Shepherd's Pie

Anyone have a good shepherd's pie recipe?

Thanks

Well, I don't have exact proportions, but I grew up eating this and this is what I remember:

Ground beef (maybe a pound?) in thick, rich gravy on the bottom of a casserole dish
then
a layer of baby peas (one frozen bag)
then
a layer of garlicky mashed potatoes (made from about 5-6 medium potatoes).
--(When you put the potatoes on top of the peas, just drop big spoonfuls onto the peas, don't try to spread them around too much or the peas will stick and get mixed in and you'll get very frustrated.)

Bake at 350 for about 50 minutes, then broil the top so that the potatoes get a bit crusty.
I know some people make this with corn instead of peas, but that is not very visually applealing...plus quite starchy.

I have a question. Is the use of ground beef instead of lamb for shepherd's pie a midwestern thing? I didn't grow up round these parts but have been living here for ~25 years now. I long ago became accustomed to many of the various regional nuances (pop = soda, for example) but the shepherd's pie thing still vexes me a bit. To me, shepherd's pie is made with lamb. The midwest version with ground beef, a fine dish in it's own right, is (or at least always was in my experience) cottage pie. If I'm out and see shepherd's pie on a menu I always have to ask the server if it's made with beef or lamb. This, of course, prompts a "you must be from Mars" look. Just curious if anyone has any insight on this diversion from the customary ingredient list (and I'll reserve questions about why a ketchup sauce is slathered on meatloaf for another time).

I think the ground-beef version is British. My dad is from the UK and his mom taught my mom how to make this. Of course, this does not make it certain, especially considering traditional British food
I'll have to ask my tea-drinkin' grandmother where the lamb version comes from and post back.

I'll have to ask my tea-drinkin' grandmother where the lamb version comes from and post back.

Since Shephard's Pie is such a humble and delicious meal. BTW - I like the one served at Chief O'Neills on Elston. I would imagine the choice of lamb or beef is what is cheap and locally available.

I just got off the phone with a friend who grew up around London. They always used leftover beef. She also said school dinners of Shephards were always made with beef. Scotland and Wales, big sheep breeding, also used beef. She also opened her Mrs. Beeton's who advised one pound cold cooked beef or mutton. She never had the mutton version, though it seemed reasonable as the ingrediants are inexpensive. AS for lamb, which is expensive, never.

messycook wrote:a layer of garlicky mashed potatoes (made from about 5-6 medium potatoes).

Sounds like a nice variation to add garlic but I can't imagine that that's traditional in England, no?

Corn sounds really wrong to me.

It's a great dish that I unfortunately haven't had in a long while...

A

Cathy2 wrote: AS for lamb, which is expensive, never.

Oh, it was always leftover lamb in our house. Frequently the potatoes were leftover, too.

Thanks for all the tips. I ended up using beef since that's what's in the freezer. Was trying to imitate the shepherd's pie at Mick O'Shea's in Baltimore (anyone?) which I thought had corn but maybe not. I believe they used lamb.

Reminds me of a stew cooked by an Australian friend of mine:

Buncha frozen veg (peas, corn, string beans)
Ground beef
Carrots, onions, potatoes
Can of tomato paste

First brown beef, onions and carrots
Add potatoes and veg (speeds things up to first boil potatoes separately, then add with their water)
Season to taste - salt, pepper, bay, rosemary, garlic, etc.

Cook all this down into a very heavy stew. Then the kicker - you crank up the heat and let it burn a bit on the bottom. This adds a very particular flavor. Technically not finished until it has ripened overnight, but we never waited.

This is a fantastic stew on a cold rainy June afternoon in downeast Maine. Dip a heel of bread with butter.

Alriemer

Technically not finished until it has ripened overnight, but we never waited.

On the kitchen counter or in the refrigerator?

Either would probably be fine. No actual fermentation is supposed to take place. I think we put it in the fridge. When you reheat it, loosen with a little water.

You want a good heavy pot for this, but not your best pot. We had a big enamaled cast iron pot.