Miss Allie's Kitchen

Whole & Healthy Home Cooking

You are here: Home / Archives for venison

venison

Venison Shepherd’s Pie

Venison Shepherd’s Pie combines tender venison, veggies and mashed potatoes for a simple & impressive way to use up holiday leftovers!

Venison Shepherd's Pie combines tender venison, veggies and mashed potatoes for a simple & impressive way to use up holiday leftovers! 

Chances are, right about now, you’re up to your ears in Holiday planning. And, if you are lucky enough to have Thanksgiving leftovers, I’m betting that you’re trying to get really creative with those leftover mashed potatoes, no?

Shepherd’s Pie is one of JMan’s favorite dishes, and his sweet momma makes it every year on St. Patrick’s Day for us. We are all VERY Irish. Since he was kind enough to fill our freezer with deer meat this fall, I’m returning the favor by whipping up this stick to your ribs classic. I tested this recipe before Thanksgiving, so I didn’t have any mashed potatoes on hand to use. The directions below include a simple method for whipping cooked potatoes with butter for the “crust” but use up those leftovers if you got ’em!

shepherd's pie on a grey plate with a white background and fork

This Shepherd’s pie is impressive enough to serve to your holiday guests but easy enough to whip up on a weeknight.

This is really simple, you could probably get much more complicated and gourmet with it, but hey, easy is key this year. I wanted to use chunks of meat instead of ground meat like a traditional Shepherd’s Pie; I was just in the mood for a tender cut of venison. This is gluten-free, and if you use ghee in place of butter, completely dairy free, too!

If you don’t have access to venison (you could really just come over to my house), or if you aren’t a fan of the flavor, you can always use beef. The ratios will all be the same, your flavor will just be slightly different.

cut up shepherd's pie on small plate with a casserole dish and spoon

Here’s what it will look like to build this baby:

 

ingredients for shepherd's pie on a marble slab

 

mixing up shepherd's pie filling in a pot

 

mixing up shepherd's pie filling in a pot with venison

 

 

prebaked shepherd's pie in a casserole dish

Print

Venison Shepherd’s Pie

★★★★★

5 from 1 reviews
  • Author: Miss AK
  • Prep Time: 20 minutes
  • Cook Time: 25 minutes
  • Total Time: 45 minutes
  • Yield: 6-8
Print Recipe

Description

Venison Shepherd’s Pie combines tender venison, veggies and mashed potatoes for a simple & impressive way to use up holiday leftovers!

Ingredients

  • 4 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped (or about 2 cups of leftover mashed potatoes)
  • 3 tbsp of butter or ghee, divided
  • 1 lb of venison steaks or chops, cubed*
  • 1 bag of carrots, chopped (about 5 carrots)
  • 5-6 celery stalks, chopped
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 3 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1 cup of beef stock or bone broth
  • 1 6oz. can of tomato paste
  • 1/2 tsp of ground thyme
  • 2 tsp. salt, divided
  • 1 tsp. pepper

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 375
  2. Begin by boiling a pot of water.
  3. Peel and cut your potatoes into eighths so they cook faster.
  4. Once the water is boiling, add the potatoes and boil for 15-20 minutes until they are tender. Again, if you have leftover mashed potatoes, skip this step and set aside about 3-4 cups of the leftovers for the topping!
  5. While the potatoes cook, dice the venison into bite-size chunks.
  6. Heat a large pan or skillet on medium heat. Add 1 tbsp of butter and let it heat.
  7. Add the chunks of venison and let them cook until slightly browned.
  8. While the venison and potatoes cook, chop your veggies.
  9. When the meat is browned, transfer it to a plate, and let it sit while you cook the veggies. Add the veggies to the hot pan and let them cook for 5-7 minutes before adding the garlic and thyme.
  10. Let this cook for 2 more minutes, and add the stock, tomato paste, salt, pepper, and venison back into the pan. Let it go for two more minutes until everything is thick and combined.
  11. Turn the burner off, and pour this into the bottom of your casserole dish.
  12. By now, your potatoes will be done. Drain them, add them to a bowl, add 2 tablespoons of butter or ghee, 1 teaspoon of salt, and whip with a mixer or mash with a few forks.
    Dump this out onto the top of your venison filling and smooth everything well.
  13. Bake for 25-30 minutes until the potatoes slightly start to brown on top. Serve up in generous portions with a giant hug.

Notes

*can sub beef – I suggest getting beef stew meat

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 cup
  • Calories: 289
  • Sugar: 12 g
  • Sodium: 723 mg
  • Fat: 6 g
  • Saturated Fat: 0 g
  • Unsaturated Fat: 0 g
  • Trans Fat: 0 g
  • Carbohydrates: 34 g
  • Fiber: 8 g
  • Protein: 17 g
  • Cholesterol: 45 mg
This post was published in November 2016 and was updated in October 2018.

