Elk Shepards/Pot Pie

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bauchjw

Master of the Pit
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OTBS Member
SMF Premier Member
Aug 3, 2015
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Alexandria, VA
Rafter H BBQ Rafter H BBQ , Justin was super generous and sent me some elk last week, so I had to put his harvest to good use! Gloomy chill here and we couldn’t decide between pot pie or Shepards pie, so we went with a hybrid using the ground elk as the protein! Unfortunately I was low on potatoes so the top layer was a bit thin.

The filling:
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1 cup chopped yellow onion
  • 1 lb Ground Elk, 15% fat so I didn’t add any. You can use any ground meat. I’ll use beef next time since I don’t harvest elk and don’t want to break Justin’s bank🤣
  • 2 tblspn parsley minced
  • 1 tblspn rosemary minced
  • 1 tblspn thyme
  • salt to taste
  • ground black pepper to taste
  • A few dried porcini mushroom
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 garlic cloves -minced
  • Arrow root slurry ~2 tblspn
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 1 cup beef broth
  • 1/2 cup red wine
  • 1/2 cup diced carrot
  • 1/2 cup peas (I used chopped string beans)
  • 1/2 cup fresh celery
  • 1/2 cup frozen corn kernels
Add the butter to skillet and place it over medium-high heat for 2 minutes. Add the onions. Cook 5 minutes, dash of salt, stirring occasionally. Add garlic, cook 2 minutes, don’t burn garlic!

While this is happening, get ready for gravy….I like using “Better than bullion” if I’m not doing my own stock, using a tip by Jeff, I use 1.5 teaspoons of better than bullion per cup of water. Bring to simmer, add Worcestershire and dried shrooms. Bring to boil, reduce and stir occasionally while on low simmer.

At same time add carrots to the pan after beef is done & broth is going, cook carrots about 5 min or so, then add celery, green beans or peas, and the corn. Keep stirring and.cooking to fragrance and a bit of char. Then remove to bowl with beef and mix it all.

If needed add bit more butter to same pan on low medium. Add the parsley, rosemary, thyme, and salt. Stir well. Cook for a few minutes to bloom, until fragrant, turn up heat to high medium. Add wine and deglaze. Reduce wine by 1/2. Add meat and veggie mixture stirring.

Slowly pour arrow root slurry to broth mixture until consistency you want. Then remove shrooms, dice and add to meat, then mix.
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Add tomato paste to meat in hot pan. Stir until well incorporated and no clumps of tomato paste remain and paste is caramelized..

Add the broth/gravy to meat mixture slowly. Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Set the meat mixture aside. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

The herb mashed potatoes I did ahead of time. Let me know if you want recipe.

Press pie crust in pan. Filled with elk pie filling, topped with mashed potatoes.
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Into oven 15-20 minutes. Let cool and plate, then eat!

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Thank you for your time! Absolutely incredible meal! I had leftovers for breakfast. I grew up on white tail, never trying elk and this was awesome. Couldn’t wait to try the back-strap! Thank you Justin! Trying to make sure we honor your elk and the effort to harvest! More to come😃
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Jed, if you were to ask my wife what her favorite food is, she'd probably say Shepherd's Pie. That is stick-to-your-ribs comfort food right there and perfect on a cold, damp, gloomy winter day...
 
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I also got a package from Justin. Already got a plan for the round roast medallions. And now you got me thinking on the ground elk. I will tell ya those jalapeno sticks he sent are the bomb. Caught myself walking around the house all weekend with one hanging from my mouth like a cigar. Just nibbling on it., LOL!

Jim
 
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Nice work Jed! Elk is very lean but full of flavor so that was spot on. FYI, I have cooked a lot of Elk in worsh'd enhanced beef gravy over the years.... ie Worcestershire and Elk is a perfect blend!
 
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Look's fantastic !! I am fortunate to have a freezer full of elk and venison for this project . What do you think it would be like using 100% ground elk with zero fat ?
 
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Damn Jed, was there anything in the pantry you didn't put in there? I gotta say though, that's about the most amazing take on a pot pie or Shepard's pie or fusion that I've ever seen. Truly an amazing dish and one I know I'd devour. Absolutely outstanding meal and a first-class presentation....but we wouldn't expect anything less my friend :emoji_wink:

Robert
 
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Now that Jed is comfort food right there. I bet the Elk from Justin was fantastic in there.
Great pictures

David
Thank you David, I appreciate the compliment and your time! Elk was Betsy delicious!

My goodness Jed . That looks fantastic bud .
Thank you Chop for your time and the compliment!
Jed, if you were to ask my wife what her favorite food is, she'd probably say Shepherd's Pie. That is stick-to-your-ribs comfort food right there and perfect on a cold, damp, gloomy winter day...
It is definitely the right food for a cold gloomy day! This one came out real tasty and hit the spot!
Elk is the best meat I have eaten.

