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Active Time
2 hr
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Total Time
4 hr
The ultimate dish for a cold winter day, this hearty pie couldn't be more satisfying. Picard uses venison along with pork to create an amazingly tender and sauce-rich filling.
Ingredients
Makes 10 servings
For meat filling
For potato topping
For corn filling
Special Equipment
Make meat filling:
Step 1
Pat venison and pork dry, then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Heat a dry 5- to 6-quart wide heavy pot (not nonstick) over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then sauté one third of meat in 1 tablespoon oil, stirring and turning occasionally, until browned all over, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer browned meat with a slotted spoon to a bowl. Sauté remaining meat in 2 batches in same manner, using 1 tablespoon oil per batch and transferring to bowl as cooked.
Step 2
Add remaining tablespoon oil to pot, then sauté onions and garlic, stirring, until browned, about 6 minutes. Return meat with any juices in bowl to pot, then add water and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, until meat is very tender, about 1 1/4 hours. Transfer meat to a 3 1/2- to 4-quart shallow baking dish (13 by 10 by 2 inches). If cooking liquid measures more than 1/2 cup, boil in pot until reduced to 1/2 cup, then add to meat in baking dish.
Make potato topping while meat simmers:
Step 3
Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 400°F.
Step 4
Wrap garlic in a double thickness of foil and seal well. Roast until very soft, about 45 minutes.
Step 5
While garlic roasts, peel potatoes and cut into 1-inch pieces. Cook in a 4- to 5-quart pot of boiling water, uncovered, until tender, about 10 minutes, then drain.
Step 6
Heat cream, milk, and butter in same pot over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until butter is melted. Remove from heat and stir in salt and pepper.
Step 7
Unwrap garlic and cool slightly, then peel cloves. Force hot potatoes and garlic through ricer into hot cream mixture and stir to combine. Stir in cheese and keep warm, covered.
Make corn filling:
Step 8
Cook onions and garlic in oil in a 4- to 5-quart heavy pot over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 5 minutes. Add wine and boil, uncovered, until almost all of wine is evaporated, 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in cream, rosemary, salt, and pepper and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until mixture is reduced to about 1 1/2 cups, about 30 minutes. Add corn and simmer 5 minutes. Discard rosemary.
Step 9
Blend 2 cups corn mixture in a blender until almost smooth, about 30 seconds (use caution when blending hot liquids), then stir into remaining corn filling.
Assemble pie:
Step 10
Reduce oven temperature to 375°F.
Step 11
Top meat filling with corn filling, then spread potato mixture on top and brush with egg. Put baking dish in a foil-lined shallow baking pan (to catch drips) and bake until fillings are bubbling and potato mixture is browned around edge, about 40 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes.
Step 12
*Venison shoulder available at underhillfarms.com.
Step 13
**Pork shanks, listed as "pork osso buco," at nimanranch.com.
Step 14
***Cheese curds available at hilmarcheese.com and rockcheese.com.
Fillings and topping can be made 1 day ahead and cooled, uncovered, then chilled separately, covered. Bring to room temperature to assemble pie.
Leave a Review
Reviews (13)
Back to TopI have made this recipe several times now, and the only changes I have made were to use beef instead of pork depending on what is available/on sale. It is definitely a complicated, but elevated, version of a rustic dish. It's really delicious, however; I think it would work for dinner parties if you used individual dishes. You wouldn't have to worry about the layers mixing when serving in that case.
rampant5
Canandaigua, NY
10/6/2014
I make Shepherd's Pie frequently, and although this is a good recipe, If you have never made this dish before, there are simpler versions out there.
pb1234
12/17/2009
There was a great deal of concern regarding the cheese curd. I used cottage cheese, which is easy to get and a light version. I also put a bit more onion and garlic in the potato mix. Very good.
michaelrsale
10/10/2009
I did a much quicker, more low-key version of this dish. Instead of venison and pork shanks I simply used ground beef and ground lamb. I browned the meat along with some fire-roasted tomatoes. Didn't add the cheese curds, they weren't missed. I did the rest of the recipe as stated. This only took 2 hours instead of 4. It makes a great family meal, the leftovers are delicious. I also do a vegetarian version, using vegetarian 'beef' crumbles. Quite yummy.
beequeen71
8/21/2008
I have made this recipe 4 times in the past 6 months. The only adjustment I make is to completely omit the cheese. This dish is already quite heavy...and I think the cheese would be too much.
