Venison Cottage Pie: A Hearty Wild Game Comfort Meal
Learn how to transform wild game venison into a rich, layered cottage pie with browned meat, red-wine-simmered vegetables, and golden mashed potatoes.
Venison Cottage Pie: A Hearty Wild Game Comfort Meal
This recipe comes to us from Hannah Sattelmaier, culinary specialist with The Bearded Butchers and friend of Montana Knife Company.
6
30 minutes
1 hours
520
British
Main Dish
This venison cottage pie turns wild game from your last hunt into a rich, layered comfort meal built for cold evenings.
Ground venison gets browned with seasoning, simmered with vegetables, red wine, and beef stock, then topped with piped mashed potatoes baked to a golden, toasted finish. It’s one of the most satisfying cottage pie recipes you can pull together with what is already in your freezer.
Ingredients
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1 lb. ground wild game meat (venison or elk)
2 tsp. Bearded Butcher Original Blend
2–3 Tbsp. beef tallow
1/2 cup finely diced carrots
1/2 cup finely diced celery
1/2 cup frozen peas
1/4 cup finely diced leeks
1 cup finely diced onion
1 Tbsp. garlic, minced with a sharp, clean kitchen knife
2 Tbsp. tomato paste
2 sprigs thyme
2 sprigs rosemary
1/4 cup red wine
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup beef stock
1–2 tsp. cornstarch (optional, for thickening)
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8–10 russet potatoes
1/4 cup melted beef tallow
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 large egg yolk
- 2 tsp. Bearded Butcher Original Blend
Fresh chives for garnish (optional)
Directions
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Preheat a sauté pan over medium heat until hot. Add two tablespoons of beef tallow to keep the meat from sticking. Add the ground venison and break it up into fine pieces as it cooks.
Season generously with The Bearded Butcher Original Blend. The finer you break up the meat, the more cohesive and flavorful your cottage pie filling turns out.
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Once the venison is fully cooked, pull it from the pan and set it aside. Add the diced onion, carrots, celery, and leeks to the same pan with a touch more tallow if needed. Sauté for five to 10 minutes, until the vegetables are soft and tender.
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Add the garlic and tomato paste to the vegetables. Stir continuously, letting the tomato paste darken in color. This step builds deep, rich flavor in the venison cottage pie filling.
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Pour in the red wine to deglaze the pan, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom. Drop in the rosemary and thyme sprigs, then return the cooked venison to the pan. Stir in the Worcestershire sauce and beef stock, then let the mixture simmer until the flavors meld together. Stir in the peas during the last minute or two of simmering so they stay bright and tender.
If your filling looks thinner than you want, whisk a quick slurry of beef stock and cornstarch and stir it in until the cottage pie filling thickens to your liking.
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Peel and dice eight to 10 russet potatoes and drop them into a pot of well-salted water. Bring to a boil and cook until the potatoes are fork-tender.
Drain thoroughly, then pass them through a fine-mesh sieve or a potato ricer for an ultra-smooth texture. Mash right away, before the potatoes cool.
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Add the melted beef tallow and heavy cream to the mashed potatoes and mix until incorporated. Stir in the egg yolk, which keeps the topping smooth and helps it toast beautifully in the oven. Whip the topping together until the potatoes are light and fluffy, then season with The Bearded Butcher Original Blend.
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Transfer the hot cottage pie filling to a cast iron skillet or casserole dish and spread it evenly. Load the mashed potatoes into a piping bag and pipe them over the filling in tight rosettes. Piping gives you better coverage and creates ridges and peaks that brown nicely in the oven.
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Slide the assembled cottage pie into a preheated 350°F oven and bake for one hour, or until the filling is heated through and the mashed potato topping turns golden brown. Pull it from the oven and let it rest for 10 minutes before serving. Top with freshly chopped chives, then dig in.
