Duck Pot Pie Recipe

You can make this duck pie with either port or white wine (or no wine at all I guess if that’s your thing but then you probably wouldn’t be visiting this site). It’s a long, slow cooked disk and takes quite a bit of preparation time and effort – but it’s worth it and a delicious hearty dish perfect for colder weather.

This time I made it with port and the flavour was quite strong supporting a heavy pinot noir but somehow overpowering the duck. Next time I’ll try a dry white wine for a more subtle ducky result which will match better with pinot noirs in general.

I used individual ramekins but you could just as easily make it as one single pie and dish it up, rustic style.

You can make the filling and pie the day before, leave them in the fridge and then just pastry top and cook them prior to serving them.

One last, but rather important, tip is when you’re cooking the filling make sure that neither the casserole dish or the contents gets burnt as it will impart a smoky flavour to the dish which is not ideal, unless that’s your preference and you have a thing for tea smoked duck. If it’s starting to brown too much turn the heat down and just extend the cooking time.

Ingredients

500g duck meat, roughly cubed into bite sized chunks

1 tsp coarse sea salt

1 sprig fresh thyme or ¼ teaspoon dried thyme

½ tsp ground coriander

½ tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 fresh bay leaf

1 carrot finely diced

1 celery stick finely diced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tsp concentrated tomato paste

200 mls port or white wine (depending on the style you’re after)

300 mls chicken stock

A little corn flour

Good quality puff pastry for top (and less the fat reduced one works fine)

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 150 degrees Celsius.
2. Place the duck meat in a very hot fry pan and stir until brown but do not over cook.
3. Transfer the meat to a small lidded casserole dish (or one you can cover with foil).
4. Deglaze the fry pan with the port and stock.
5. Transfer the liquid from the pan into the casserole dish.
6. Add the remaining ingredients except the pastry and the corn flour.
7. Stir the mixture and place the casserole dish in the oven and cook for 2 to 3 hours until the meat is very tender.
8. Drain the liquid and set it aside.
9. Divide the meat and vegetables into two potions and place in individual oven-proof ramekins no higher than ½ cm from the rim.
10. Return the stock liquid to a pot (or for a healthier option, let it first cool so you can remove the fat from the surface, then return the remaining liquid to the pot).
11. Place a couple of teaspoons of corn flour in a cup and add just enough water to combine so it’s a thick liquid.
12. With the stock liquid off the heat, add 1/3 to a half of the little corn flour liquid to the stock and whisk in.
13. Return the pan to the heat and bring to the boil.
14. The liquid once boiled should be thick gravy consistency but still runny enough to seep through the gaps between the meat and the vegetables in the ramekins. If it’s not thick enough, repeat steps 12 to 13. If it’s too thick then remove it from the heat and whisk in a little extra vegetable stock.
15. Once the gravy is ready pour it into the ramekins to fill to almost the top of the meat, about 1 to 0.5cm below the rim.
16. Once the pies are filled with gravy, cut a top of pastry and place it over the ramekin.
17. Press it on the rim to seal the pie.
18. Cut a crisscross vent hole in the top to allow steam to escape.
19. Brush the top of the pies with milk.
20. Place the pies in a 180 degree oven for about 20 minutes until the top is golden brown.
21. Remove from the oven and let cool for 15 to 20 minutes before serving.

Time: 3+ hours

Serves: 2 to 4 (depending on individual size)

Best Wine Match: Sinapius Pinot Noir

By : Sigrid de Castella (AKA Mrs Wine Matchmaker)