Make your very own Game of Thrones Frey Pie, with carrots, parsnips, turnips, mushrooms, bacon, and ground PORK wrapped in a delicious buttermilk pie crust.
Have you been following my Creepy Recipes From Fiction series this month? So far I’ve posted Sanguinaccio Dolce from Hannibal, Spectre Apple Pie (Cupcakes) from Big Fish, and Crimson Peak-inspired Red Velvet Lava Cakes. For the final recipe, I figured I’d go big: Frey Pie from Game of Thrones!
Yup, *that pie*.
One of the more memorable scenes from Game of Thrones last season was when we finally saw Arya in full-blown assassin mode, getting her Stark revenge on the house that murdered her family by feeding Walder Frey a savory pie made from his own sons.
HBO via IHEARTGOT
Watching that old man lift up the top of a meat pie and find a finger inside was a pretty satisfying moment.
See Also: Direwolf Claws
I really wanted to make this pie right after that episode aired, but I had just posted a Hannibal recipe for Lomo Saltado and figured that one cannibal recipe was probably enough for a young food blog.
Fast forward a few months, and I still haven’t seen a Frey Pie recipe pop up, there are now two Hannibal recipes on the blog, and I’ve just accepted that Baking Mischief will have a higher-than-average number of cannibal recipes (¯\_(ツ)_/¯). So here we go.
Arya’s Frey Pie doesn’t actually exist in the novels, so I didn’t have an official description to base this recipe off of. The Arya/Frey pie story line is cribbed from another character in the books, Lord Manderly (the awesome Inn at the Crossroads has actually made his pie).
But the description of his pies,”…flaky crusts stuffed to bursting with carrots, onions, turnips, parsnips, mushrooms, and chunks of seasoned pork swimming in a savory brown gravy…” doesn’t quite jibe with the pie we see in the episode, which clearly uses minced, not chunked Frey.
So this pie is a blend of the two, a flaky pie crust stuffed full of carrots, onions, turnips, parsnips, mushrooms, and made with ground pork. I also added bacon for flavoring since ground pork can be a bit bland. The result is a pie that looks pretty darn close to the show pie (minus a Frey finger) and one that is suuuuuuper tasty.
Seriously, this thing is so good, it might actually work its way into my regular winter rotation. We’ll just not tell people where the recipe inspiration came from. Kay? 🙂
Frey Pie Recipe Notes
- To get a nice tall pie like Arya makes on the show, you are going to need an 8-inch extra-tall springform pan*. If you want to use your standard 9-inch pie pan, you will only need 1 batch of My Favorite Buttermilk Pie Crust (rather than 1 1/2 batch), and you can cut the filling in half.
- If you are short on time, filling and pie dough can be made a day in advance and stored covered/tightly wrapped in the refrigerator. Just make sure to let the dough sit out on the counter for 10 to 15 minutes (less on a very hot day) before rolling so your dough doesn’t crack when you roll it out.
- Unless you have a very large food processor (larger than 11 cups) or are making the pie crust by hand, you will have to make the top and bottom crusts separately. Don’t try to fit all that dough into a small food processor. Bad things will happen…
- Making this pie requires some serious chopping time for all the vegetables. Might I recommend some Fantastic Podcasts to Cook to to pass the time? (There’s a pair of great Game of Thrones podcasts in there.)
- Plan on serving the pie on your springform tray. This pie weighs about 6 pounds, and while quite sturdy to cut and serve with a pie server*, I do not trust the integrity of the bottom crust when warm to move as a whole (cold leftovers moved fine for storage).
Novice bakers, deep-dish pies can be a little challenging because you have to roll out and work with a huge piece of dough. I’ve included some extra dough tips below the recipe.
Game of Thrones Frey Pie
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 whole batch My Favorite Buttermilk Pie Crust bottom crust, do not separate in two, prepared and chilled
- 1 half batch My Favorite Buttermilk Pie Crust top crust, prepared and chilled
Meat
- 8 ounces thick-cut bacon chopped 1-inch
- 2 pounds ground pork
Vegetables (all diced 1/4 to 1/2-inch)
- 1 medium onion diced
- 2 large carrots diced
- 2 large parsnips diced
- 8 ounces mushrooms diced
- 1 small turnip diced
- 1 cup water
- Salt and pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed rosemary
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
Gravy
- 1/4 cup (2oz) butter
- 1/4 cup (30g) all-purpose flour
- 2 cups chicken broth
Egg White + Wash
- 1 egg white
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon milk
Instructions
Start Crust
- Lightly grease your springform pan with butter. On a well-floured surface, roll out the full batch of pie dough out to a 17-inch round (leave the half batch in the refrigerator). Fold the edges of your dough in so you have a square smaller than your springform pan that you can pick up. Place the dough inside the pan and unfold it, gently manipulating the dough so it is evenly distributed over the pan. Trim the overhang so only 1 inch remains.
- If there are any tears, patch them with the scraps, using a tiny bit of water as glue. Place the pie crust in the refrigerator.
