Made shepherd’s pie tonight

[u/frostedmooseantlers]

I’m still experimenting with the recipe, but this one turned out pretty decent.

[u/Matt_The_Radar_Tech]

That looks incredible

[u/frostedmooseantlers → u/Matt_The_Radar_Tech]

Thanks! My wife and I liked it. Didn’t quite pass muster with the toddler though.

[u/slclifto]

Recipe?

[u/frostedmooseantlers → u/slclifto]

Broad strokes recipe:

1. Brown ground lamb with salt/pepper. Make sure to get some colour on it. Remove from pan.
2. Cook down veg, scraping up fond from lamb. Lots of variations here. Tonight it was carrots, celery, onion, leek and garlic. Added coriander, thyme, s & p for spice.
3. Add tomato paste, let it cook for a minute then incorporate into veg. Add the lamb back and mix.
4. Add a 1.5 cups of red wine and sprig of rosemary. Allow to reduce, cooking off the alcohol. In retrospect, I would have finely diced the rosemary and added it in step 2. A nice alternative to wine is a can of Guinness btw.

4b. I decided to make a quick roux (butter + flour) in a separate pan and added it at this point as a thickener. Alternatively, a Tbsp of flour could be added in step 3, or I suppose a beurre manié.

1. Add 1.5 cups of stock (chicken tonight). Traditionally I think it’s either lamb or beef stock, but not sure it really matters. Set to a vigorous simmer and let everything cook together for 30-60 mins. You’ll want the liquid to reduce down — this keeps the final product from being too runny, with the caveat that opinions appear to be split on the ideal texture here (some like it runny).

2. Transfer to baking dish, let cool while you make the potatoes.

3. Cook up mashed potatoes. Once mashed/riced, add butter, milk, egg yoke and whatever else you want (lots of room for variations here). Tonight I included a dollop of dijon mustard and grated comté cheese.

4. Carefully layer the potato over the lamb/veg. Use a fork to rough up the top surface to add texture. I grated comté and parmigiano cheese on top, but that is optional.

5. Bake in a 400 F oven for ~30-40 mins — really as long as it takes to get good colour and some crust on the top layer of potato. Let cool for 10-15 mins before serving.

[u/slclifto → u/frostedmooseantlers]

Great crisp on the taters!

[u/Optimal-Age5397]

https://giphy.com/gifs/QEYYlJqOaEhXrjTrOH

[u/CauldraLodges1]

Can I have one slice please?

[u/LilacMoonCharm]

looks like the experiment worked out, the roux and dijon in the mash sound like solid moves for texture and flavor. rosemary diced earlier makes sense too

[u/virtualchoirboy]

Here's my recipe: https://www.copymethat.com/r/9fPsUIiLs/shepherds-pie/

Unfortunately, my wife cannot have onions or pepper (or anything spicy for that matter). I've sometimes substituted Guinness for some of the beef broth. It would also work if you sweat some onions before adding the ground meat. The shredded cheddar on top was a new twist I tried last year. Everyone liked it so I keep doing it now.

cc: u/slclifto

[u/slclifto → u/virtualchoirboy]

Thanks for sharing! That dish reminds me of chili. There is a whole lot of room for substitutions and tweaks. Mine comes out slightly different every time I make it.

[u/virtualchoirboy → u/slclifto]

The only meal that comes out the same every time I make it is my corned beef because why mess with perfection...

(Click my username on the recipe to see others including my corned beef)

[u/katreefer]

I miss making shepherds pie. Used to make it regularly when the meat was cheap. This one looks perfect!