin to soften and the sugar is dissolved. Set aside to cool and then refrigerate till cool.

Whisk the egg yolks in the bowl of an electric mixer on high speed for five minutes until creamy, light and fluffy.

Heat the remaining sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat for five minutes until it is just beginning to darken and the sugar has dissolved. Mix with a silicone spatula, gently scraping the bottom and edges and mix any lumps back into the centre. Any lumps will eventually melt. Work fast to stop the sugar from burning. While the yolks are still whisking, pour the sugar liquid into the egg yolks in a thin, steady stream with the mixer on moderate speed, so as not to cook the yolks. Whisk until completely cool.

Whip the cream in a separate bowl to form stiff peaks. Fold in the egg yolk mixture, then fold in the chilled raspberry mixture. Pour into a two litre loaf tin lined with plastic wrap so the ends and sides of the plastic wrap hang outside to provide a handle for later removal. Stir in the maple syrup gently to create a marbled effect. Cover with the overhang of plastic wrap and freeze for five hours until firm. Remove by grabbing the plastic wrap, lifting from the tin and turn out onto a serving plate.

 

Salted caramel semifreddo

Praline

150g caster sugar

¾ tsp sea salt

Caramel

100g caster sugar

50ml water

50g salted butter chopped

1 tsp sea salt

150ml pure cream, slightly warmed

6 egg yolks

50g caster sugar

1 tsp vanilla paste

350ml pure cream

For the praline, pour the sugar in an even layer in a heavy based saucepan. Line a baking tray with baking paper that has been lightly greased with vegetable oil.

Heat the sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat for five minutes until it is just beginning to darken and the sugar has dissolved. Mix with a silicone spatula, gently scraping the bottom and edges and mix any lumps back into the centre. Any lumps will eventually melt. Work fast to stop the praline from burning and immediately mix in the salt. Quickly pour the mixture onto a baking tray, swirling and tilting the praline so it spreads thinly over the tray. Set aside to cool and set.

For the semifreddo mixture, crush the set praline into small chunks and place into a plastic bag. Bash it with a rolling pin to crush. Set aside.

Combine the 100g sugar and 50ml water in a heavy saucepan over a medium heat and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Brush the sugar from the sides with a wet pastry brush then cook without stirring until a deep amber colour. This will take about eight to ten minutes. Add the butter and salt and stir to combine. Add the cream and stir until mixed. If sugar crystals form when you add the cream, return the pan to a low heat for one or two minutes, then remove from the heat.

Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks, the 50g of sugar and vanilla paste in the bowl of an electric mixer on high speed for five minutes until creamy, light and fluffy. While the yolks are still whisking, pour the hot caramel mixture into the egg yolks in a thin, steady stream with the mixer on moderate speed, so as not to cook the yolks. Whisk until the egg yolk mixture cools and refrigerate until completely cold.

When the yolk mixture has completely cooled, whip the cream until soft peaks form and gently fold the cream and the crushed praline into the cooled yolk mixture. Pour into a two litre loaf tin lined with plastic wrap so the ends and sides of the wrap hang outside to provide a handle for later removal.

Cover with the overhang of plastic wrap and freeze for five hours until firm. Remove by grabbing the plastic wrap, lifting from the tin and turn out onto a serving plate.

 

 

Coconut pineapple and basil semifreddo

6 egg yolks

1 cup caster sugar

½ cup fresh pineapple, finely chopped and extra to serve

½ cup pineapple juice

1 cup coconut cream

1 cup of pure cream

2 tbsp dessicated coconut

2 tbsp fresh Thai basil leaves, finely chopped

Heat the sugar and pineapple juice in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring until the sugar is dissolved.

Whisk the egg yolk s in the bowl of an electric mixer on high speed for five minutes until creamy, light and fluffy. While the yolks are still whisking, pour the hot sugar and pineapple liquid into the egg yolks in a thin, steady stream with the mixer on moderate speed, so as not to cook the yolks. Whisk until completely cool. The mixture will gradually thicken and go pale and creamy.

Whip the coconut cream and the pure cream together till soft peaks form and gently fold through the egg yolk mixture along with the coconut, pineapple and basil.

Pour into a two litre loaf tin lined with plastic wrap so the ends and sides of the wrap hang outside to provide a handle for later removal.

Cover with the overhang of plastic wrap and freeze for five hours until firm. Remove by grabbing the plastic wrap, lifting from the tin and turn out onto a serving plate.

Serve with fresh pineapple pieces.

Coconut roughs

125g unsalted butter

2 egg whites

1 tspn vanilla paste

120 plain flour

120g caster sugar

80g shredded coconut

Preheat the oven to 200C

Mix the butter, egg whites and vanilla in a bowl, then fold in the flour and sugar. Beat until smooth.

Spread teaspoonfuls on baking paper lined oven trays. Spread each spoonful to about one millimetre thickness in random elongated shapes.

Bake for five minutes until golden and keep an eye out for burning. Leave to cool and harden. Serve with semifreddo or ice cream.