Prepare Filling
- In a large pot (with a lid), cook bacon over medium heat until cooked through but not too crispy. Use a large slotted spoon to transfer bacon to a plate, leaving the bacon drippings.
- Add ground pork to the pot. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and cook over medium until cooked through. Use your large slotted spoon to remove pork and transfer to a second plate. Add onions to the the pot and cook over medium for 4 to 5 minutes until onions are just starting to turn translucent around the edges. Add in the rest of the diced vegetables and the cooked ground pork.
- Add 1 cup water and cover. Simmer covered for 10 minutes. Uncover, stir, and continue to simmer uncovered until water is evaporated and vegetables are just fork tender.
Make the Gravy
- While your meat and vegetables simmer, in a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Whisk in flour and cook until lightly browned, about 1 minute. Whisk in broth, beating out any lumps that form. Continue to cook, whisking constantly until mixture thickens and begins to bubble, 4 to 6 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Once your meat and vegetables are done, stir in the gravy. Add rosemary, oregano, and salt and pepper to taste. Your mixture should be fairly salty. Don't be afraid to add more!
- Cool for at least 30 minutes, stirring occasionally to speed up the cooling process. Once mixture is mostly cooled, stir in bacon.
Assemble
- Make sure your pie dish will fit in your oven, if not, move the top rack down. Preheat your oven to 400°F and place a rimmed baking sheet on the top rack to catch drips in case your pan leaks and to help cook your bottom crust (if using a glass or ceramic pie pan, skip this step as a hot baking sheet can cause them to shatter).
- In a small bowl, whisk the egg white until frothy and brush over the inside bottom of your chilled, prepared pie crust. Pour meat mixture over the top, mounding it the highest in the center, and roll out your half batch of dough for the top. Place dough over the top of your pie and trim the overhang so that it is even with the bottom crust. Roll the dough under and either flute or crimp the edges to seal. Just make sure all of the crust is inside of the springform pan so it doesn't break when you release the pan.
- Whisk together egg and milk and brush over the top of the pie.
- Cut a few slashes in the top of the pie for steam to escape.
- Place your pie on the preheated tray in the oven and bake for 55 to 65 minutes, until the crust is cooked through and filling bubbly. Check on the pie at around 40 minutes and cover loosely with foil if browning too quickly.
- Allow pie to cool in the pan (do not open up the springform pan) for at least 15 minutes before releasing and cutting.
- Enjoy!
Recipe Adapted From Michael Symon (original recipe post on the internet no longer exists)
Some more dough tips…
- Don’t be afraid to use plenty of flour (over and under your dough and on the rolling pin) while rolling to make sure your dough does not stick. Just dust it off the excess with a pastry brush before draping over your pan.
- When rolling your dough, place your rolling pin in the center of the dough, roll up, place your pin back in the middle and roll down. Pick up your dough, give it a quarter turn, and repeat. If at any time your dough begins to stick, add more flour. After your dough is basically circle-shaped, you don’t have to pick it up and rotate it constantly, but you want to make sure that you can always pick up your dough and that it has not started to stick to your rolling surface.
- Don’t rush, but you want to work fairly quickly because dough will become more difficult to work with as the butter melts.
- And if your dough tears, don’t sweat it!! You can patch your dough using scraps and a tiny bit of water as “glue.”
Shawna says
I’ve used this recipe at least 3 times! We love it. I can’t always find the right veggies so I substituted as needed and it worked great!
I threw all my veggies in the food processor to save time and it made it more minced but still delicious. I got in a fight with my food processor and almost ended up with a real finger in the pie!
Tracy says
LOL, happy to hear this was only *almost* an authentic people pie! And love the idea of using a food processor for the veggies. I’m going to try that next time!
Joe says
Made this for Pi day at work. Printed the story line to go with it. Being one of only two savory pies, it was gobbled up. Everyone commented on how good it was. I thought it was great and it will stay in my recipe book. Thanks for sharing this delicious recipe.
Tracy says
I love that you made Frey pie for a work event, and I’m so happy to hear that everyone enjoyed it!
Lin says
We have a March to the Wall party in March the last 2 years. The first year it was hosted by the Starks. I saw you recipe for Frey Pie. I had to make it. So we did and everyone loved it. My 26 year old daughter even asked that I make it again for her July birthday. Thanks for the recipe. Big hit!
Tracy says
I’m so happy to hear this! Thanks for dropping back by to let me know. And a March to the Wall party sounds SO fun!
Megan says
wondering how the crust would stand up if used in a victorian raised pie tin? i’ve only ever used hot water pastry in it.
Tracy says
If it’s one with designs, I’m not sure. I’ve never tried this crust in one. Another option is that you could make this pie filling with a hot water crust. It’s a more traditional crust for this sort of pie anyway.
Alicia says
This was sooooo good! I made this pie for my husband’s GoT themed birthday and he was blown away. I used chicken instead of pork and it turned out great. The crust was DELICIOUS and it looked so pretty. We had a really neat dragon egg cake with a wing coming out of it but the pie stole the show. Thank you very much!! I’ll be using your small batch pumpkin chocolate chip cookies for Thanksgiving, they look yummy!