 

 

 

 

Easy Instant Pot Venison Stew (slow cooker friendly)

Rich and tender Easy Instant Pot Venison Stew comes together quickly for the perfect rustic, comforting dinner to use up your harvest in the freezer.

Rich and tender Easy Instant Pot Venison Stew comes together quickly for the perfect rustic, comforting dinner to use up your harvest in the freezer. 

I honestly don’t know how to fully describe how impressed I was with this stew the first time I made it. J was away for the weekend, I wanted to test something in the Instant Pot for the blog, I happened to have some beef broth laying around, and there was venison defrosted in the fridge.

I quickly diced up a mirepoix, or onions celery and carrots, which is the base of any good French soup or stew. I kept the rest of the ingredients simple, adding a French spice blend called herbs de Provence. It’s lovely and Wal Mart actually has a great organic variety for under $3. So sorry, no substitutions there. Get you some herbs de Provence, friends.

I sauteed in the IP, added my liquid ingredients and went along on my merry way. You see, when I made this soup the first time, we were packing to move into our first home, so time was scarce.

venison sauteed in an instant pot with a wooden spoon

vegetables and venison in an instant pot all diced up

I let the cycle finish, waited 10 minutes, did a manual release and casually scooped myself a bowl. I sat down on the couch to take a packing break and BAM.

The most tender piece of venison I’ve ever had in maaahhhh life, friends. I KID YOU NOT. This stew is honestly beautiful. It’s rustic, simple and even the most staunch venison opposer would probably fall in love with it. Instant Pot:1 Allie: 1 (I call this a win win situation)

 

 

 

Print

Easy Instant Pot Venison Stew (slow cooker friendly)

★★★★★

5 from 1 reviews
  • Author: Miss AK
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 35 minutes + heating and release time
  • Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
  • Yield: 6
Print Recipe

Description

Rich and tender Easy Instant Pot Venison Stew comes together quickly for the perfect rustic, comforting dinner to use up your harvest in the freezer.

Ingredients

  • 1 Tbsp. olive oil
  • 1 lb. venison, diced with all sinew removed – I used leg meat*
  • 2 tsp. herbs de Provence
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 3/4 tsp. black pepper
  • 4 cups diced potatoes, I left the skin on
  • 2 cups diced carrots
  • 1 cup diced celery
  • 1 large onion, diced
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 15 0z. can diced tomatoes
  • 4 cups unsalted beef broth
  • 3-4 dashes Worcestershire sauce

Instructions

  1. Dice the potatoes, carrots, celery and onion. Mince the garlic. Set aside in a bowl.
  2. Dice the venison into bite-sized chunks, being sure to remove any of the silvery sinew tissue. Leaving this on makes the meat tough.
  3. Add the olive oil to the base of the Instant Pot and add the cubed venison. Add the spices and seasoning.
  4. Turn the Instant Pot to “Saute” for 10 minutes.
  5. Allow the venison to saute for 5 minutes and add the bowl of vegetables. Saute until the cycle ends with the lid off.
  6. Add the tomatoes, broth andWorcestershire sauce. Stir well and secure the lid.
  7. Select “Manual” or “Pressure Cook” and adjust the time to 30 minutes. Allow the Instant Pot to do its thang. Go pour some wine, do your nails, whatever.
  8. When the cycle finishes, allow it to naturally release for 10 minutes before turning the knob to venting according to manufacturer’s instructions.
  9. Allow the Instant Pot to vent fully, remove the lid and serve!

Notes

  • beef would work well, too! You can use any cut of venison, backstrap would be lovely. Leg meat is tough, so this recipe helps it to be tender and delish!
  • If you want to make this in the slow cooker, saute the venison in a pan and add it to the slow cooker with all of the other ingredients. Let it cook for 4-5 hours on high or 8 hours on low.

Apple Walnut Stuffed Tenderloin

A dressed up main sure to impress anyone at your table 

Apple Walnut Stuffed Tenderloin

The Holidays are the time of year that I like to test out those “next level” recipes. Maybe all of the merriment gives me more courage, or the magic of it all just consumes me.

Let me start by saying that tedious recipes do not interest me. You know those little videos where you see those quick little hands dipping 8500 teeny squares of ice cream into chocolate for dessert bites? Yeah, nope – not happening on my watch, too time-consuming and repetitive.

I wanted to do a stuffed tenderloin, well, because they feel freakin’ fancy. I imagined myself painstakingly learning to tie up a piece of meat, ferociously writing notes for you all. “Buck up, Buttercup”, I told myself.  I thought this was going to be one of those recipes that took me 8 tries to get right and simplify. I bought a whole ball of kitchen twine – just in case, you know?

