Step 1

Melt the butter in a large saute or sauce pan.

Step 2

Add in the venison meat and onion and cook until no pink is left showing on the meat.

Step 3

Tip the flour into the pan and stir to coat the meat evenly.

Step 4

When the flour has dried up all the moisture in the pan, pour in a little of the hot stock.Stir well and when it starts to look smooth and creamy, add in a little more stock. Continue until all of the stock is used up.

Step 5

Season with the cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and pepper.Stir well then pour into the slow cooker.

Step 6

Switch on to high and cook for 4-5 hours, or low and cook for 7-8 hours.

Step 7

Preheat the oven to 200C/gas 6 (400F).

Step 8

Roll out the shortcrust pastry and use it to line a pie dish. Aim to have the pastry overhang the pie dish by about 2cm (1”).The pie dish I used measured 25cm x 20cm (10” x 8”), and 5cm (2”) deep. I could have comfortably used a slightly smaller dish for the amount of filling this recipe makes so don’t worry if yours is a little smaller.

Step 9

When the deer meat is soft and tender, ladle it into the pie shell.Level it out into an even layer.

Step 10

Beat an egg in a small bowl, then use a pastry brush to swipe the egg wash around the rim of the shortcrust pastry shell.

Step 11

Roll out the puff pastry and carefully lift it on top of the pie. Use your thumbs to press the pastry lid down onto the pastry base to seal. Then slowly work around the pie pressing as you go to seal the lid shut.Use a small paring knife to carefully trim the pastry all the way around, and to create a small vent hole in the centre of the pie lid.

Step 12

Brush the lid of the pie with the egg wash, and place the pie into the preheated oven for 10 minutes.After 0 minutes, reduce the heat to 180C/Gas4 (350F) and cook for a final 10 minutes.

Step 13

Remove from the oven, cut into 6 portions and serve.

Step 14

Leftover slices of pie can be cooled to room temperature, covered in foil and placed in the fridge for up to 3 days.To reheat, bake for 40 minutes at 170C/gas 3 (340F). Leftovers are also delicious served cold.Once it has been chilled in the fridge each slice can be wrapped tightly in foil and stored in the freezer. It will defrost and reheat perfectly.