Ingredients

Method

For the pastry
• 800 g puff pastry
• melted butter
• 1 egg, beaten
For the filling
• 3 kg game shin, sliced into 3 cm slices (I like wildebeest)
• 3 guinea fowl (leg and thigh and breast removed) guinea fowl
• 8 red onions, quartered
• 16 cloves of garlic, peeled
• 1 bottle full-bodied red wine
• 600 ml beef and guinea fowl stock
• 4 T rosemary, finely chopped
• 6 T red current jelly
• 12 rashers of streaky bacon

Method

Ingredients

Season the flour with a good pinch of salt and pepper, dust the pieces of meat in flour, and shake off excess flour.
Heat oil in a large sauce pan or heavy based casserole dish and brown the shins and guinea fowl (excluding breasts) all over.
Also seal guinea fowl breast wrapped in streaky bacon until browned and not cooked through, put aside.
Add any remaining flour, onions, garlic and stir well into the casserole.
Pour in the wine, stock, rosemary, redcurrant jelly and a good grinding of black pepper.
Bring to the boil, cover and simmer gently until the meat falls off the bone and the sauce is rich and thickened.
Remove the bones and flake the meat into chunks.
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C.
Fill a 4L pie dish with the filling and top with 1cm thick slices of guinea fowl and beacon breasts.
First roll out puff pastry then layer one sheet on top of the other.
Brush the first and second layer with melted butter.
Then roll the 3 layer of pastry to app 3mm thick and about 2 and a half cm larger than the dish.
Cut a 2cm strip off the pastry, brush the rim of the dish with a little water and paste the strip around the rim pressing it down.
Sit the pie funnel in the middle of the pie filling this will act as a vent releasing the steam while the pie is baking and will also stop the pastry from sinking into the filling and becoming soggy.
Now cut a small cross in the middle of the pastry to fit over the pie funnel.
Press down the edges of the pastry to seal. Cut off any excess pastry below the rim and crimp the edges with a fork or between your thumb and forefinger.
Brush with the beaten egg and bake for 30 to 40 minutes until the pastry is crisp and golden.
Cook's notes: The game in this pie cooks down until it is incredibly tender, falling apart to make a tasty and succulent filling. It deserves to be topped by a rich, puff pastry lid.
You can make this pie using chicken and lamb if you wish, it will be just as delicious.
Oaklands Country Manor, R793, Oban/Schaapdrift Road, Van Reneen; tel: (058) 671-0067 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting            (058) 671-0067      end_of_the_skype_highlighting, www.oaklands.co.za