BAKE: Hunter’s Cottage Pie (Shepherd’s Pie with Venison and Mushrooms)

• Hunter’s Cottage Pie Ingredients
• Kitchen Equipment Needed
• How to Make a Hunter’s Cottage Pie
• Storage & Freezing Instructions
• Hunter’s Pie (Shepherd’s Pie with Venison and Mushrooms)

This homemade hunter’s cottage pie is a shepherd’s pie made with ground venison and fresh or dried mushrooms instead of ground or chopped lamb in the filling. Or, if you use beef mince instead of game or lamb, you’ve made a traditional cottage pie… but whatever you call this casserole, all of the recipe variations are delicious!

This hearty British “pie” is a baked casserole with a meat and vegetable filling and a rich and creamy mashed potato topping. We’re adding butter and cheese to the potatoes with a bit of extra on top to crisp up while it bakes.

The hearty ground venison filling has a bit of sweet tomato paste and carrots sauteed with smoky bacon, diced onion, earthy mushrooms, meat or vegetable broth, herbs, and bright green peas.

This flavorful filling is spooned into a casserole dish (or left in your dutch oven or skillet for an even easier rustic preparation) and covered with swirls or piped mashed potato topping, then dotted with good butter and a sprinkle of cheese.

Baked until bubbly and golden brown, this hunter’s cottage pie casserole is warm, sturdy, comfort food for cold nights. It’s easy to make ahead and bake off for a quick dinner, and it freezes, reheats, and travels well.

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Hunter’s Cottage Pie Ingredients

Ground venison:

I used a quart jar of cooked crumbled canned ground venison, but you can use one pound of fresh or frozen ground venison (or a venison and pork blend), or two pints of canned ground meat.

You can also make this with leftover bits of chopped roast for a frugal way to turn last night’s dinner into a new hot meal!

Substitute ground lamb or leftover diced lamb roast instead to make this a shepherd’s pie, or use ground or roast beef for a traditional cottage pie.

Potato:

This “pie” is a baked casserole with a mashed potato topping, often with butter and cheese added. You can use russet or Yukon-gold type potatoes for your filling for a fluffier potato crust, or red potatoes for a heavier, denser potato topping.

Onions:

You can vary this based on what you have available, but I like to use a mix of either white or yellow onion, and either minced shallot or garlic, and a bit of green onion/scallion or minced leek tops.

Carrot:

Use about a cup of peeled and diced fresh carrot for the best flavor and texture, though for a shortcut you could use frozen diced carrots (or peas and carrot mix).

Peas:

I use frozen peas, which are already blanched and quick to cook, but with a fresh flavor and bright color. You could use fresh green peas in season if you have them. I don’t recommend substituting canned peas unless you don’t have another option (or if you like them… we don’t!).

Mushrooms:

You can use fresh or canned cremini, portobello, or button mushrooms, or re-hydrate sliced button or a blend of wild mushrooms. If you use porcini, reduce the quantity, as their flavor is very strong and will overwhelm the filling if you use too much.

Broth or Stock:

I used home canned ground venison which is packed in meat broth. If you are using fresh or frozen ground venison (or another meat), you can use venison, beef, or chicken stock, or mushroom stock. Or, use a bit of good quality bouillon paste or powder concentrate mixed with hot water (use the recommended dilution from the manufacturer).

Bacon:

A few slices of smoked streaky bacon, chopped roughly and browned with the venison and onion adds a depth and richness to the filling. You can omit this if you don’t eat pork, but it adds a nice flavor.

Dairy:

You’ll want to add butter to the mashed potato filling, and dot a bit more on top to make it crisp up golden brown without drying out. I usually use whole milk in the mashed potatoes, but you can also use half and half, heavy cream, or 2% milk, or an unsweetened non-dairy milk.

Sprinkle the top of your hunter’s pie with grated white cheddar, Monterey jack, fontina, or mozzarella cheese, or another mild melting cheese (or a blend). This is optional, but makes the potato topping even more delicious!

Other ingredients:

The seasonings are fairly simple, and can be adjusted to taste. I use kosher or sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, some dried thyme or marjoram (or an herb blend), and a dash of Worcestershire sauce.

Thicken the sauce with a bit of all purpose flour (or a roux), or you can use cornstarch or potato starch if you need to make your hunter’s pie casserole gluten-free.

Kitchen Equipment Needed

Large skillet:

I used a large 12″ cast iron skillet to cook the filling, but you can use any big skillet or dutch oven. I used a cast iron pan and then transferred it into another baking dish to avoid stripping the seasoning off the pan with too much contact with the acidic tomato in the filling.

You can also bake the pie directly in the pan if you use a non-reactive enameled dutch oven or stainless oven-safe pan.

Pot and colander:

Use a pot that can hold several quarts of salted water, or enough to cover your potatoes to cook them before mashing them for the topping. Use a colander, or carefully use the pot lid to drain the water from the potatoes once they are fork-tender.

Ricer, mixer, or potato masher:

Peel and mash the potatoes using your preferred method. I used a potato ricer (mine is actually a vintage spaetzle press but it does double-duty to mash starchy potatoes) to make smooth potatoes, but you can use a hand masher, sturdy whisk, or mixer if you prefer. Don’t over mix the potatoes, as that will make them gluey.

Baking dish:

You can use a 9″x13″ baking dish, or a similar large volume glass or ceramic baking dish. Or, divide your filling and potato topping mixture among several smaller baking dishes (or heavy foil pans or silicone freezer-to-oven containers) to meal prep easy freezer meals.

