Venison Shepherd's Pie (Hunter's Pie)

Venison shepherd's pie (Hunter's pie) with braised, pulled venison in a delicious vegetable and red wine sauce. It's topped with Parmesan mashed potatoes and baked until golden brown. There's also an option to use ground venison.

Servings:

Prep Time: 30

Cook Time: 4

Course: Dinner,Main Course

Cuisine: American,British

Ingredients

Potato Topping

▢ 1 1/2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, quartered
▢ 1/4 cup whole milk, plus more as needed
▢ 3 tablespoons melted butter
▢ 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, divided
▢ 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Instructions

Make the Filling

Puree the vegetables: Add the carrots, onion, rosemary, thyme, and garlic to a blender or food processor. Puree until the mixture resembles a thick, chunky paste. Set aside while you brown the venison
Brown the venison: Season the venison with salt and black pepper. Heat the olive oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Once the oil begins to lightly smoke, add the venison and brown it on all sides. Remove the browned meat from the pan and set it aside.
Cook the vegetables: Reduce the heat to medium. Add the vegetable puree, tomato paste, and Worcestershire sauce to the pan. Cook for 7-8 minutes, stirring frequently.
Add the wine and reduce: Pour in the red wine and scrape the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Cook until the wine mixture has reduced by half.
Braise the venison: Place the browned venison in a Dutch oven or large pot. Pour the vegetable and wine mixture over the meat. Pour in the 6 cups of stock, or enough to cover the venison by a few inches.
Cover and gently simmer for 2 to 3 hours, or until the meat is fork-tender and pulls apart easily. Check the stock levels intermittently and stir.
Shred the venison and add the peas: Using a slotted spoon, transfer the meat to a large bowl and shred it very finely. Add the green peas. Now add a little of the braising liquid at a time until the meat is moist and saucy. Set aside and cook the potatoes.

Make the Mashed Potato Topping

Simmer the potatoes: While the venison cooks, place the potatoes in a pot and cover them with water. Season with salt. Bring to a simmer and cook until fork-tender, about 15 minutes. Drain the potatoes well.
Process and season the potatoes: Reserve a little of the measured Parmesan for topping the pie, then whip the potatoes with the remaining Parmesan, melted butter, and milk. Season to taste with salt and pepper. If the potatoes are too stiff to spread easily, add a little more milk.

Assemble the Pie:

Preheat the oven and assemble the pie: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Transfer the venison filling to a casserole dish or individual ramekins. Spread the mashed potatoes completely over the filling, taking them all the way to the edges. Rough up the surface slightly with a fork to create more edges that can brown.

Bake

Sprinkle the reserved Parmesan over the potatoes. Bake at 400°F for 18-20 minutes, or until the potato topping is golden brown. For a little extra color, lightly dust the top with sweet paprika and drizzle a little melted butter before baking.

NOTES

Ground Venison Option:

Use 1 1/2 to 2 pounds of ground venison.
Brown the venison in a large pot over medium-high heat with olive oil for 5-7 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and break the meat into small crumbles while cooking. Remove the meat and set aside.
Lower the heat to medium. In the same pot, stir in the vegetable paste, tomato paste, Worcestershire, and herbs. Cook for 7-8 minutes. Adjust the heat as needed so that it does not burn.
Add the red wine and reduce by half. Then add the ground venison and peas to the pot.
Add enough stock to create a saucy consistency. Simmer for around 10 minutes or until it has slightly thickened.
Transfer to the casserole dish, top with the mashed potatoes, and bake as directed above.

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation. Nutrition is per serving.

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