That pie looks amazing. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you for your time and compliment! This was my first try at Elk and I have to agree with you. Justin hooked me up since I’d never tried it before and now I’m hooked🤣
 
that looks so good, would really enjoy eating some of that!!
Thank you Bern! You’re welcome anytime!
I also got a package from Justin. Already got a plan for the round roast medallions. And now you got me thinking on the ground elk. I will tell ya those jalapeno sticks he sent are the bomb. Caught myself walking around the house all weekend with one hanging from my mouth like a cigar. Just nibbling on it., LOL!

Jim
Thank you Jim! Yes, those Jalapeño sticks are incredible too! I took them into work and they lasted 5 minutes🤣 That ground elk is pretty incredible, packs a lot of flavor, would be a great patty, but holds its own in dishes with a lot of flavor! I just did the blackstrap medallions and will post when I have some time, those were incredible too with a reduced balsamic blackberry sauce. Just incredible. Rafter H BBQ Rafter H BBQ generosity knows no bounds and he’s altered SMF posts significantly for the near future🤣
Nice work Jed! Elk is very lean but full of flavor so that was spot on. FYI, I have cooked a lot of Elk in worsh'd enhanced beef gravy over the years.... ie Worcestershire and Elk is a perfect blend!
Thank you Civil! I definitely agree, The Worcestershire gravy was perfect for the elk. Such an incredible flavor, now I need to figure out how to keep my fix🤣
Look's fantastic !! I am fortunate to have a freezer full of elk and venison for this project . What do you think it would be like using 100% ground elk with zero fat ?
Oh man! I’m jealous! This is my first go at elk so I’ll defer to the veterans. But, in my opinion you may want to mix some ground pork or 80% beef when cooking. Or use beef tallow. It’s such a lean meat that I would be afraid of it going dry fast. Justin told me the butcher mixed in 15% beef tallow so this batch I had no problems with. Good luck! Post some pics so we can see!
 
Oh man Jed, that looks beyond phenomenal my friend! You definitely knocked that one outta the park man! So glad you all enjoyed!

Thanks for the shout out! I was thinking, we love Shepards Pie but have never had it with elk! That has to change soon!
 
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Look's fantastic !! I am fortunate to have a freezer full of elk and venison for this project . What do you think it would be like using 100% ground elk with zero fat ?
As Jed pointed out you need to add a fat element to it as it has zero fat, for a ground pie like this, tallow, butter, or classic olive oil could all be used if you don't have a blended ground already. When I grind my elk, I add beef fat to the 15% so a burger can be made....
 
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Jed that’s just beautiful comfort food there!! It’s been awhile since I’ve done Shepard’s pie. You nailed it. Surprised to see you using arrowroot to thicken. I’ve not tried it but do use xanthan or Glucomannon often.
 
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Wow Jed... you nailed that! Some great looking comfort food!

Ryan
Thank you Ryan! Very very tasty stuff! Perfect Iowa dish!
Damn Jed, was there anything in the pantry you didn't put in there? I gotta say though, that's about the most amazing take on a pot pie or Shepard's pie or fusion that I've ever seen. Truly an amazing dish and one I know I'd devour. Absolutely outstanding meal and a first-class presentation....but we wouldn't expect anything less my friend :emoji_wink:

Robert
Thank you Robert😃You’re too kind. Yes, I put a lot in there🤣 Likely it didn’t get too overwhelming. A lot of flavor and texture. I like my carrots and celery still a bit solid! Thank you for your time!
Oh man Jed, that looks beyond phenomenal my friend! You definitely knocked that one outta the park man! So glad you all enjoyed!

Thanks for the shout out! I was thinking, we love Shepards Pie but have never had it with elk! That has to change soon!
Thank you again for the wonderful gift! Putting it to good use! I highly recommend the Shepards pie with your ground elk….or saboteur pie! I appreciate everything Justin!
Jed that’s just beautiful comfort food there!! It’s been awhile since I’ve done Shepard’s pie. You nailed it. Surprised to see you using arrowroot to thicken. I’ve not tried it but do use xanthan or Glucomannon often.
Thank you Jeff! Wish I would have had more potatoes, but couldn’t run to store! That being said, thinner layer wasn’t bad with the thickness of meat layer. I hate ordering Shepards pie somewhere and it’s 75% potatoes and 25% meat!

My wife gets gluten free stuff sometimes and we were out of flour so I went with the arrowroot. Someone here, was it you? Recommended slurry approach with arrowroot and it’s worked well. Now I’m just trying to use it up! Thank you for your time and compliment Jeff!
Im not sure what im more impressed with! The cook, or that you have an elk meat connection.......lol! Congrats on both!
🤣 I appreciate it! It was a nice surprise to get the elk! My first time trying it and it was incredible!
 
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