How to Make a Hunter’s Cottage Pie

prep ingredients:

• Wash, peel, and cut the carrots, celery, and onions into small to medium dice.
• Mince or chop the bacon into 1/4″-1/2″ pieces.
• If you’re using fresh mushrooms, brush them clean and slice thinly.
  • For dried mushrooms, slice them if they’re whole, and re-hydrate them with a cup or so of boiling water or broth.
• Wash and mince a bit of leek top, green scallion, shallot, or garlic.

brown venison (or beef/lamb):

• Preheat a 10-12″ heavy skillet (I use cast iron) over medium high heat.
• Crumble and brown the ground/minced venison (or substitute beef or lamb), stirring and breaking up the meat.
  • If you are using canned ground meat, drain well, reserving the broth for later, and just heat the cooked minced meat through.
• Add the diced onion, seasoning with the salt, pepper, and Worcestershire.
• Stir and saute the onions together with the ground meat until the onions are soft and translucent and just beginning to brown.

make casserole filling:

• Add the celery, carrots, and garlic, leeks or scallions and dried herbs to the pan.
• Stir and saute a few minutes until the carrots and celery are just softening.
• Add the fresh or soaked dried mushrooms (drained, but save the soaking liquid) and saute together with the meat and vegetables until the dried mushrooms are soft, or the fresh mushrooms have released their liquid into the filling.
• Sprinkle the flour over the top and stir well to mix in until there are no lumps. This will help thicken the filling.
  • You can use a slurry of cornstarch or arrowroot and cold water or stock instead of the flour if you need to make the pie gluten-free.
• Add the tomato paste and saute together with the filling.
• Stir in the stock or broth (or the canning liquid if you used home canned ground meat) and the soaking liquid from the dried mushrooms and simmer until just thickened.
• Taste the filling and adjust seasonings if needed.

boil potatoes:

• While you are preparing the meat filling, start boiling the potatoes for the mashed potato topping.
• Scrub and trim the potatoes, and bring them up to a boil in salted water.
• Simmer the potatoes until they are easily pierced with a fork.
• Drain the potatoes and let them cool and dry out a bit until they are just cool enough to handle.

drain and mash potatoes:

• Peel the still-warm potatoes and pass them through a ricer or food mill, or mash them by hand or with a mixer.
• Do not over-whip them if you are using a mixer, as this can make them gluey.
• Add the milk (or cream) and softened butter, and fold together.
• Season to taste with salt, white pepper, and if you like, a pinch of grated nutmeg.

assemble casserole:

• Pour the meat and vegetable filling into a buttered 9″x13″ casserole dish (you can also leave it in the skillet or dutch oven that you used to make the filling if it is large enough and oven-safe).
• Spread the mashed potato filling over the top, carefully dropping it in dollops evenly over the surface and then using a spatula or wooden spoon to spread the potatoes across the top to make an even layer.
  • For an even more posh looking presentation, you can use a large heavy-duty piping bag and a large open star pastry tip to pipe the filling out over the top.
  • Pipe overlapping shells or star shapes, or use your imagination to cover the surface of the cottage pie.
  • This is a bit more fuss but makes even this humble casserole look fancy!
  • It also gives you more surface area to brown and crisp up for a crunchier potato topping.
• Dot the surface of the potato crust with half teaspoons of butter, spread evenly across the surface.
  • Instead of dotting the top with bits of butter, you can melt the butter and gently brush it on, like for dauphinoise potatoes.
• Sprinkle the whole casserole lightly with grated cheese (optional, but delicious).
  • You can add the cheese at the beginning of the bake and cover it with foil until the last 10 minutes, or add the cheese part-way through to make sure you don’t burn it.

bake cottage/hunter’s pie:

• Place your prepared hunter’s cottage pie into a preheated oven at 375F (reduce heat to 325-350F for a frozen casserole, and do not preheat the oven)
• Bake your casserole for 35-45 minutes (less if everything was piping hot when assembled and immediately baked, add more time if you are baking a chilled or frozen dish).

cool slightly and serve:

• Take your casserole out of the oven when it is heated through and the topping is crisping on top and bubbly.
  • For a previously frozen or refrigerated casserole, check the center with a meat thermometer to ensure it has reached 165F.
• Let the casserole cool for a few minutes, then scoop out portions and serve (or cool slightly, and then refrigerate or freeze immediately).

Storage & Freezing Instructions

Serve your hunter’s pie while it is hot from the oven. You can also make this casserole ahead of time and bake it just before serving, or bake it and then gently warm individual servings in the oven or microwave. Or, let it cool a bit and then portion into individual meal prep containers for easy lunches & dinners.

The hunter’s or cottage pie will hold in the fridge for up to 4 days… perfect for meal prep, or make an extra and bring it to a friend. Makes a great housewarming gift, or for a meal-train for a loved one who is ill, post-partum, or just busy! This casserole recipe also freezes beautifully.

You can assemble it and bake it off to be quickly reheated, or freeze the unbaked shepherd’s pie and bake it fresh before serving. If you used a foil or metal pan, you can pop it right into a cool oven (300-350F) and bake slowly from frozen.

If you froze your shepherd’s pie in a glass casserole, it’s best to thaw it overnight in the refrigerator, and start it in a cold (not preheated) oven so you don’t shock the Pyrex or ceramic dish.

Older American and most European Pyrex is borosilicate glass and less sensitive to temperature changes. If you have newer Pyrex, be especially careful of this as the soda-lime glass used now is much more likely to break, which will spoil your dinner of course, but can also be very dangerous, so use caution (or a foil pan for freezing).