In anticipation of our Evening of Vintage Wine & Venison on 20 August, we would like to share a recipe for Game Pie from our Cape Winelands Cuisine Cookbook.

The traditional method for making game pie by stewing the game with marrowbones and/or strips of unsmoked pork/bacon (spek) or mutton tail fat and a combination of spices- such as cloves, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, coriander, pepper, nutmeg, and bay leaves, and brown sugar, vinegar and wine- is still in use today, in the Cape Winelands. In the original recipe bacon could be substituted for marrow for added richness. Some cooks prefer to add herbs such as thyme, sage and rosemary.

Do serve it with a glass of our 2011 La Motte Syrah!

Game Pie Recipe

Serves 8

Ingredients

1 kg venison shoulder or leg, cubed

200 g smoked bacon, cut into thin strips

3 cups (750 ml) good quality dry red wine

1 tsp (5 ml) ground cinnamon

6 whole cloves (wrapped in a muslin bag)

¼ tsp (1 ml) ground ginger

Pinch of saffron (optional)

2 Tbsp (30 ml) lamb’s tail fat, lard or oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 onion, chopped

1 cup (250 ml) dried peaches

2 Tbsp (30 ml) brown sugar

8 cups (2 litres) venison, beef or lamb stock or water

1 buttermilk pastry (please see below*)

Milk, for brushing

Freshly ground sea salt