Rancher’s Pie

If you read our blog regularly, you already know that we love to make Savory Pies. There’s just something magical about filling a pie crust with non-dessert ingredients and baking it to perfection…and they usually look pretty cool when plated too. We’ve made vegetarian pies, meaty pies, full size pies, personal size pies, and we even made a Chicken Tamale Pie with White Hominy as the crust. In addition to enjoying savory pies, we also like to have fun with words in our recipe names, e.g. our Wild Mushroom Shepherd’s Pie called “Forager’s Pie.” For this one, we considered the name “Cowboy’s Pie,” but it sounded too much like “Cow Pie,” which we deemed unappetizing, so we went with “Rancher’s Pie” based on our pie filling choice.

We came up with the idea for this recipe, while taking a walk out to the mailbox. It was blustery and freezing out, which filled us with the overwhelming urge to make chili. So, we made chili, and put it in a pie crust, baked it, and topped it with shredded cheddar to melt. The big challenge we faced was figuring out how to keep the pie together as we cut it, since chili is generally stewy and tends to like to flow like lava to fill up space. To keep the chili from doing that, we added a little corn starch to thicken, and then we mixed it with two eggs to bind the ingredients together during baking. These two countermeasures produced our desired effect, and our pie pieces held together perfectly!

We served our pie with Homemade Coleslaw, but a side salad would be a solid choice as well.

Time: 90 Minutes

Ingredients:

• Your Favourite Chili. Or you can make the one we made with:
  • Ground Meat. We used Venison, but Beef would work really well too.
  • Onion
  • Garlic
  • Chipotle Chilies in Adobo Sauce
  • Mushrooms
  • Black Beans
  • Corn
  • Canned Tomatoes
  • Ground Cumin
  • Chili Powder
  • Salt
• 2 Eggs
• 1Tablespoon Corn Starch
• 2 Tablespoons Warm Water
• Shredded Cheddar Cheese
• Pie Crust (we used store bought, but you can also Make Your Own!)

Method:

• Make your chili. If using our version:
  • Dice your onion, garlic, and chipotle chilies (number of chilies to be determined based on your desired heat level). Then, heat a little oil in a large pot, and add your diced ingredients in. Sauté until your onions become opaque.
  • As your onions cook, slice your mushrooms. When your onions are ready, add your mushrooms and meat to the pan, and sprinkle in your ground cumin and chili powder. Cook to brown the meat.
  • As your meat cooks, open your beans, and rinse them. When your meat has browned, add your frozen corn and beans, and stir to combine. Cook for a few more minutes.
  • Add your canned diced tomatoes, and stir them in. Add a little salt sprinkle.
  • Allow to simmer for about 45 minutes until your tomatoes thicken around your ingredients.
  • When your tomatoes are ready, combine your corn starch and warm water, and stir to fully dissolve. Then, pour it into your chili, and let simmer as it thickens.
• As your chili finishes cooking, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F, and defrost your pie crust.
• Poke little holes in the bottom of your crust with a fork, and then bake the crust for about 10 minutes.
• When your chili is done, scoop it into a bowl, and pour in two beaten eggs. Fold the egg in until it’s fully incorporated.
• Pull your pie crust from the oven, and scoop in your chili/egg mixture. Spread evenly up to the edges.
• Place your pie in the oven, and bake for 30 minutes.
• Sprinkle your shredded cheese on top, and stash your pie back in the oven to melt the cheese.
• Plate, Devour, and Enjoy!