Elk Cottage Pie with Parsnip Mash
Ground elk simmered with onion, celery, and thyme into a thick savory gravy, topped with mashed parsnip and baked until the edges bubble and the top turns gold.
Why You'll Love This Recipe
This is the pan I make on a Sunday when I know the week ahead is going to get away from me. It bakes once and becomes four lunches, and unlike most things built out of ground meat it is better reheated than it was the first night. Ground elk is easier to find than people assume. Grocery chains through the mountain west stock it, most stores with a wild game freezer carry it, and any of the online game suppliers will ship it, usually in one pound packs. If it is not sold near you, ground venison or bison behaves the same way and needs the same handling.
Elk asks for one adjustment and it is the same one every wild red meat asks for. There is very little fat marbled through it, so it browns quickly and then it is done, and cooking it hard past that point makes it grainy. Get a crust on it in a hot skillet, break it up, and let the broth take over from there. The pumpkin puree is what makes the gravy work without flour or starch, since it thickens the pan and turns it glossy while tasting of almost nothing once the thyme and the browned onion are in there with it.
The parsnip on top is the other half of this. Boiled and mashed with olive oil it goes sweet and loose, closer to a puree than to a potato mash, and that sweetness against the deeply savory gravy is the whole reason to build it this way. Mash it by hand, because a food processor turns parsnip gluey in about ten seconds. Twenty minutes in the oven browns the ridges you leave with the fork, and those crisp bits are the part everyone goes for first. Two teaspoons of vinegar go into the meat at the end, and they are the difference between rich and heavy.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lb ground elk
- 2 lb parsnips (about 8 medium), peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced (about 1 cup)
- 3 stalks celery, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves, or 1 tsp dried
- 1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree
- 1 1/2 cups beef bone broth
- 3 tbsp olive oil, divided
- 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 3 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
- 1 1/2 tsp fine sea salt, divided
Instructions
- Boil the parsnips: Put the parsnip chunks in a pot, cover them with cold water, add 1/2 teaspoon of the salt, and bring to a boil. Simmer for 15 to 18 minutes, until a knife goes through with no resistance. Drain them and keep about 1/4 cup of the cooking water, since that starchy water is what loosens the mash without thinning its flavor the way plain water would.
- Brown the elk: Heat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high, add the elk in large clumps with 1/2 teaspoon of the salt, and leave it alone for 3 minutes, since the crust only forms where the meat is touching hot metal. Break it up and cook 3 minutes more, just until no pink is left.
- Build the gravy: Add the onion and celery to the pan and cook for 5 minutes, until they soften and pick up the browned bits. Stir in the garlic and thyme and cook for 45 seconds, then add the pumpkin puree and the broth. Simmer for 8 to 10 minutes, until the liquid coats the meat and no longer runs freely.
- Mash the parsnips: Mash the drained parsnips with the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil, the remaining salt, and a splash of the reserved cooking water, using a potato masher or a fork. Stop while it is still slightly rough. A food processor will turn it gluey and there is no coming back from that.
- Assemble: Stir the vinegar into the meat off the heat, then spread it in an 8-inch square baking dish or leave it in the skillet if it is ovenproof. Spoon the parsnip mash over the top and spread it to the edges, then drag a fork across it to make ridges that will brown.
- Bake: Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the gravy bubbles up at the edges and the ridges on top are golden. Let it sit for 10 minutes before you cut into it, because the gravy needs that time to settle or it runs out across the plate, then scatter the parsley over and serve it in squares.
Variations
- Venison or bison: Both swap in at the same weight and cook in the same time if elk is not sold where you shop.
- Rutabaga top: Use half parsnip and half rutabaga in the mash when you want the top less sweet and more savory.
- Rosemary and sage: Trade the thyme for rosemary and a few chopped sage leaves for a heavier, more wintery pan.
- Greens in the gravy: Wilt a few handfuls of kale or chard into the meat before the mash goes on for something dark green in every square.
