Claudette Taillefer’s Christmas Meat Pie
Claudette Taillefer’s Christmas Meat Pie
Ingredients
- 2 onions, chopped
- 2 carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
- Marjoram, savory and thyme, to taste (or, alternatively, dried Herbes de Provence)
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 stalk celery, sliced
- 3 cloves garlic, crushed
- 2 cups (500 ml) white wine
- Salt and pepper
- 1 duck, deboned and cubed
- 1 hare, deboned and cubed
- 1/2 lb (250 g) thick bacon slices, cut into small dice
- 2 large pastry crusts
- 10 potatoes, peeled and diced
- 1 cup (250 ml) chicken broth or stock, approximately
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine all of the marinade ingredients. Add the meat, except for the bacon, cover and let marinate overnight in the refrigerator.
- With the rack in the lowest position, preheat the oven to 180 °C (350 °F).
- In a large saucepan, brown the bacon and add to meat mixture. Set aside.
- Roll out the dough. Line a heavy 2.5 litres (10 cups) saucepan with 1 sheet of dough. Cover with a layer of meat and a layer of potatoes. Repeat until the pan is full (it will need about 4 layers of meat and 3 layers of potatoes). Pour the remaining marinade and the broth over the meat.
- Cover with the remaining pastry dough. Make a hole in the centre of the pie. Place an aluminum foil funnel, 2.5-cm (1-inch) deep, to prevent the juices from overflowing. Decorate the pie with the leftover dough. Bake for 1 hour, reduce the oven’s temperature to 120 °C (250 °F). Bake for another 4 hours. If the pie gets too dark, cover with aluminum foil.
Claudette Taillefer’s Christmas Meat Pie