I need to share this beautiful recipe as part of my mandate and being ‘sincere’. Usually people will keep this amazingness to themselves so that they can get all the praise when they host friends or family. I believe in being a giver and herewith, my first post as a sincere foodie – My famous GAME PIE;

First of all there is going to be some rules;

  1. Only a guideline

With all my recipes this is going to be a rule. Use this as a guideline, but add the ingredients to taste. Real cooks are moms and family members ensuring that their loved ones are fed and had a good time being fed. You need to give the food what you think your eaters will need and enjoy. If I have too much garlic in there, ignore that suggestion. If you like sweetness with your meat, add more honey. Whatever the case; but my recipes are not the law and real cooks always add something coming from their hearts.

  1. Reject the way you think about wild meat

You need ‘love’ to prepare ‘games’ that is favourable to most people… It is not always easy to prepare game meat and it can be too ‘chewy’ and ‘wild’ for some peoples’ tastes. However, I am giving you some tips to change the way you think about ‘rough’ meat. My mother-in-law taught me this and as she is a Namibian I learned from the best. A new perspective about wild meat made my kitchen a stunning place and gave me so many options to play with.

  1. Share as well

If you made this pie – please share a picture so that I can see that you have enjoyed this amazingness with me. It will make me extremely happy, so please let me know.

To emphasize the beauty behind this pie;

  1. Easy and clever

This pie does not expect of you to stand in front of the pot for days and you don’t have to be a professional to prepare it. For the best result it will take a bit of your time as the meat needs to turn into tender softness, but remember that you can really be clever while preparing it. To the wives out there who are fortunate enough with husbands hunting all the time, here is your solution. Make these pies in bulk and put them in the freezer for times when you are not at home or for evenings that you are just too lazy to stand in front of the stove. I buy these foil containers called “time savers” and I always have a backup pie in my freezer.

  1. It is healthy.

Most wild meat is not filled with hormones or preservatives so it is really healthy from the get go. These ingredients should be in your kitchen already and they are simply good for you.

  1. For cosy winter nights

I don’t think that there is anything better than a home-made game pie with a glass of red wine in the cosy dining area across the fireplace. So herewith; happy winter to my fellow South Africans!

The ingredients;

For 2 large pies (one to eat and one to freeze).

  • 2.5-3 kg wild game meat
  • 1 tsp. meat tenderiser
  • 5 Tbsp. olive oil
  • 2 onions / 1 large onion chopped
  • Salt and pepper (season well and to taste)
  • 3 Tbsp. barbeque spices
  • Water as needed (+- 500ml)
  • 125g fat (Optional – any meat fat that you can get, if your meat is fat-less)
  • 1 Tbsp. thyme
  • 1 tsp. cinnamon (tip 1 to overcome the fear of wild meat)
  • 3 tsp. garlic (crushed)
  • 300ml red wine / 300ml brown vinegar (tip 2 to overcome the fear of wild meat)
  • 60ml Worcester sauce
  • 60ml chutney / 60ml home-made apricot jam
  • 100ml Honey (tip 3 to overcome the fear of wild meat)

The method;

  1. As our family has a farm in Namibia I do have a lot of meat still ‘on the bone’ so this recipe is for those meats that you still need to cut or dice. However, if your meat is already boneless I will suggest that you also take this route to ensure a soft, tasty and juicy game pie.
  2. Place the meat in a large casserole and marinade it with the meat tenderiser, olive oil, onions, salt and pepper, barbeque spices, fat and 250ml of the water. Pre-heat your oven to 100˚C (or a very low heat) and place the ‘closed’ casserole with the marinaded meat into the oven for 60 minutes. Check the meat after 30 minutes (add water if needed) and then turn the meat around or give it a good mix. You need to cook the meat patiently so that it will fall off the bone and will be blissfully soft. After the first 60 minutes add your sauce.
  3. For the sauce; in a mixing bowl add the rest of the water and all the other ingredients. Mix it well and taste it before you add it to the meat.
    • Tip 1 to overcome the fear of the wild meat; Cinnamon. Cinnamon will remove that very wild taste. If you like the very wild taste you can leave it out. Cinnamon compliments any type of wildness.
    • Tip 2 to overcome the fear of wild meat; Red wine or brown vinegar. What is life without red wine? Wine and vinegar will soften the meat to an amazing tenderness that will give sympathy to the person sceptical about game meat. For a more healthy and sweet option go for the vinegar. For a more salty and full taste go for the red wine.
    • Tip 3 to overcome the fear of wild meat; Honey. You can also use caster sugar if you want to, but honey is way healthier and way tastier. Something sweet will stunningly pair the wildness of the meat with the goodness of the vinegar or red wine.
  4. Add the sauce to the meat and leave it in the oven for 4-5 hours. Check it every now and then and add water if needed. After 2 hours start to remove the bones, you will see that it will fall off and will not be a hassle at all. You can start to cut the meat; it will also be effortless as the meat will be so soft within this mixture. Turn the heat up to 140˚C for the last 2 hours.
  5. When the meat and the sauce is one and if the meat is tender and ready you can place it in containers of preferable sizes. Use containers that are oven friendly. You can buy or make the pastry. Top the pies with the pastry. You can freeze the ones now that you will not use immediately. Before you serve the pie brush the pastry with egg / mayonnaise (yes, the main ingredient of mayonnaise is eggs) and then bake the lovely thing for 40-55 minutes (140˚C). You can also replace the pastry with cous cous, patato mash or pasta, be creative.

There you go. I hope the pie that does not play games will add to an amazing and cosy South African winter.