East African Venison Meat Pies with Basbaas Sauce
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These spicy venison meat pies were inspired by Somalian/Ethiopian Sambusas and Nigerian meat pies. You could say these pies are where East Africa meats West Africa… whomp whomp. Anyways, I spiced the venison using Ethiopian Berbere seasoning (available in gourmet or African grocery stores, or online) and served them with a Somali basbaas sauce made from coconut milk, chilies, and cilantro. I used turmeric powder in the dough to turn it a beautiful golden color, a trick I learned when making Jamaican patties – not necessary, but fun. I made six big hand pies out of the ingredients, but you could use the same recipe to make smaller, empanada-sized pies, or one big round pie; you may just need to adjust the cooking time. The dough can be made ahead and refrigerated overnight, or you could just cheat and use puff pastry instead; I won’t tell anyone!
Serving Size: 6 large meat pies
Time to make: 2 hours
Also works with: Any ground meat
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East African Venison Meat Pies with Basbaas Sauce
Course: Dinner, Lunch, Snacks4
servings30
minutes40
minutesThese spicy venison meat pies were inspired by Somalian/Ethiopian Sambusas and Nigerian meat pies. You could say these pies are where East Africa meats West Africa… whomp whomp.
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Ingredients
- For the Filling:
2 tablespoons oil or duck/bear fat
12 oz ground venison
1 onion, finely chopped
1 tomato, finely chopped
1 jalapeño, seeded, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tablespoon finely chopped ginger
¼ cup chopped cilantro
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon Berbere seasoning (more if you like it spicier, I used 2.5)
1 tablespoon cornstarch
¼ cup water
- For the Dough:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon turmeric powder (optional)
3 tablespoons cold butter
3 tablespoons duck or bear fat (or use 6 tbsp butter total)
1 egg
¼ cup cold water
1 egg yolk (for egg wash)
- For the Basbaas Sauce:
1 jalapeño, seeded and roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1 cup roughly chopped cilantro
½ teaspoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons white sugar
1 teaspoon oil
½ cup full fat coconut milk
Preparation
- Add the oil or fat to a skillet over medium high heat. Add the venison and onions and cook for 10 minutes, or until browned, breaking it up into a fine crumble.
- Add the tomato, jalapeño, garlic, ginger, cilantro, salt, pepper, and Berbere seasoning. Cook for 5 more minutes.
- Mix the cornstarch and water together into a slurry and add it to the skillet. Cook for a couple of minutes, until the mixture thickens up. Take off the heat and let cool.
- In a large bowl, mix together the flour, salt, baking powder, and turmeric powder.
- Use a cheese grater to grate in the cold butter, and add small dollops of the duck or bear fat to the flour if using.
- Mix well with two forks, a pastry cutter, or with your hands, until the fat is well incorporated. Form a well in the center.
- Whisk the egg and cold water together in a small bowl, then add it to the well in the flour. Gently stir everything together with a wooden spoon until a cohesive dough forms. Try not to overwork it. Add tiny amounts of cold water if necessary to bring the dough together.
- Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Divide the dough into 6 balls. Drape the used plastic wrap over the balls so they don’t dry out.
- Flatten and roll a ball into an approximately 6” circle on a lightly floured surface. Spoon 1/6 of the cooled venison mixture onto one side of the circle. Fold the other side over the filling and pinch the edges well to seal.
- Repeat with the rest of the balls.
- Whisk the egg yolk in a bowl, then brush it onto the meat pies. Pierce each pie several times with a fork.
- Bake the pies for 20 minutes, spinning the tray around half way through.
- Add all of the sauce ingredients to a blender and blend well until smooth.
- Serve the meat pies hot or cold with the basbaas sauce. Enjoy!
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