A hearty, warming, and comforting venison shepherd's pie that's perfect for opening day!
Ingredients
- sweet potato: 1 piece
- unsalted butter: 2 Tbsp (softened)
- milk: 2 Tbsp (or more if needed)
- salt: 0.5 tsp (to taste)
- ground black pepper: 0.25 tsp (to taste)
- sage: 0.25 tsp (dried)
- pinch freshly ground nutmeg: 1 piece
- sharp Cheddar cheese: 0.5 cup (shredded)
- vegetable oil: 2 Tbsp
- cremini mushrooms: 1 pack (8 ounce pack, sliced)
- onion: 1 piece (chopped)
- carrots: 2 piece (chopped)
- stalk celery: 1 piece (chopped)
- garlic: 4 clove (chopped)
- salt: (to taste)
- ground venison: 1 pound
- thyme: 1 tsp (dried)
- oregano: 1 tsp (dried)
- garlic powder: 1 tsp
- onion powder: 1 tsp
- ground black pepper: 0.5 tsp (to taste)
- sage: 0.5 tsp (dried)
- all-purpose flour: 2 Tbsp
- dry white wine: 0.66667 cup
- low-sodium chicken broth: 1 cup
- frozen peas: 1 cup
Metric Conversion
Stages of cooking
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Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
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Pierce the sweet potato several times with a fork and wrap in aluminum foil. Place on a baking sheet.
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Roast in the preheated oven until sweet potato is fork-tender, 70 to 90 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool enough to handle, 5 to 10 minutes.
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Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate and place on a rimmed baking sheet to prevent bubbling over.
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Peel skin off the sweet potato and place flesh into a large bowl. Add butter, milk, salt, pepper, sage, and nutmeg. Beat using an electric mixer until ingredients are combined. Mix in Cheddar cheese gently. Set aside.
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Heat vegetable oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms, onion, carrots, celery, and garlic. Sprinkle with salt. Cook until vegetables have softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Add venison, thyme, oregano, garlic powder, onion powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt, pepper, and sage. Stir to combine, breaking up any large pieces of venison. Cook until venison is no longer pink, 5 to 7 minutes.
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Stir flour into the pot and cook for 1 minute. Pour in white wine and stir to loosen any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Cook until wine has reduced slightly, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in broth. Allow mixture to come to a simmer; continue to cook until filling has thickened, 5 to 10 minutes. Stir in peas. Taste and adjust salt and pepper as necessary. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
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Pour filling into the prepared pie plate. Top with sweet potato mixture and spread gently across the top, covering most of the filling.
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Bake in the preheated oven until top is set and filling is bubbling, about 30 minutes. Allow to cool slightly before serving.