- Individual portions: Build it in four small ramekins and bake for 15 minutes, which makes the lunches easier to grab and gives you more browned edges.
Storage & Leftovers
This keeps in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days and is one of the few make-ahead lunches that tastes better on day three, since the thyme and the gravy work into the parsnip while it sits. Cool it uncovered for 20 minutes before the lid goes on so the top does not sweat.
Reheat squares in a 375°F (190°C) oven or a toaster oven for 12 to 15 minutes, which brings the browned top back. The microwave takes about 2 minutes and works fine on flavor, though the top comes out soft all the way through and you lose the ridges you baked in.
It freezes cleanly, either as a whole dish or in portions. Wrap it well, freeze for up to 3 months, and thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating. Parsnip mash comes through a freeze far better than potato does, which is one more reason to build it this way.
Notes & Tips
- Do not cook the elk past browned: Wild meat this close-grained turns grainy the moment it goes past browned, so once the pink is gone it is finished. The broth stage is where it gets tender.
- Mash by hand: A masher or a fork, never a processor. Parsnip goes gluey in seconds once it is whipped and nothing will bring it back.
- Reduce the gravy properly: If the liquid still runs when you tilt the pan, keep simmering. A loose gravy soaks the mash from below and the top will never set.
- Drag a fork across the top: The ridges are what catch the heat and brown. A smooth top bakes pale and looks like it is still waiting.
- Let it rest ten minutes: Cut into it straight from the oven and the gravy runs out into the dish. Ten minutes and it holds its shape on the plate.
- Keep the parsnip water: A splash of it loosens a stiff mash without watering down the flavor, which plain tap water does.
Nutrition & Mindful Eating
- Elk, parsnip, and the vegetables in the gravy work as one dish rather than as layers. The meat brings the depth and the substance, the parsnip on top brings sweetness and fiber, and the onion and celery cooked into the pan tie the two together.
- Elk tastes clean and faintly sweet rather than gamey, and it is dense in protein and carries iron in the form your body takes up most readily, along with zinc and B12. It is a working animal, and the close grain of the meat is where that shows.
- Parsnip mashed with olive oil is sweeter and looser than any root vegetable has a right to be, and the fiber in it is part of why a square of this settles in and stays with you through an afternoon.
- The half cup of pumpkin puree in the gravy does two jobs at once. It thickens the pan and gives it gloss, and it brings beta-carotene, which the body converts into vitamin A, into a dish that would otherwise be brown all the way through.
- Thyme softens into the gravy over the simmer and the cider vinegar goes in off the heat at the very end. You do not taste the vinegar itself, you taste the meat more clearly, and it is what keeps a rich pan from flattening out by the second helping.
- As you eat, let the sweetness of the parsnip and the depth of the gravy register as two separate things on the same fork, and stop halfway through the square to notice how much of the work is already done.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where do I buy ground elk, and what does it taste like?
Grocery stores through the mountain west stock it, most wild game freezer cases carry it, and online game suppliers ship it in one pound packs. It tastes clean and faintly sweet rather than strong, much closer to good beef than most people expect. Ground venison or bison substitutes directly.
Can I use a different meat?
Yes. Ground venison and bison both work at the same weight and cook in the same few minutes. Ground beef works too, though it releases more fat, so pour some off before the onion goes in or the gravy will separate as it bakes.
My parsnip mash turned into glue. What happened?
A food processor or a blender. Parsnip releases starch the moment it is whipped and it goes stringy and sticky within seconds. A potato masher or a fork, stopped while the texture is still a little rough, gives you the loose sweet mash this wants.
Does this fit an AIP elimination phase?
It does. There are no grains, legumes, dairy, eggs, nuts, seeds, or nightshades in it, the gravy is thickened with pumpkin puree rather than flour, and the seasoning is thyme, garlic, and vinegar. Check the broth label, since many boxed ones carry pepper.