Venison and Wild Mushroom Hand Pies with Stout Beer

In this delicious featured recipe from Peak to Plate, we are given a wild game comfort meal that is sure to warm bellies on a cold fall day. Learn how to make this delectable and handheld treat, below. ~ The Editors

Venison hand pies (or pasties) are the perfect handheld meal. These delicious little things are made of flavorful venison and mushroom filling with stout beer gravy wrapped in a flaky Irish cheddar crust. They’re kind of like venison pot pie but WAY better. Give them a try today!

Why This Recipe Works:

Venison pot pie (or meat pie) is a classic recipe for ground or shredded venison. But, the ratio of crust to filling is often not ideal. Enter venison hand pies! Hand pies (or pasties) have almost an equal ratio of filling to crust which is what makes them so delicious (and fun to eat)!

The flavors of ground venison, dried mushrooms, thyme, and stout beer come together for a deliciously rich and earthy filling. The flaky crust is packed with pieces of Irish cheddar that add a cheese cracker-like flavor and texture to the crust. Together, the filling and crust are almost too delicious to believe! For a fun alternative, try duck fat pie crust instead.

Since hand pies are much smaller than traditional meat pies, they bake quickly too. As an added bonus, they’re even freezer friendly! You can make a big batch of hand pies, par-bake them, and freeze them for easy meals down the road. Full freezing instructions can be found in the recipe card below.

Ingredient Notes:

• Ground Venison: You can use any ground meat in place of ground venison. Elk, moose, antelope, beef, turkey, etc. will all work.
• Dried Mushrooms: You can use any dried mushrooms you’d like for this recipe. If you want to use fresh mushrooms, use about ¾ cup chopped fresh mushrooms instead of dried mushrooms.
• Stout Beer: This recipe uses a very smooth stout beer. If you choose a beer with a lot of hoppy flavor, your filling might be more bitter. Also if you want to add more beer flavor, you can omit the stock and double the amount of beer.
• Homemade Pie Crust: This recipe calls for a homemade Irish cheddar pie crust. You can use store-bought pie dough instead. When you roll out the dough circles, sprinkle 1 tablespoon of cheese over each circle and use your rolling pin to press the cheese into the dough. It won’t be quite the same as having the cheese in the dough, but it will still add that cheesy flavor!
• Irish Cheddar: You can use sharp white cheddar or aged cheddar in place of Irish cheddar. Irish cheddar has a lower moisture content than other cheddar cheeses due to aging. If you use a traditional cheddar in your crust, the texture may turn out a little different.

Continue reading the step-by-step instructions for “Venison and Wild Mushroom Hand Pies with Stout Beer” from our friends at Peak to Plate.

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