Anybody got any killer recipes, or should I just Alton Brown it?

So I'm kind of a nerd when it comes to wild game cooking. I love to cook. I have a lot of wild game cookbooks, with a lot of recipes I still have yet to try. This is the only wild game Shepards pie recipe in all the books that I own. I've always wanted to try it, but never have. You are welcome to be the guinea pig.

I can save you the trouble and tell you that sucks just from looking at it

Here are 2 variations of my recipe. Should work fine with venison

FIDO*98* said:

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I make Shepard's Pie in one of two ways. Either with Guinness or Red wine based gravy depending on my mood. In either case, I almost always use lamb. If I'm making the Guinness version I use ground lamb, and if the wine version I typically use diced lamb.

Do ahead of time, up to a day.

Make 1 large quantity mashed potatoes. 3 large potatoes (about 3-4lbs), a stick of butter, 1/2-1 cup of heavy cream, 6oz shredded cheese (Cracker Barrel white cheddar for guinness or gruyere for wine) Salt and pepper to taste

Meat filling:

1/4 cup Olive oil
1 Large or 2 medium onions roughly diced. You can also use thawed frozen or fresh blanched and peeled pearl onions if desired
2-3 large carrots, diced
1 Cup sliced mushrooms (optional)
2 Lbs Lamb
4 tablespoons flour
3 tablespoon butter or olive oil
12oz Guinness (or 12oz burgundy wine)
Couple dashes of Worcestershire sauce
Couple dashes maggi liquid seasoning and/or fish sauce
1 cup homemade stock Beef or Chicken (Kitchen Basics Chicken stock will also work). Store bought beef stock should never be used for anything ever.
1 Heaping Tbls tomato paste (optional for Guinness pie)
1 Heaping Tbls Gray Poupon Dijon
1/2-1 cup frozen baby peas
fresh thyme and chopped parsley for guinness, thyme and rosemary for wine. If using dried herbs, omit parsley


Pre-heat oven to 400o F.

For Guinness pie


Sautee onions and carrot (mushrooms if using) in the olive oil until just tender. Season with salt and pepper
Add meat and cook until browned then drain fat.
Add the butter until melted and then add flour and stir until thickened and the bottom of dutch oven starts to brown then add the Worcestershire, Guinness, chicken stock, veal demi, and tomato paste. Cook until thick on medium. Add in desired amount of peas. Add in herbs. Re-season to taste with salt and fresh ground pepper.

For Red Wine Pie if using 1/4" cubed lamb

Brown the meat first seasoning with salt and pepper. Add in a cup of stock, cover pot, and simmer until meat is tender and most or all of the liquid has evaporated. 1-2 hours depending on the size of Lamb chunks. Remove and reserve. Proceed with previous recipe adding meat back in after onions and carrot are tender


When finished Spoon or pipe the mashed potatoes over top. For best results use a potato ricer to make the potatoes. Real butter and whole milk or cream are also a must.

Bake for about 20 minutes or until the potato is nice and browned on top.

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Thanks for the insight.

I can say that this particular book has produced a few really good dishes. Buts it's also produced more than a few dishes that were very meh.

Your recipe definitely looks better.