Venison Shank Cottage Pie Recipe - North American Whitetail

Preheat oven to 325° Fahrenheit. Season shanks generously with salt and pepper, and then coat with flour. In an enameled Dutch oven over medium-high heat, heat enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan. Brown shanks on all sides until crusty and then set aside. (Debone shanks if they don’t fit in the pot, making sure not to throw away any silver skin and connective tissues.)Lower heat to medium, and add more oil as needed. Add chopped onion, carrots and celery with a pinch of salt. Sauté until onions soften and become translucent. Then stir in garlic, rosemary, tomato paste and bay leaf, and cook for 1 minute, stirring frequently.Next, deglaze the pot with red wine. Scrape the bottom of the pot to release stuck on browned bits. Place venison shanks back into the pot. Add stock and Worcestershire sauce. Bring to a simmer, tightly cover and then transfer to the oven. Cook until venison becomes fall-off-the-bone tender, about 1 ½ to 3 hours, depending on the age of the deer. Check the pot periodically to make sure there’s still liquid, flipping the meat over once. When done, shred the venison into bite-size pieces. Discard bay leaf, rosemary sprig and bones, if any. If the filling is too loose, simmer uncovered until thickened to your liking. Season to taste. (You can make the filling up to two days ahead. Refrigerate it until you’re ready to assemble and bake the pie.)To make the mashed potato topping, peel and cut potatoes into large chunks. Submerge potatoes in a pot of salted water. Bring to a boil and cook until tender. Strain potatoes and mash with butter. Stir in hot milk and season to taste.Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray a deep baking dish or gratin dish. Pour in venison filling and scatter frozen peas on top. Evenly spread mashed potatoes over filling and sprinkle generously with Parmesan cheese. Bake on the middle rack with a cookie sheet underneath for about 20 minutes, or until bubbling at the edges and heated through, longer if filling was cold. If needed, place pie underneath the broiler for a few seconds for the top to get brown and crispy.