Rustic 3-Meat, Veg and Sauerkraut Cottage Pie

Every now and then, I crave a recipe that knocks the ball out of the park in terms of layered flavors and textures. A recipe like that usually takes a bit longer to prepare, but it’s totally worth it. This Rustic Meat Veg and Kraut Cottage Pie recipe is just such a recipe.

What You’ll Need

• Russet potatoes
• Kielbasa or smoked Polish Sausage
• Beef, pork or venison
• Salt pork
• Frank’s Kraut
• Yellow or white onion
• Fresh or frozen carrots, corn and peas
• Canned diced tomatoes
• Fresh baby Portobello mushrooms
• Fresh garlic
• Fresh thyme
• Salted butter
• Bay leaves
• White wine
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• A large bowl
• A lidded pot
• A large non-stick skillet

This post was sponsored by Frank’s Kraut. I received compensation and product related to this post, but all opinions, and a life-long love of good kraut, are my own. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed working with Frank’s Kraut to help inspire others to create unique and delicious kraut recipes! Want more? There are several links to other kraut recipes below!

What’s To Love

Dishes that include sauerkraut among their ingredients are never boring, and this cottage pie is no exception. What we have here is an incredibly hearty dish absolutely brimming with rich flavors and textures. The cottage pie recipe is perfect for dinner parties or a hungry family. It fills a full-size 3-quart casserole dish, or six to eight soup terrines for nice, neat individual servings.

Here’s The Story

Rather than just mixing everything together and baking it for a long time like a casserole, I’ve actually cooked the ingredients in this dish in different stages. With the casserole method, everything kind of tastes the same since it all cooks together. For this Cottage Pie – which is just like a Shepard’s pie except that it doesn’t have lamb in it – I wanted the vegetables to maintain their shape, texture, and color. I also wanted to meat flavors to pair well with each other, but kind of do their own thing at the same time.

While there are a few steps involved in making this cottage pie, I’ve outlined everything so it’s fairly easy to pull all together.

This cottage pie is topped with fluffy garlic mashed potatoes, too, so it really is a feast for the senses. I topped my potatoes with little dabs of butter, a little more fresh thyme, and freshly ground black pepper before popping the pans in the oven to bake. To serve, I garnished the cottage pie with sprigs of fresh thyme. Garnishes are totally optional, of course, but they make a big difference.

Enjoy!

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Rustic 3-Meat, Veg and Sauerkraut Cottage Pie

This Cottage Pie is an incredibly hearty dish absolutely brimming with rich flavors and textures. It's perfect for dinner parties or a hungry family.

Course Hot Dish, Main

Prep Time 1 hour

Cook Time 40 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 40 minutes

Servings 11 cups

Author Michele Phillips, BaconFatte.com

Ingredients

• 2.5 pounds Russet potatoes peeled, cubed, and cooked
• 1 pound kielbasa or smoked Polish sausage thinly sliced (about 2 heaping cups)
• 1 pound beef pork or venison, cubed (about 2 heaping cups)
• 8 ounces salt pork or bacon - chopped about 1 cup
• 1 large white or yellow onion - chopped about 2 cups
• ½ cup carrot diced
• ¾ cup frozen corn kernels
• ¾ cup frozen peas
• 8 ounces baby Portobello mushrooms quartered
• 1, 28 ounce can diced tomatoes drained
• 1, 2 pound bag Frank’s Kraut the refrigerated kind, drained
• 3 small bay leaves
• 4 tablespoons salted butter plus more for topping if desired
• 6 cloves fresh garlic - finely chopped divided
• 3 teaspoons fresh thyme - finely chopped divided – plus more for garnish
• 2 cups dry white wine divided
• 1 tablespoon unbleached flour optional
• Salt and freshly ground pepper

Instructions

For the garlic mashed potatoes:

1. Fill a large lidded pan or pot with several inches of cold water. Peel and chop the potatoes, and place the pieces into the water. When all the potatoes are chopped, rinse them by flushing out the cloudy water and adding clean water two or three times. This removes some of the starch and makes fluffier mashed potatoes. While potatoes are cooking, melt 4 tablespoons of butter in a small pan over low heat. Do not brown the butter. Finely chop 4 cloves of garlic and 1 teaspoon of fresh thyme. Add them to the melted butter and stir well. When potatoes are tender, drain completely and place pot back on low heat. Add melted butter mixture and mash potatoes until mostly smooth. Turn heat off and cover pan.

For the Kielbasa or smoked Polish sausage

1. Heat a large non-stick skillet over low heat. Add ½ cup white wine. Thinly slice the kielbasa or Polish sausage, and add to skillet. Increase heat to medium. Cook 10 – 15 minutes, stirring regularly, until wine reduces completely and sausage slices are tender and most of them are lightly caramelized. When cooked, transfer sausage slices to a large bowl and cover with foil to keep warm.

