Pulled Rabbit Pies
These crumbly warm pulled rabbit pies are what comfort food tastes like! Filled with slow cooked rabbit, soft potatoes, caramelised onions and a touch of cheddar cheese.
Ingredients
Pie Dough
- 500 g plain flour
- 250 g cold butter diced
- 150 ml cold water
- 1 tsp salt
Pie Filling
- 500 g rabbit thighs or shoulders
- 500 ml vegetable broth
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 2 tsp cumin
- 2 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 large white onion
- 200 g potatoes diced
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 100 g cheddar cheese grated
- Egg wash – 1 egg + milk
Instructions
Pie Dough
- In a large bowl mix together the flour and salt.
- Add the cubed cold butter and work into the flour. You can either use a pastry cutter or work with your hands. If you're using your hands, you have to work fast so as not to melt the butter. Rub in all the butter in the flour until you have a coarse mixture with small pebbles of butter. This process can be also done in a food processor.
- Slowly start adding a tablespoon at a time of cold water, while forming a smooth dough. Your dough might require less or more water.
- Once the dough is ready, wrap into some cling film and store in the fridge for at least half an hour.
Caramelised onions
- In a large skillet, heat the olive oil, add the sliced onions and season with salt. Let the onions cook over medium heat. Do not stir until they start browning. Stir and let them cook until they are all browned and caramelised. Once done, let cool and set aside until ready to use.
Pie Filling
- In a dutch oven, add the olive oil and gently fry the rabbit until golden on both sides. This should take about 5 minutes.
- Add the vegetable stock, cover the pot and let cook on medium heat for about 1 hour until the meat is fork tender.
- Halfway through the cooking, add the chopped potatoes to the dutch oven. Let everything cook until tender.
Assembly
- Line a baking tray with parchment paper. Set aside.
- On a floured surface open the pie dough into a large circle of about 5mm thickness. With a small plate or a medium sized cutter, cut 12cm circles.
- Place about 2 tbsps of the pulled rabbit, 1 tsp cheese, 1 tsp caramelised onions and a couple of potatoes in the middle of the circle. Make sure to leave space around the edges of the filling. With a pastry brush, paint the edges of the dough around the filling with the egg wash. This will help you achieve a secure closing of the pies. Fold over the other half of the dough and press the ends together around the filling with your finger. You can either leave them as such or else press them down further with a fork.
- Place the pies on the lined baking tray and place in the fridge for about 30 minutes. This step helps the dough to remain closed while baking, although no worries if some of the juices ooze out while baking.
- Preheat the oven to 220°C or 430°F.**
- Once ready to bake, brush the top and sides of the pies with the egg wash. On the top part of the pies, slit two small cuts with a sharp knife.
- Bake the pies for about 20 minutes or until they have a nice golden brown colour. Let the pies cool slightly before serving and enjoy!
Notes
* The filling for these pies can be also prepared the day before and let cool overnight. Or else you can use leftover ingredients.
**You can also make these in an air fryer with the following settings: 200°C and bake for 15 minutes.
- You can freeze these pies before or after cooking.