Game & Guinness pot pie

Celebrate Pi Day (or any day!) with this hearty and delicious game dish

By Darby Doyle
Technical Writer
DWR Conservation Outreach Section

The filling of this pot pie is essentially a hearty game and vegetable stew, which can be made with any kind of big game chuck or trim. I used pronghorn shoulder and elk trim for the batches photographed here, but it's equally delicious with mule deer or even goose.

This is also a delightful meal to serve on St. Patrick's Day!

Game & Guinness Pot Pie

Servings: 4 generous individual pies or 4-6 servings as a single deep-dish pot pie

Active time: 40 minutes
Inactive time: 2-3 hours
If you don't have stout beer on hand, substitute with additional beef or game stock in the same quantity.

Ingredients

• ½ cup all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon bacon fat (or vegetable oil)
• 1 pound pronghorn (or other game meat) cut into ½-inch cubes
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 – 14.9-ounce can Guinness Stout beer
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 medium carrots, chopped
• 8 ounces white or brown mushrooms, cleaned and quartered
• 2 cups small yellow potatoes, scrubbed and cut in ½-inch cubes
• 1 cup green beans, cut in 2-inch lengths (fresh or frozen)
• 2 cups strong game or beef stock
• 1 cup fresh or frozen green peas
• 1 prepared pie crust (homemade or pre-packaged)
• 1 egg, slightly beaten and mixed with 1 tablespoon water

Directions

Step 1

In a medium bowl, combine flour, salt and pepper. Dredge the meat in the flour mixture, making sure that all sides are evenly coated.

Reserve 2 tablespoons of the dredging flour for step 3.

Step 2

Melt the bacon fat (or heat the oil) in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Shake the excess flour off of ½ pound of the meat and add the meat to the hot pan, making sure there is room between pieces. Turn the meat a few times to ensure all sides are completely browned.

Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon, then repeat with the remaining ½ pound of meat, adding more bacon fat or oil if needed.

Step 3

After all meat is browned and removed from the Dutch oven, reduce heat to medium-low. Add 2 tablespoons vegetable oil and sprinkle 2 tablespoons of the remaining flour-salt-pepper dredge over the hot oil. Use a wire whisk to combine and create a roux. Keep over very low heat for about 15–20 minutes, whisking occasionally to prevent burning. The roux is ready when it smells nutty and is a pecan-brown color.

Step 4

Turn off the heat under the pan. In a slow steady stream – keep back and watch your eyebrows, this gets steamy! – pour in the beer while steadily whisking it into the roux.

Step 5

When the roux-beer mixture is combined and smooth, return the pan to medium heat. Add the browned meat, stock, and all vegetables except the peas (they'll get mushy if you add them too soon).

Step 6

Bring to a low boil, then immediately reduce to a simmer over low heat. Cover, and simmer for at least 1 hour (a couple of hours will have your meat meltingly tender). During the last 30 minutes of simmering, remove the lid so the filling will thicken and reduce.

Step 7

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Place a rack in the lower third of the oven.

Step 8

Turn off the heat for the pie filling. Add the peas and stir to evenly combine.

Step 9

If making a single large pot pie, carefully unfold the pie crust over the top of the filling, making sure the crust covers the entire surface of the filling to the edges. Cut a few small slits in the top of the crust to vent.

If making individual pies, divide the filling equally between four ramekins or oven-proof soup crocks. Cut out four 5½-inch pastry rounds with a small bowl or cutter. Tear remaining scraps into long strips. Top each crock with pastry rounds; roll excess scraps into long strands and use to make extra crusty edges around the top of the crust. Cut a small "X" in the middle of each crust to vent.

Step 10

Place the Dutch oven or individual crocks on a rimmed baking sheet (you may have spillage!) and brush the crusts evenly with the egg wash.

Step 11

Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes, or until the crust is browned and filling is bubbly. Sláinte!

Darby Doyle

A technical writer with the Salt Lake office outreach team, Darby joined the DWR in 2021. She's an editor for the DWR wildlife blog and annual guidebooks, and chips in as a backup public information officer when needed. An avid fly angler and self-admittedly mediocre hunter, Darby enjoys gardening, harvesting and butchering game from her family's hunts all over the Western U.S. and spending time outdoors with the family's goofy Labradors.