Tracy says
This makes me so happy to hear. Thanks for taking the time to report back, and that cake sounds amazing! Hope you enjoy the cookies at Thanksgiving.
Nelson Downs says
Found this recipe last week and made it for dinner tonight. It was awesome!! Both my wife and I had two helpings. Have decided to make this as a comfort food during the winter as it was very delicious.
Thank you for the recipe!
Nelson Downs
Tracy says
Thanks for taking the time to comment, Nelson. I’m so glad you both enjoyed it!!
Ken Z says
Seems like ground beef would go well with all the veggies?
Tracy says
I haven’t tried it, but it would probably taste great. You might need to pour off some of the fat though, depending on what percentage lean beef you use.
Olivia says
I made the half recipe version for a GotT party and everyone really liked it, so much that I’m making it again but the full recipe!
Tracy says
Yay! I’m so happy everyone enjoyed it!!
Christine Richardson says
Question…when you sliced this pie up did it stay together? I just worry with it being so deep it falling apart when serving. I wonder if there’s any tips for a newbie pie maker to keep a pie pretty and intact upon slicing! 🙂
Tracy says
Hi, Christine. I didn’t have any trouble with it falling apart. The slice in the post photos is a pretty good representation of how this pie cuts–I didn’t have to do any touch ups or magic to hold it together. 😉 There are a couple things I would do to ensure clean slices though.
-Let the pie rest like it says in the recipe–don’t try to cut a super warm pie right out of the oven.
-Use a serrated knife with a sharp point to cut so you can kind of saw through the crust rather than just pushing down which can press filling out.
-Cut single slices one at a time instead of cutting it like a pizza.
-Use pie server to move the slices. This pie’s pretty wet so the bottom crust is not super sturdy.
Hope this helps! And good luck!!
Melissa says
Do you think I could make mini pies in muffin tins? How would that change up the recipe?
Tracy says
That would work, but I’ve never done it so I couldn’t tell you a baking time–it would definitely be significantly shorter–or how many it would yield. Other than the cooking time, you should be able to make them with no other changes to the recipe.
Amy says
Any suggestions if I use whole wheat flour instead? Thanks!
Tracy says
Hi Amy, I’ve never made pie crust with whole wheat flour before, so I’m not sure how it would do with the buttermilk crust. I’m guessing it would require a little more buttermilk to come together. If you want to experiment, I would start with the amount suggested in the recipe and then drizzle in a tiny bit more at a time until you can squeeze the dough crumbs together and have it clump in your hand.
Your other option would be to use a tried and tested whole wheat flour pie crust recipe. You’ll need a double crust for the bottom of the pie and a single crust for the top. I did a little research and it seems like whole wheat crusts are a little more temperamental than white, so make sure to let your dough sit out for a few minutes after chilling so you can roll it out without it cracking. Hope that helps!
Dahn @savor the Best says
Wow this is one big pie. When you said it weighs 6 pounds I was floored! It looks like an amazing meal and would last quite a while in my home. I hope it freezes well because I will have to freeze part of it… there are only two of us in the home these days.
Tracy says
Thanks, Dahn! I was shocked too when I weighed it. That thing was really a monster!! I’ve never frozen this pie, but I have a feeling it would freeze well, because I freeze this crust (with great success) all the time and the filling ingredients are all super freezer friendly.
Julie | Bunsen Burner Bakery says
Love how deep dish this pie is! Might be time for me to get a deeper springform pan. I skipped over the text you wrote about the show, because I have fantasies of someday finishing the books and then MAYBE actually watching the TV show, but it will probably be 15 years before this happens. 😉
Tracy says
Ha, thanks for risking spoilers to leave a comment! Look on the bright side, if if takes you 15 years to get around to finishing the books, maybe the series will actually be complete by the time you read them! 😉
Julie says
Love GOT and think this is agreat idea to create a meal off of the show.
Tracy says
Thanks, Julie! This was a really fun one. 🙂
Nancy Mock says
It looks and sounds amazing… and thank god you left out the finger!
Tracy says
Ha! I totally brainstormed ways of incorporating a prop finger or drawing one in, but then decided it was too gross even for me. 😉
Anjali @ Vegetarian Gastronomy says
LOVE game of thrones and LOVE that you did a post inspired by the show!! I’ve actually been meaning to make a savory pie like this for awhile! Loved reading the post!
Tracy says
Thanks, Anjali!! And you totally should. I’d love to try out a vegetarian/vegan pie!
Kim says
I’m definitely going to make this! Thinking of carving a parsnip to look like a finger to bake in the pie !
Tracy says
OMG I love that idea! Would you please send me a picture of it if you do?!
Cindy says
I had to try this receipe! I didn’t find parsnips so I add Okinawa sweet potato. I also added some garlic and bay leaf when making the pork filling. It came out fantastic! Definately a receipe to do again.
Tracy says
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Cindy! I love the idea of using sweet potatoes in with the veggies!