Venison and Sweet Potato Meat Pies with Orange Jalapeño Dipping Sauce
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Two foods come to my mind when I think of a “meat pie“. One is the out-of-the-box, microwave-safe version of a pot pie that I hated as a kid, and the other is a puff pastry meat pie, which I enjoyed while travelling through London, England. This is neither!
These awesome little meat pies were actually inspired by the meat pies found in gas stations across the Southern United States. If you are looking to impress your guests or family members and happen to have some ground venison in the freezer, then I would highly recommend giving this dish a go.
There are a couple of important steps which will make this recipe come off flawlessly, so follow along closely and let your baking skills mesh with your sautéing skills!
Makes: Yield: 12 pies and 1 cup of sauce
Time to make: 2 hours
Also make with: any ground wild meat
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Venison and Sweet Potato Meat Pies with Orange Jalapeño Dipping Sauce
12
servings1
hour1
hourKeep the screen of your device on
Ingredients
- For the Pie Crust
2 ¼ cups All Purpose Flour
16 tbsp (2 sticks) of SALTED butter
¼ cup cold water
- For the Sweet Potato and Wild Venison Filling
½ lbs Ground Venison
1 Garlic Clove, finely minced
¼ Yellow or Brown Onion, minced
½ cup of Peeled Sweet Potatoes or Yams, finely diced
4 Mushrooms (button, baby bella, oyster, etc.), finely diced
½ teaspoon Dried or 1 tablespoon fresh Tarragon
¼ teaspoon Ground Cayenne Pepper
½ teaspoon Dried Thyme
½ teaspoon Ground Coriander
Salt and Ground Black Pepper to taste.
1 tablespoon Olive Oil
- For the Orange-Jalapeño Sauce
1 cup Orange Juice
2 Jalapeños, de-seeded and diced
4 tsp Water
4 tsp Olive Oil
2 Scallions, finely minced
2 tsp Cornstarch
Salt, Black Pepper, and Ground Cayenne Pepper to taste
Preparation
- For the Pie Crust
- Pour your flour on the countertop.
- Cut the 2 sticks of butter in half and then cut into approximately ¼ inch slices.
- Place the butter slices on top of the flour. Flip the slices over so that both sides are covered in flour.
- Wash and dry your hands (this is key). Use the palm of your hand and gently press the butter down into the flour. Pressing too aggressively will result in a face full of flour dust!
- Use your pastry scraper to scrape underneath the flour/butter mixture and flip it over. Repeat this process until you have a doughy consistency.
- Make a flattened mound out of the dough. Sprinkle the water over the top of the dough. Quickly mix the water into the dough with your hands. Form the dough into a ball once all of the water appears to be absorbed.
- Tightly wrap the dough in plastic and place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
- For the Sweet Potato and Wild Venison Filling
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat.
- Add all of the ingredients to the pan and cook until the meat is browned.
- Remove from heat and allow to cool.
- Making the Pies
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- After 30 minutes, remove the dough from the refrigerator.
- Lightly flour your countertop/cutting board and rolling pin.
- Roll out the dough into a long rectangle vertically in front of you (not too wide and still thick).
- Mentally picture the dough folded into thirds. Fold the top of the dough towards the center. You should dust the excess flour off each time you fold. Fold the bottom towards the center. Flip the dough over and repeat approximately 5 times.
- It is easier to work with the dough in two sections, so separate it into two.
- Roll one dough ball out into a rectangular sheet about ¼ inch thick.
- Use a 5-6 inch bowl or cookie cutter to cut out your pie circles (I used a knife to trace around the bowl). Set the pie circle aside and repeat until all of the dough is gone.
- Lay out one pie circle flat in front of you. Brush a small amount of water around the outside edge of the top. Place two heaping Tablespoons full of the filling in the center of the pie.
- Fold the pie in half and use your fingers to seal the edge. Use a fork to press rippled indentations along the edge, which helps it to seal. Repeat this process with all of the pie rounds
- Place the pies on a baking sheet and place them in the oven.
- Optional: You can make an egg wash out of 1 egg mixed with 2 tbsp of milk. You would then brush the top of the pies with this to help them brown.
- Cook 25-30 minutes or until brown. Let rest for 15 minutes or more before serving.
- For the Orange-Jalapeño Sauce
- Heat a small pot over medium heat.
- Combine the Orange Juice, Water, Olive oil, Jalapeños, Scallions, and seasonings in the pot.
- Allow the mixture to simmer for 2-5 minutes.
- Sprinkle and stir the cornstarch into the mixture.
- Continue stirring until the sauce begins to thicken.
- Remove from heat and serve with meat pie.
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