Welp, first try, 15 minutes in, I had stuffed, tied and oven placed one lucky, and very dressed up tenderloin. Wait what? I feel like this was like the time I first cooked with lentils. I expected this earth-shatteringly complicated experience and in reality…easy peasy lemon squeezy.

Anyway, we’re making a quick garlic & walnut spread, slicing up some crisp apples and placing them between two tenderloin halves. We’ll tie the whole thing up, as haphazardly as you please, place on a bed of onions & allow the meat to soak up the generously rich & pungent flavors of the stuffing. I used venison tenderloin, but beef or pork would work perfectly. If you like to eat pork on New Year’s – consider this recipe!

Sliced, Stuffed Pork Tenderloin with Apples and Walnuts

WHAT YOU’LL NEED:

Tenderloin – Venison, Beef or Pork

Walnuts

Apple

Garlic

Olive Oil

Apple, Walnut, Garlic Stuffed Tenderloin

WHAT YOU’LL DO:

Preheat oven to 475 degrees. If your tenderloin isn’t already cut in half, do so. Allow it to come to room temp by sitting it on the counter for a bit before cooking.

Roughly chop an onion into pieces and lay on a lightly greased cookie sheet or small roasting pan. You’re going to lay the tenderloin on these so the stuffing doesn’t sit in the juice and get soggy. Bonus: you get some seriously flavorful onions as a side.

Wrapping a Stuffed Tenderloin for Baking

Add the garlic, walnuts, salt and olive oil into a food processor or blender and process until smooth. Wash and thinly slice half of the apple.

Lay each side of the tenderloin on a cutting board, with twine cut and ready to tie placed underneath. Spread equal parts of the garlic spread on each half. Lay the apple slices on one half, and place the other on top.  Tie the twine around the tenderloins and place on the bed of onions. Sprinkle with pepper and place in the oven.

Tender Stuffed Venison Tenderloin

After the tenderloin has cooked for 10 minutes, drop the heat to 425 and roast for 20-25 mins. I took mine out at 20 (my oven quickly burns things) and it was a perfect medium rare. OK, I want you to rest your meat for AT LEAST 5 minutes, preferably 10-15. I am definitely guilty of cutting meat too soon, but not for this recipe. Let it rest. You won’t be sorry. Even with the lean and sometimes tough venison meat, my tenderloin was fall-apart tender.

Serve up with some roasted veggies and the flavorful onions from the bedding! You’ve got yourself a fancy meal made simple. I promise I won’t tell you only used 5 ingredients.

xoxx,

Miss AK

Sweet and Savoury Stuffed Tenderloin

Don’t Forget To Follow Me On Social Media!

Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/miss.allieskitchen/

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/missallieskitchen/

Pinterest – https://www.pinterest.com/miss_ak/

Twitter – https://twitter.com/missallieskitch

Apple Walnut Stuffed Tenderloin
Author: Miss AK
Ingredients
  • 1 Tenderloin – Venison, Beef or Pork – cut in half (most come this way)
  • 1/3 cup of Walnuts
  • 1 Apple thinly sliced
  • 3 large cloves of Garlic
  • 3 tbsp of Olive Oil
  • 1/2 tsp of Salt
  • 1/4-1/2 tsp of Pepper
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 475 degrees. If your tenderloin isn’t already cut in half, do so.
  2. Allow it to come to room temp by sitting it on the counter for a bit before cooking.
  3. Roughly chop an onion into pieces and lay on a lightly greased cookie sheet or small roasting pan.
  4. You’re going to lay the tenderloin on these so the stuffing doesn’t sit in the juice and get soggy. Bonus: you get some seriously flavorful onions as a side.
  5. Add the garlic, walnuts, salt and olive oil into a food processor or blender and process until smooth. Wash and thinly slice half of the apple.
  6. Lay each side of the tenderloin on a cutting board, with twine cut and ready to tie placed underneath. Spread equal parts of the garlic spread on each half. Lay the apple slices on one half, and place the other on top. Tie the twine around the tenderloins and place on the bed of onions. Sprinkle with pepper and place in the oven.
  7. After the tenderloin has cooked for 10 minutes, drop the heat to 425 and roast for 20-25 mins. I took mine out at 20 (my oven quickly burns things) and it was a perfect medium rare.
  8. OK, I want you to rest your meat for AT LEAST 5 minutes, preferably 10-15.
  9. Even with the lean and sometimes tough venison meat, my tenderloin was fall-apart tender.
  10. Serve up with some roasted veggies and the flavorful onions from the bedding!
  11. You’ve got yourself a fancy meal made simple. I promise I won’t tell you only used 5 ingredients.

 

Apple Walnut Stuffed Tenderloin - an elevated main dish to impress any guest at your table. Don't tell them how easy this one is!

Join the newsletter

Subscribe to get our latest content by email.
We won't send you spam. Unsubscribe at any time. Powered by ConvertKit