Anonymous
Toronto, ON
3/17/2007
I forgot to mention that I too left out the cheese; certainly didn't miss it, and I wonder if I would have found the cheese too heavy, too sticky, too gooey, etc. for an already gooey (albeit very tasty) dish.
PetitSwain
Sudbury, MA
2/18/2007
I followed the recipe pretty well, but made a few adjustments. First, I avoided the brown mush scenario described by the last poster by only blending about half of the corn. I also could only find frozen white corn, so it had a pretty different color than the layers above and below. I used venison and pork as recommended, however, only ground was available. It still came out great and was cheaper, too. However, since venison is so gamey tasting, next time I might try either increasing the pork ratio and/or adding lamb or beef into the meat mix as well. I also put a touch of tomatos and tomato paste and red wine in the meat potion to help harmonize the gamey taste I was getting. It did not conflict with the corn/white wine flavors or the mashed layer flavors at all. Finally, I skipped the cheese addition. I made my mashed super creamy and buttery, but cheese with meat is just really heavy. Didn't miss it a bit...and I'm a cheese lover!
Anonymous
Berkeley, CA
2/7/2007
我做了牛肉和羊肉,没有找到它horribly time-consuming. It was delicious, but not beyond compare (maybe it's beyond compare when made with venison). While it might be very convenient to serve this dish at a dinner party, it's pretty ugly. :-) Beneath the potatoes, it's all just beige-brown mush -- suitable as comfort food for good friends, but I'd never serve it as part of a more elegant dinner (it goes well with stoneware soup bowls, but not with china and crystal). In fact, I found it alittle too mushy; next time, I'll skip putting the corn mixture in the blender, and I'll find a way to make the potato topping have more of a crisp crust. But, still a keeper, and the dog was beside herself licking the empty dish (I put it in two baking dishes, so I could have one left over to freeze; worked out nicely).
Anonymous
Sudbury, MA
1/25/2007
This looks like a great entertaining dinner for a hostess who wishes to spend time with her guests.However I would agree with PB from Lindsay,England.It should have another more exotic name like, for example"DELICE DE CHASSEUR" which would indicate wild meat.A shepperds pie is an old comfort food made usually from leftover roasts.I will definitely try this recipe,leaving out the cheese curds and instead using grated old cheddar.
gina1139
Montreal,canada
6/24/2006
I made this dish for a large group and by special request I did not include the cheese curds. The potato layer was lovely and rich on its own. It is true that the recipe is time consuming but the favourable comments and second helpings made the effort worthwhile.
Anonymous
Vancouver, BC
4/20/2006
Good this may be, but it's nothing to do with Shepherds. The last time that I looked, Shepherds looked after Sheep not Deer (herdsman or drover) or Pigs (pigman or swineherd). A true Shepherd's Pie's meat is minced / ground or cubed lamb. So please, if you make this, call it by another name. Alternatively, take a look at the brilliant Shepherd's Pie recipes which contain lamb within the recipe search pages.
P.B.
Lindsell, England
3/12/2006
i substituted lamb as i couldn't find venison & added some brined green peppercorns to the meat. a very rich dish. it was very time consuming but the results were very satisfying. it easily feeds 10 people. i would make it again if i needed to feed a lot of people, but would make the meat & corn portions ahead to save time.
nakaj
seattle, wa
3/10/2006
I took a gamble making this dish for guests because the ingredients were intimidating (venison, haloumi) and I wasn't even sure I could find them (but Whole Foods had everything). It seemed a bit time-consuming and at one point I wondered what I had gotten myself into. HOWEVER, my guests absolutely raved about it and everyone had seconds. It's a great do-ahead dinner party dish. The potatoes on the top were incredible. I didn't have a potato-ricer so I used a food processor for just a little bit of the potatoes and all the roasted garlic, then I mashed the rest of the potatoes by hand--do not beat or you'll get a gluey consistency. I was told that the meat tastes "wild and intense." This is a very impressive dish.
kimkeywest
Cambridge, MA
2/26/2006
