This meal features ground elk, a variety of vegetables, and mouthwatering mashed potatoes.
| Prep Time: | 30 mins |
| Cook Time: | 1 hr 10 mins |
| Total Time: | 1 hr 40 mins |
| Servings: | 6 |
| Yield: | 1 9-inch pan |
Ingredients
- 4 large potatoes, peeled and cubed
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons butter
- ½ cup half-and-half cream
- ½ pound ground elk meat
- ¼ teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 1 parsnip, peeled and diced
- 2 cups frozen mixed vegetables
- 1 tablespoon butter, melted
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
- Place potatoes into a large pot and cover with salted water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain and allow to steam dry for a minute or two, then mash with salt, pepper, 2 tablespoons butter, and half-and-half; set aside.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
- Meanwhile, stir together the elk meat, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper in a skillet over medium-high heat until crumbly and no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Spread the cooked elk meat into a 9-inch pie plate or baking dish and return the skillet to the stove over medium heat.
- Place the onion, parsnip, and garlic powder in the skillet, season to taste with salt and pepper, and cook until the turnip has softened, about 10 minutes. Stir in the mixed vegetables and cook an additional 5 minutes, then spread in the pie plate over the elk. Finally, spread the mashed potatoes evenly over the top, and brush the melted butter on the potatoes.
- Bake in preheated oven until the potatoes begin to turn golden brown, about 30 minutes. Serve hot.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 358 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 57 g |
| Cholesterol | 40 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 9 g |
| Protein | 15 g |
| Saturated Fat | 5 g |
| Sodium | 107 mg |
| Sugars | 4 g |
| Fat | 9 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
We loved it. We made it with instant potatoes and added cheddar cheese to mashed potatoes
Thanks for this recipe. First time I ever made elk. This was a good combo to really get a good taste of the elk meat. Because the elk meat is so lean, I thought it came out a little dry and could use some cream or other light sauce to complètement it. I’ll have to try and modify it a bit next time.
I made this just as the recipe says but made a couple additions added chopped 1/2 bell pepper and sautéed that with parsnips, added about 1/4 cup chicken broth to give a bit of a sauce. Supper good recipe…. thank you for sharing.
Made it per the directions but added 1 1/2 cups brown gravy. Rave reviews!
I used 1 # hamburger instead of elk and sour cream instead of 1/2 & 1/2 and 1/2 tsp. minced garlic instead of powder. I also added 1 diced medium peeled apple, 1/2 cup carrot, 1//2 cup peas, 1/2 tsp thyme. This makes a great gluten free dinner.
Tasted good, wife liked it…but the meat needs some kind of sauce to give it body and juices….next time I’d add a can of diced tomatoes, along with some additional spices. OR some added brown gravy to the meat part…something to juice it up.
Didn’t have any Elk but I did have ground venison available. I did add a couple touches that I thought would add to the recipe. First, since venison and Elk are VERY lean, after browning the meat, I added a can of beef broth and simmered it until the broth was cooked off to add some fat and flavor. Second I added one can of drained Rotel since I believe Shepherds pie should have tomato, and the added kick of the Rotel is always a plus.
I love the Italian seasoning mixed with the elk/onion..I did use a can of mix vegetables/peas with 2 cans of cream of mushroom..then topped with instant potatoes then cheddar cheese..it was delicious!!!!
We loved it! I couldnt help but smile in affirmation with what the previous comments said about their picky kids and this meal. My picky son loved it. I made some modifications though, since I didnt have much of the spices, I used bay leaf and worchestershire sauce for depth of flavor. I used the available veggies in the ref as well, carrots peppers and asparagus in lieu of the veggie mix.
excellent!!! we used venison instead of elk. also I used rustic herb seasoning from tastefully simple instead of Italian seasoning. it definitely needs a gravy. next time I will pour a beef gravy over the veggies and meat before putting potatoes on! so good!!!
This was fantastic, I mean who doesn’t love Shepherd’s Pie? I’m sure it would have been great as is, but I made a few changes. I used a few extra dashes of salt and doubled Italian seasoning, used fresh garlic and a couple shakes of Worcestershire sauce in the meat mixture. Used carrots instead of parsnip (what I had on hand). I added the garlic powder to the mashed potatoes instead and added cheddar to potatoes as well. Served with sauteed Brussel sprouts and carrots, YUM!
We made this using ground venison. It was tasty! Next time I’ll add some sauce to the meat. Not sure what but I think I’d like a little gravy. We’ll definitely make it again! It’s always fun to use our garden potatoes as well 🙂
Made this according to the recipe only I used deer meat. It was my first time using ground deer and it was delicious!!! My husband LOVED it! I did add 2 potatoes to feed our large family, and had very little leftover. Will definitely make again!
I used venison instead of elk and added a tablespoon of worshtishire sauce to the meat. The falvor was amazing. My family loved the new spin on this classic!
Used beef instead of elk
i followed the recipe, except i made the mashed potatos “loaded” with some cheese and bacon, it turned out great!
Delicious recipe! Made elk for the first time tonight with this recipe and loved it. I varied it just slightly – instead of italian seasoning, instead used porcini salt which was a-mazing! nice mix of veggies and the elk has a nice mild flavor that was well suited for this dish. great recipe – thanks for the idea!
We followed recipe, as is, but used 1 lb ground venison in place of elk and then doubled the Italian seasoning. We always use fresh garlic and then added a little shredded cheese to Potato mixture, too 🙂 This was delish and easy to make! Our 12 month of loved it, too!
Easy to make and tasted good. Turned out a little dry some made some Bisto gravy to moisten the meat mixture. My ground elk is fat free so that contributed to the dryness.
This was my first time trying elk and this recipe was very good for an introduction. My elk didn’t taste very gamey at all, although I did rinse it before cooking. It only gets 4 stars because it’s a pretty basic recipe. Nothing spectacular, but it definitely served its purpose. Also, I used 1lb of elk and it was still very good.
We were given ground elk meat by some family members who hunt. We had no idea how to cook it, so I turned to my favorite recipe site and found this shepherd’s pie. I follow a low-carb high-fat way of eating, so instead of potatoes, I microwaved cauliflower and mushrooms until both were soft soft soft. Then I put them through a food processor with butter and cream until they were blended perfectly smooth like mashed potatoes. For the veggies I used asparagus, mushrooms, spinach and onion, and also minced garlic. My family went NUTS over it, as did I. Unbelievable taste and all around texture. All I can say is WOW! And thanks! The photo is the result of the meal.