Course
Small Bites
Duration
1 hour
Serves
18 pastries
I love sharing wild game with friends and family during the holiday season. With big gatherings in mind, I developed this sweet and savory puff pastry using ground wild hog meat and MeatEater’s new Waddle & Snood Honey Citrus Pecan seasoning.
Waddle & Snood is a unique and delicious spice blend. It has a sweet, nutty flavor that is balanced with woody herbs like thyme. This seasoning pairs well with any white meat. I used wild hog meat, but you can substitute turkey thighs, mountain lion backstrap, and others.
Serve these pastries as appetizers at your next get-together or with a side of eggs for a hearty winter brunch.
Ingredients
- 2 puff pastry sheets, defrosted but chilled
- Oil for cooking
- 1/2 yellow onion, chopped
- 1 lb. ground wild game, such as wild hog
- 1/3 cup apple cider
- 1/4 cup MeatEater Waddle & Snood Spice Mix
- 2 cups grated gruyere, white cheddar, or sliced brie
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/4 cup chopped pecans
- Thyme for garnish (optional)
- Flaky finishing salt (optional)
Also works with
Special equipment
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees and grease a muffin tin generously.
- Heat a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Once hot, add a tablespoon of cooking oil or butter. Sauté the chopped onion for several minutes, stirring occasionally until soft and translucent. Transfer the onion to a bowl and set aside.
- Add an additional tablespoon of oil to the pan and brown the meat. Pour in the apple cider, scraping up the bits of browned cracklings at the bottom. Allow the meat to soak up the mixture, then sprinkle in the MeatEater Waddle & Snood and reserved onions. Stir well to combine and remove from the heat.
- While the meat cools, prepare the puff pastries. Remove the puff pastry from the box and discard the paper. Cut each sheet into nine squares and lightly roll out into a rectangle. You should end up with 18 total. Lay each puff pastry square into the muffin tin.
- Scoop a small spoonful into each puff pastry. Sprinkle the tops with enough grated cheese to cover. Brush the pastry tops with the beaten egg and transfer to the oven.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown and the cheese has melted.
- While the pastries bake, heat butter and honey into a small pot over medium heat. Whisk together to emulsify and bring to a boil. Turn off the heat and keep warm.
- Serve the pastries with a drizzle of honey-butter, chopped pecans, fresh thyme, and flaky finishing salt.
I love sharing wild game with friends and family during the holiday season. With big gatherings in mind, I developed this sweet and savory puff pastry using ground wild hog meat and MeatEater’s new Waddle & Snood Honey Citrus Pecan seasoning.
Waddle & Snood is a unique and delicious spice blend. It has a sweet, nutty flavor that is balanced with woody herbs like thyme. This seasoning pairs well with any white meat. I used wild hog meat, but you can substitute turkey thighs, mountain lion backstrap, and others.
Serve these pastries as appetizers at your next get-together or with a side of eggs for a hearty winter brunch.
Ingredients
- 2 puff pastry sheets, defrosted but chilled
- Oil for cooking
- 1/2 yellow onion, chopped
- 1 lb. ground wild game, such as wild hog
- 1/3 cup apple cider
- 1/4 cup MeatEater Waddle & Snood Spice Mix
- 2 cups grated gruyere, white cheddar, or sliced brie
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/4 cup chopped pecans
- Thyme for garnish (optional)
- Flaky finishing salt (optional)
Also works with
Special equipment
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees and grease a muffin tin generously.
- Heat a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Once hot, add a tablespoon of cooking oil or butter. Sauté the chopped onion for several minutes, stirring occasionally until soft and translucent. Transfer the onion to a bowl and set aside.
- Add an additional tablespoon of oil to the pan and brown the meat. Pour in the apple cider, scraping up the bits of browned cracklings at the bottom. Allow the meat to soak up the mixture, then sprinkle in the MeatEater Waddle & Snood and reserved onions. Stir well to combine and remove from the heat.
- While the meat cools, prepare the puff pastries. Remove the puff pastry from the box and discard the paper. Cut each sheet into nine squares and lightly roll out into a rectangle. You should end up with 18 total. Lay each puff pastry square into the muffin tin.
- Scoop a small spoonful into each puff pastry. Sprinkle the tops with enough grated cheese to cover. Brush the pastry tops with the beaten egg and transfer to the oven.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown and the cheese has melted.
- While the pastries bake, heat butter and honey into a small pot over medium heat. Whisk together to emulsify and bring to a boil. Turn off the heat and keep warm.
- Serve the pastries with a drizzle of honey-butter, chopped pecans, fresh thyme, and flaky finishing salt.