Partridge Pot Pie with Herbed Biscuit Topping

I found myself in the lucky situation of having a lot of birds to cook, and the not so lucky situation of having my first nasty head cold of the season. I craved something hearty, comforting, and good for me. Chicken soup never sounds good to me, so my wonderful wife suggested we make some pot pies out of the chukar, Huns, and pheasant cluttering up our counter. A veteran of the Internet recipe sites and a great cook, Leslie found a recipe, modified it a bit, and – voila! – it was fantastic and easy. The hardest part was cleaning the birds (not that I’m complaining). Enjoy!

Partridge Pot Pie with Herbed Biscuit Topping

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter, in all
• 1 to 4 cups cooked wild game bird – chukar, Hun, grouse, or pheasant, cubed in bite-sized chunks (we used just one chukar breast for these four pies; one bird per pie is ideal)
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 3 celery ribs, chopped
• 3 carrots, chopped
• 2/3 cup frozen peas
• 8 button mushrooms, sliced
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 2/3 cup half-and-half cream
• salt and ground black pepper to taste
• 1 can of “jumbo-sized” refrigerated flaky biscuits
• Dried thyme, for topping

Makes four individual servings.

Directions:

1. Make sure your bird dog is nearby, preferably napping with his pet monkey
2. Clean your birds, and make sure you have a good IPA to accompany this grisly chore
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 C)
4. Melt 1/4 C butter in skillet over high heat, and brown (sear) the cubed bird meat and put aside.
5. Melt remaining 1/4 C butter in a skillet over medium-low heat, and cook the onion, celery, carrots, and mushrooms until the vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in peas, parsley, thyme and flour, and cook, stirring constantly, until the flour coats the vegetables and begins to fry, about 5 minutes. Stir in chicken broth and half-and-half, and cook until the sauce is thick and bubbling. Season to taste with salt and black pepper, and mix in the bird meat.
6. Cut biscuits in half, making two discs. Put one disc in the bottom of a baking dish.
7. Transfer the meat, vegetables, and sauce into the baking dishes. Arrange top half of biscuits on top of the filling. Sprinkle with dried thyme.
8. Bake in the preheated oven until the biscuits are golden brown and the pie filling is bubbling, 20 to 25 minutes. Let rest 10 minutes before serving.

Saute with mushrooms