Venison Shepherd’s Pie from Scratch
The ultimate comfort food! This hearty shepherd’s pie is bursting at the seams with flavor. Venison mince, veggies, and gravy topped with the most incredible mashed potatoes.
Venison Shepherd’s Pie from Scratch
Course: MainDifficulty: Medium6
servings30
minutes1
hour1
hour30
minutesIngredients
- Shepherd’s Pie Filling
2 Lbs Ground venison
1 1/2 Medium-sized yellow onions, chopped
2 Carrots, peeled and chopped into small pieces
3 Celery ribs, chopped into small pieces
3 Garlic cloves, minced
3/4 Cups Dry red wine (like Merlot)
2 1/2 Tablespoons Tomato paste
1 1/2 Tablespoons Beef paste (like the Better Than Bouillon brand)
2 teaspoons Soy sauce (or Worcestershire sauce, optionally)
1 1/2 teaspoon Fresh thyme leaves
1 1/4 cups Beef stock
3/4 cup Frozen peas
2 Tablespoons Fresh parsley, chopped
Olive oil
Kosher salt
Black pepper
2 2/2 Tablespoons All-purpose flour
1/3 cup Fresh grated Parmesan cheese
- Mashed Potatoes
4 Russet potatoes
4 Tablespoons Butter
1/2 cup Heavy cream
1/3 cup Fresh grated Parmesan cheese
1 Egg yolk
Kosher salt
Black pepper
Directions
- Shepherd’s Pie
- Heat olive oil in large, deep skillet – ideally cast iron. Brown the ground venison. Continue cooking until the released liquid has cooked off.
- To the pan, add carrots, celery, onion, and garlic. Season with a heavy pinch of salt and pepper, and the fresh thyme. Stir and let cook for a few minutes.
- Stir in the red wine and let cook for 3-5 minutes. Then stir in the tomato paste, beef paste, and soy sauce. Cook for another 3-5 minutes.
- Stir in the flour, and cook for 2 minutes. Then stir in the beef broth. Bring to a low simmer, and let cook for 5-8 minutes. The mixture should thicken into a nice gravy.
- Stir in parsley and peas. Press the mixture down with spoon so it’s as even and compacted in the pan as it can be. Note – if using a casserole dish instead of baking the whole pie in the skillet, you should transfer the mixture to the dish at this point.
- Let the filling rest in the skillet (or casserole dish) for 5-10 minutes. Then spoon the mashed potatoes over top, taking care to spread them out evenly across the entire surface. Then using the tines of a fork, gently scrape some grooves into the top of the mashed potatoes. This creates many tiny peaks that will become crispy in the oven. Note – if you want a quite thick layer of mashed potatoes, use the entire batch. Otherwise, just apply the potatoes until the layer is as thick as you want it.
- Sprinkle 1/3 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese over top.
- Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 35 minutes. Then turn on the broiler, and broil for 5-8 minutes, until the top is a rich golden brown color. Take care not to broil for too long, or you will risk burning.
- Mashed Potatoes
- Peel the potatoes and cut into evenly-sized chunks. Immediately put them into a pot of water. Boil until fork-tender.
- Strain out the water and return potatoes to the pot. Add the butter, heavy cream, egg yolk, and a big pinch of salt and pepper. Mash or whip the potatoes. Then add in 1/3 cup of fresh grated Parmesan cheese and whip some more.
- Cover the potatoes and set aside until ready for them.
