By Marcus Weiner
This Venison Shepherd’s Pie is easy to make in advance, is full of savory flavor and allows you to incorporate some vegetables in an unobtrusive manner, which can help when you are trying to get your kids to eat veggies. Plus, for those who don’t love the taste of venison all on its own, this creation allows you to use that healthy game meat in a way that downplays the venison. I haven’t yet tried to make this in advance and freeze it, but think that would work out fine.
Ingredients:
Venison Layer:
1 lb ground venison (I use 90% venison, 10% pork shoulder in my grind)
1 tbsp canola oil
1 tbsp ketchup
2 tbsp flour
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 yellow onion, medium diced
1 c beef stock
Salt and pepper
Mashed Potato Layer:
5 large potatoes, skinned and cubed (I use Yukon Gold)
2 tbsp butter
¾ c shredded cheddar or Mexican blend cheese
½ c half-and-half or heavy cream
Salt and pepper
Vegetable layer:
1 c frozen cubed carrots
1 c frozen peas
1 c frozen corn
Directions:
Venison Layer:
In a large sauté pan on medium heat, cook onions for three minutes in canola oil. Add ground venison and cook until browned. Add flour, ketchup, Worcestershire, and beef broth, and simmer for three minutes until most of the moisture has evaporated. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Mashed Potato Layer:
In a large pot, bring water to a boil. Add cubed potatoes and cook for about 15 minutes until tender. Drain liquid and add butter, half-and-half (or heavy cream), and ¼-cup shredded cheese. Use either a potato ricer or hand mixer to blend. Add salt and pepper to taste.
To Assemble:
In a three-quart casserole dish, first add the venison layer. Next add the vegetable layer. Then add the mashed potatoes. Make sure to level out each layer so that each piece served has similar ratios of venison to veggie to potato. Cover the top of the casserole with the remaining ½ cup of shredded cheese.
Cook for 20 minutes uncovered at 375ºF. Enjoy!
For more recipe ideas please visit our recipe page here. Also you can check out our recipes on Fish Alaska.