For the salt pork and onions

1. Cube the salt pork, place the cubes in the skillet and cook over medium heat until lightly browned. Add the chopped onions, and stir well. Cook just until onions become slightly tender – about 3 – 4 minutes. Transfer cooked pork and onions to the large bowl with the sausage slices, and cover with foil to keep warm. If using fresh carrots, dice them up and cook them in the skillet for just a couple of minutes until they become slightly tender. If using frozen carrots, skip to vegetables steps below.

For the beef, pork or venison

1. Add ½ cup wine to the skillet along with 2 cloves finely chopped garlic, and 1 teaspoon of finely chopped fresh thyme. Simmer over low heat while you cut the meat to evenly sized chunks. Add chunks to skillet and increase heat to medium. Cook 10 -15 minutes until wine reduces completely and meat is tender and well browned. Transfer cooked meat to the large bowl and cover with foil to keep warm.

For the vegetables:

1. Drain diced tomatoes and add to the skillet with 1 cup white wine, 1 teaspoon fresh chopped thyme, and the bay leaves. In a small dish, add 1 tablespoon flour (if using) and about 3 tablespoons tomato/wine liquid form pan and stir well to make a roux. Add roux back to the skillet and stir well to incorporate. Simmer over medium-low heat for about 10-15 minutes until liquid reduces.
2. Add drained sauerkraut to skillet and stir well. Add the bowl full of cooked meats, carrots, corn, peas, mushrooms, and last teaspoon of finely chopped thyme to the skillet. Stir to combine all ingredients. Simmer over low heat for 10 minutes - stirring often.

To assemble:

1. Spoon meat and veg mixture into oven-safe casserole dish or terrines. Using a small spatula, spoon the garlic mashed potatoes over the top, making sure to leave room around the edges. Smooth the potatoes slightly. Add dabs of butter on top of potatoes if desired. Sprinkle with more finely chopped thyme and pepper, and bake uncovered for 30 – 40 minutes until potato topping is lightly browned. Garnish with fresh thyme sprigs and serve hot out of the oven.
2. Recipe heavily adapted from New York Times.

Celebrate Flavor, Celebrate with Frank’s

Frank’s Kraut is a 4^th generation family-owned business, and it’s the #1 brand here in the Midwest. They have a lot of pride in their business, and they love showing people great ways to enjoy their product. I’m thrilled beyond words to help inspire others by partnering with Frank’s Kraut to create delicious kraut recipes!

Interested in more kraut recipes? Frank’s has lots of them on their website, and they’re always showing fun and delicious ideas from cooks, restaurants and bloggers on their social media channels. You can find Frank’s on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and YouTube.

Craving more kraut?

Here are couple of other delicious kraut recipes that we’ve whipped up recently!

Swiss Sauerkraut Noodle Casserole with Herbs

• The tangy kraut flavor in this sauerkraut noodle casserole is distinctive, but not in the deliciously tart way that we’re used to eating it when it’s piled on top of a brat, for example. The kraut flavor mellows when combined with noodles and ground beef, and it brightens the flavors of all the ingredients to create a wonderfully warm, delicious comfort food dish.

Potato, Corn and Kraut Gratin

• It’s the epitome of comfort food: Creamy butter-mashed potatoes studded with sweet corn and highlighted with the unmistakable umami of kraut. Potato, Corn and Kraut Gratin probably isn’t one of the first things you think of when planning a dinner or party menu, but that could change very quickly once you try it!

Spaghetti Squash and Sauerkraut Casserole

• This Spaghetti Squash and Sauerkraut Casserole has plenty of tangy kraut flavor combined with freshly roasted spaghetti squash, celery, red onions and cherry tomatoes. We even melted a little Gruyere on top for good measure. It’s colorful and light, and makes a hearty, delicious side dish or meatless main.

Creamy Sauerkraut Spread with Bacon, Garlic and Shallots

• Creamy Sauerkraut Spread with Bacon, Garlic & Shallots is a great addition to any well-rounded #snackuterie menu. This is not your typical dip or spread – its tangy, bacon-y, garlic-y goodness makes it completely crave-worthy. Enjoy as a dip with crackers, veggies, meatballs and wings, or spread it on sandwiches, sliders and burgers for a wonderfully flavorful twist!

Making this Cottage Pie recipe?

I’d love to hear about about any Bacon Fatte recipes that you make!

Leave a note here on the blog in the comments below, or share your creations and ideas on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter, and/or Google+ .

Make sure to hashtag #baconfatte or tag @baconfatte in your social media posts!

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