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Herbed duck and rabbit pie with suet crust

Australian Gourmet Traveller main course recipe for herbed duck and rabbit pie with suet crust

By Emma Knowles
  • Serves 6
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Herbed duck and rabbit pie with suet crust

Ingredients

Pie filling
  • 4 duck marylands
  • 1 rabbit, jointed
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 1 carrot, finely chopped
  • 1 stalk celery, finely chopped
  • 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
  • 25 ml dry white wine (½ cup)
  • 500 ml chicken stock (2 cups)
  • ¼ cup each finely chopped flat-leaf parsley, French tarragon and sage
  • 1 tbsp each thyme leaves and finely chopped rosemary
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten with 1 tbsp milk
  • To serve: mixed herb salad
Suet crust
  • 200 gm self-raising flour
  • 100 gm coarsely grated suet (see note)

Method

Main
  • 1
    Preheat oven to 160C. Heat a heavy-based frying pan over medium-high heat, add duck, skin-side down and cook for 5-6 minutes or until golden, turn and cook for another
    5 minutes, then transfer to a roasting pan. Add rabbit to pan and cook, turning once,
    for 5-6 minutes or until golden, then transfer to roasting pan. Drain fat from frying pan, add onion, carrot, celery and garlic and cook for 5 minutes or until soft. Add wine and cook
    for 1-2 minutes. Add stock, season to taste with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper and bring to the boil. Pour over meat, cover tightly with foil and cook for 3-4 hours or until meat falls from the bone.
  • 2
    For suet crust, combine flour, suet and 1 tsp sea salt in a bowl and rub together using fingertips until mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add 2-3 tbsp iced water until mixture just comes together, then knead on a lightly floured surface until just smooth, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours.
  • 3
    Remove meat from braising liquid and coarsely shred, discarding skin and bones. Strain braising liquid into a large saucepan, adding strained vegetables to meat. Simmer braising liquid over medium-high heat for 15 minutes or until reduced to 2 cups, then pour over meat, add herbs and mix to combine. Spoon into a 6 cup-capacity ceramic pie dish.
  • 4
    Roll pastry to 3mm thick on a lightly floured work surface, place over filling pressing to seal edges and trimming with a small sharp knife. Brush pie with eggwash and make a hole in centre of pie. Bake for 30 minutes or until pastry is golden. Serve immediately with a mixed herb salad.

Notes

Note Suet is beef or mutton fat, and is available from butchers. You may need to order it ahead.
Drink Suggestion: Cool-climate pinot noir. Drink suggestion by Max Allen

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  • undefined: Emma Knowles