Venison Shepherd's Pie (Hunter's Pie)

This shepherd's pie takes it down to the basics - meat and potatoes. Indulge a little with this elevated spin on a classic comfort dish.

Prep Time30

Cook Time4

Total Time4 30

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: British

Servings:

Calories: 617kcal

Ingredients

Meat Filling:

1 lb ground venison
1 cup bacon, diced (about 6 slices)
1 tablespoon garlic, minced (about 2 cloves)
1 cup shallots, finely diced (about 4 medium)
1 cup yellow onion, finely diced (about 1 medium)
2 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
⅓ cup tomato paste
¾ cup red wine
salt and black pepper, to taste
2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
2 cups stock (wild game or beef)

Potatoes:

4 cups Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cubed (about 4-5 large potatoes)
1 ½ cups half and half
6 tablespoon salted butter, melted
3 fresh thyme sprigs
¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
½ teaspoon whole peppercorns (or ¼ teaspoon coarsely ground pepper)
2 cloves garlic, smashed
salt, to taste
8 oz jarlsberg cheese, shredded

Instructions

Meat Filling:

Heat a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Cook bacon in a Dutch oven or skillet until it is browned and the fat has rendered out, about 5-10 minutes. Remove bacon to a plate. Add in shallots, onion, and garlic. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring frequently.
Add in meat and season with salt and pepper. Break up the meat with a wooden spoon. Cook until the meat is browned, about 5-7 minutes. Add bacon back in. Reduce heat to medium. Add in wine and cook until liquid has reduced by half, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Stir in parsley and tomato paste.
Sprinkle flour over the meat mixture and stir to combine. Cook for 2-3 minutes, then add in stock and bring it to a boil.
Reduce heat to low. Partially cover the pot and simmer on low heat for 2-3 hours, stirring occasionally. Some of the stock will evaporate and will thicken into a gravy consistency. Taste and add salt and pepper to your liking.

Potatoes:

To a small saucepan, add half and half, thyme, nutmeg, ¼ teaspoon salt, peppercorns, and smashed garlic cloves. Bring to a boil and simmer on very low heat for 15-20 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add in potatoes and cook until tender, about 20 minutes.
Drain potatoes and run them through a potato ricer twice. Add riced potatoes to the mixing bowl.
Strain solids out of the cream mixture. Add half of the cream mixture and half of the melted butter to the potatoes. Mix in a stand mixer with the whip attachment on high for 1-2 minutes, or until well combined.
Add in the remaining cream mixture and melted butter. Mix on high for 3-5 minutes, or until potatoes are fluffy. Taste and add salt to your liking. Mix for 1 more minute to mix in the salt.

Assembly:

Grease a 9x13 pan (or 2 8x8 pans, or 2 pie pans) with butter. Spread a thin layer of potatoes on the bottom and sides of the dish. Top with the meat mixture and spread it evenly over the potatoes.
Spread remaining potatoes over meat mixture. Sprinkle cheese over potatoes.
Bake uncovered at 450°F for 20-25 minutes if your shepherd's pie is already warm. If you've refrigerated or frozen your pie, bake at 375°F, covered with foil, for 40 minutes or until heated through. Increase heat to 450°F. Remove foil and continue baking for 10-15 minutes or until cheese is slightly browned and crisp.

To Freeze:

Assemble shepherd's pie in pie pan as if you were baking it. You can use a disposable pan if you'd like. Cover tightly with plastic wrap, then cover with foil. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw under refrigeration before baking.

Notes

This recipe calls for ground venison but you can use any ground wild game meat or ground beef.
Venison has little fat so the bacon adds some richness to the meat mixture. Prosciutto or pancetta can also be used.
I like to use homemade venison stock but you can use beef stock or beef broth. You can also use chicken broth for a lighter flavor.
Yukon gold potatoes have a richer flavor than the standard russet potatoes but you can use your preferred potato. You can also use leftover mashed potatoes if you have them on hand!
If you haven't tried Jarlsberg, it's like a milder hybrid between classic Swiss cheese and gruyere cheese. You want to really cover the potatoes in the cheese so it melts into a nice crispy, cheesy blanket for your potatoes. Any melty "Swiss" variety of cheese can be used: gruyere, emmentaler, or appenzeller can be used. You can even use cheddar cheese if you'd like!
Any type of dry red wine can be used for this recipe. I like to use cabernet sauvignon for a richer flavor. For a lighter flavor, pinot noir can be used.
I like to use a Dutch oven to slow cook the meat filling because it holds its heat well. But, you can use a large skillet instead.
A potato ricer is your best friend for making smooth, creamy mashed potatoes. It mashes the potatoes into smaller pieces than a typical potato masher does. But, you can still make mashed potatoes without one.
This shepherd's pie is baked in a casserole dish. But, you can use individual ramekins to make single-serve meals instead.
If you're not able to keep an eye on a pot on the stove for a couple of hours, you can transfer the meat mixture to a crock pot for the slow-cooking portion.
If you don't want to make mashed potatoes from scratch, you can spruce up dried mashed potato mixes by using the same cream mixture and butter in the recipe instead of the water or milk the package calls for.
For a fancier presentation, you can add your mashed potatoes to a piping bag and pipe swirls of mashed potatoes over the meat mixture instead of spreading them.

Nutrition

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Venison Shepherd's Pie (Hunter's Pie)

Equipment

Ingredients

Meat Filling:

Potatoes:

Instructions

Meat Filling:

Potatoes:

Assembly:

To Freeze:

Notes

Nutrition