This pot pie recipe has a golden, buttery and flaky crust with a flavorful, melt in your mouth bison short rib filling. What could be better or more satisfying on chilly evenings at home with your loved ones? The meltingly tender meat of our bison short ribs makes for an unbeatable pie that is so delicious, it’ll disappear before you know it.

Short ribs are one of the team’s favorite cuts here at the Beck & Bulow offices in Santa Fe for their flavor and incredible texture when slow cooked. This pie is a delicious way to enjoy this excellent cut of meat and perfect for the cool temperatures as the season shifts. If you’d like to cut some time, just use a premade crust - although it’s always hard to beat homemade.

Also Read: Mediterranean Comfort Food: Greek Moussaka With Bison

If You Like Beef, You’re Going To Love Bison

If you’ve never eaten bison before, you’re probably curious what it tastes like. The simple answer is that if you like the flavor of beef, you’re going to absolutely love bison. It’s very similar, but with a slightly sweeter taste. It’s naturally leaner and more tender. It has no “gamey” flavor whatsoever.

The key to preparing delicious bison is not to overcook it. It always needs to be cooked less than you would typically cook the same cut of beef. When cooked too much, bison will become tough - we always recommend cooking to medium rare for the ultimate flavor and texture. From premium steaks to fajita meat to burgers, any dish you’re used to cooking with beef will be amazing when prepared with bison.

Free Range Bison, Raised The Way Nature Intended

Our bison live free range on 20,000 beautiful acres here in New Mexico, or roam freely on our carefully selected partner ranches. They are pasture raised and never administered any amount of hormones, steroids or antibiotics. These are powerful, strong animals that live essentially wild with minimal handling. There were once 60 million bison roaming North America, and we hope to see their numbers increase back to even 1 million during our lifetime.

By increasing the demand for ethically sourced bison meat, we can help to bolster their population. The more people that want to purchase this nourishing and nutrient dense meat, the more farmers will be encouraged to raise bison. This directly helps to increase the number of herds which assists in providing genetic diversity for the population.

Also Read: Recipe: Korean BBQ Style Slow Braised Bison Short Ribs

Ingredients:

For the crust:

• 3 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons sea salt
• ½ cup unsalted butter, chilled, chopped into cubes
• ½ cup bison tallow

For the pie:

• 4 pounds of bison short ribs
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• ½ cup all purpose flour + extra
• 2 tablespoons avocado oil
• 10 oz pearl onions, fresh or thawed frozen ones
• 4 large cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 2 cups dry red wine
• 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
• 6 whole sprigs of fresh thyme + 2 tablespoons chopped thyme
• Flaky sea salt
• ¼ cup heavy cream for brushing on the crust

Also Read: Puerto Rican Spiced Ground Bison & Plantain Lasagna Recipe

Instructions:

1. To make the crust, pulse the flour and salt in a food processor. Add the cold butter and bison tallow to the food processor and continue to pulse until there are only a few pea-sized chunks of butter left.
2. Transfer the crust mixture to a large bowl. Drizzle ½ cup of super cold ice water over the top. Use a fork to combine, just until the mixture comes together into a dough.
3. Lightly knead the dough with your hands just until all of the dough is moistened. Add more ice water a tiny bit at a time if more is needed. Form the dough into a disk and wrap it up in plastic to chill. Refrigerate for a minimum of 2 hours, until the dough is firm (you can make the dough up to 48 hours in advance).
4. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
5. Prepare the short ribs by seasoning generously with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper on all sides. Heat oil in a large pot or dutch oven over medium-high heat. Toss the ribs in ½ cup of flour, then shake off the excess and brown them in batches for 10 minutes each batch, turning occasionally so they brown evenly all over. Transfer the browned ribs to a large baking tray using tongs. Allow to cool until it is possible to remove the meat from the bones. Discard the bones or save them for broth. Cut the meat into 2 inch chunks. Transfer the meat to a large mixing bowl and set aside.
6. Add the pearl onions to the same large pot or dutch oven. Cook until golden brown, stirring occasionally. Season to taste with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Transfer the cooked onions to a small bowl and set aside.
7. Reduce the heat to medium and add the minced garlic to the pot. Cook for approximately two minutes, stirring frequently.
8. Add the tomato paste to the pot. Stir constantly until the color darkens slightly, approximately 6-7 minutes.
9. Add the red wine and sprigs of rosemary and thyme to the pot. Bring to a boil and cook, occasionally scraping the browned bits up from the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon. Cook until the liquid reduces down to half, approximately 10 minutes.
10. Add six cups of water to the pot. Bring to a boil.
11. Return the meat from the short ribs back to the pot. Season to taste with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, until the meat is incredibly tender. The liquid should be significantly thickened. This should take approximately 2.5-3 hours.
12. Add the browned onions and chopped thyme to the pot. Stir enough to break up the meat into smaller pieces. Season to taste with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper and remove the sprigs of rosemary and thyme.
13. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and roll the dough out on a floured surface. Make it an even ⅛ inch thick.
14. Transfer the filling to an 8 inch square baking dish. Carefully place the crust on top and trim off excess, leaving a little along the edges to tuck under and crimp with a fork or your fingers. Make a few slits for venting in the top of the crust.
15. Brush heavy cream on top of the pie. Sprinkle sea salt over the top.
16. Bake the pie in the preheated oven until the crust is golden brown, approximately 50 minutes.
17. Let the pie cool for approximately 10 minutes before serving.