This is a classic winter recipe in our household. Wild game Shepherd’s Pie is the perfect recipe for ANY ground wild game you may have in your freezer. Most recently we made the dish with venison and its seriously to-die-for.

Traditionally Shepherd’s Pie is served with beef. But, compared to beef, venison is a moist, tender, high-in-protein, lean game meat. When looking at any dish that calls for beef, you can substitute any wild game.

Our recent venison Shepherd’s Pie had a rich, meaty venison filling covered with fluffy, creamy mashed potatoes. If you’d like to impress you next house guests with a delicious meal, we suggest to serve it with red wine, like Pinot Noir, Syrah, or Zinfandel. Enjoy!

Ingredients

For the potatoes:

• 1 1/2 pounds russet potatoes
• 1/4 cup half-and-half
• 2 ounces unsalted butter
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 egg yolk

For the meat filling:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 – 3/4 onion chopped
• 2 carrots, peeled and diced small [frozen carrots work well too]
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 pounds ground wild game
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 2 teaspoons freshly chopped rosemary leaves
• 1 teaspoon freshly chopped thyme leaves
• 1/2 cup fresh or frozen English peas

Directions

1. Peel the potatoes and cut into 1/2-inch dice. Place in a medium saucepan and cover with cold water. Set over high heat, cover and bring to a boil. Once boiling, uncover, decrease the heat to maintain a simmer and cook until tender and easily crushed with tongs, approximately 10 to 15 minutes. Drain the potatoes and then return to the saucepan. Mash the potatoes and then add the half and half, butter, salt and pepper and continue to mash until smooth. Stir in the yolk until well combined.
2. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
3. While the potatoes are cooking, prepare the filling. Place the olive oil into a 12-inch saute pan [preferably cast iron] and set over medium high heat. Once the oil shimmers, add the onion and carrots and sauté until they begin to take on color, approximately 3 to 4 minutes. Add the garlic and stir to combine. Add the wild game, salt and pepper and cook until browned and cooked through, approximately 3 minutes. Sprinkle the meat with the flour and toss to coat, continuing to cook for another minute. Add chicken broth, Worcestershire, rosemary, thyme, and stir to combine. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer slowly 10 to 12 minutes or until the sauce is thickened slightly.
4. Add peas to the wild game mixture and spread evenly into a 12 inch round cast iron. Top with the mashed potatoes, starting around the edges to create a seal to prevent the mixture from bubbling up and smooth with a rubber spatula. Place on a parchment lined half sheet pan on the middle rack of the oven and bake for 20 – 25 minutes or just until the potatoes begin to brown. Remove to a cooling rack for 10 – 15 minutes before serving.

Enjoy the Shepherd’s Pie, it’s truly a winter comfort food. If you would like more wild game inspired recipes you can visit the recipe section of our blog by clicking here. If you are interested in hunting in 2020 with SNS you can click here or call us at 307.266.4229.