A few weeks ago, we bought a whole duck because it cost the same as duck breast alone would have cost. Since then, we have used it to make Pan Roasted Duck Breast with Cherry Pecan Sauce and Duck Jalfrezi. That left us with some wings, a leg, a thigh, some bones for soup, and the giblets left to use. We are still pretty new to the world of cooking giblets (our first attempt was Goose Giblet Ravioli with Dijon Red Wine Sauce), and we really only started because we don’t like wasting. However, we will continue because…well, they can be pretty darn delicious!
This time, we decided to go with another stuffed dough entree, but instead of looking to Italy for our inspiration, we looked to the UK and opted to make a pasty. We used the same dough as in our Venison and Cheese Pasties, but the filling and flavours in this one are very different (which I think really speaks to the versatility of pasties). Anyway, if you haven’t got duck giblets laying around (putting you in the majority), you can always save your Thanksgiving turkey giblets and use them instead!
Time: 70 Minutes
Ingredients:
- Dough
- 1/2 cup of all purpose flour (makes two pasties…enjoy your math adventure if you’re making a different quantity)
- 1-2 tablespoons of butter depending on how rich you want your dough
- Undisclosed amount of cold water (because all doughs need a different amount)
- 1 Egg (used in the “combine” step)
- Filling
- Duck giblets (we used gizzard and liver)
- Kale
- Mushrooms
- Turnip
- Onion
- Cheese. We used blue cheese, but Gorgonzola, Roquefort, and cheddar would also be good choices, as all of these cheeses can stand up to the giblet flavours and add a little saltiness to the dish
- Seasonings to taste
Method:
- Dough:
- Pour your flour into the bowl of your food processor. (Once you do this once, you’ll probably throw your dough cutter/fat masher thing away)
- Cut your butter into small cubes, and toss in with the flour.
- Pulse until the butter and flour are well mixed. You should see that the fine powder of the flour has turned into very small clumps
- Add a little bit of the cold water, and pulse. Continue doing this little by little until the dough clumps together and is tacky but not too sticky. If your dough gets too liquidy and sticks to your hands, just put it back in the food processor, and add a little more flour, and pulse.
- Form your dough into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap, and stash in the fridge for 20-60 minutes or so to give the dough time to come together.
- Make your filling:
- Dice your turnip, and slice your onion. Then, sautee them in a pan with a little oil until they brown.
- While your turnip and onion starts to cook, dice your giblets and mushrooms, and de-stem and slice your kale.
- When the turnip and onion browns a little, add your mushrooms, giblets, and kale to the pan, and sautee until the meat is cooked.
- Assembly and Cooking:
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F, and line a baking sheet with some oil-sprayed foil.
- Remove your dough from the fridge, and cut it in half (unless you want to make “Megapasty”)
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out your dough halves into approximate circles. We like our pasty dough thin, so we rolled it into a large, thin circle.
- Apply your meat and veggie filling to half of the dough (leaving enough space around the edge to be able to fold and crimp later), and add any cheese you plan to use.
- Beat an egg, and brush it around the edge of your pasty dough.
- Fold the top part of your dough over your filling, and crimp the edges.
- Place your pasties on your baking sheet, and brush the top with more of your beaten egg.
- Bake for 40 minutes.
- Plate, devour, and enjoy!
