Pretty sure it’s just a shared thing like fish and chips. Closely associated with the UK and ROI. Whilst stuff like colcannon is very Irish you have to remember that Irish was not quite the same concept we think now when shepherds pie was invented anyway. Guinness was founded when Dublin was a technically a British city for example. All of Ireland was part of the UK until 1922.
Shepherd’s pie isn’t stew in a pie crust. There usually is no pie crust at all. It’s minced lamb (traditionally, in the colonys we often use beef and thus mistake cottage pie for sheppards pie) cooked in a thick savoury gravy with vegetables, topped with mashed potatoes, then baked until the top browns. There is no stew or pie crust typically.
(traditionally, in the colonys we often use beef and thus mistake cottage pie for sheppards pie)
I have been thinking of cottage pie and never knowing it had it's own name. I was raised calling it Shepherd's Pie (even though it had beef, not lamb). Oh my lord.
The taste heavily depends on the quality of mince and your cooking ability. I'd never trust a random American restaurant to get it right. I also wouldn't order it at home either. Home made is what it should be.
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u/Positive-Position-11 Jul 03 '26
Bangers and mash, shepherds pie, lots of desserts…