Anyone have a great Shepherd's Pie recipe?...

[Michelle in GA]

I have never made one and have always wanted to try one.

 

Thanks!

[MariannNOVA]

I have a few variations that I prepare -- I found the recipes on:

 

thekitchenlink.com

 

 

Bon Appetit!

[unsinkable]

No, I don't. :D

 

But if you ever come to Bflo, I will take you to this Irish restaurant/bar and buy you one!

 

I had one this summer that was sooooo good. The potatoes were perfectly seasoned with some garlic (not overwhelming) and the gravy in the pie was almost like a glaze, not a gravy. The meat was very finely minced, too. No big honking hunks. The veggies had a bite, not mushy at all.

 

It was so yummy!

[AuntieM]

I don't have a real recipe, but can tell you how I make it.

 

First I brown 1-2 pounds lean ground beef with chopped onions and Montreal steak seasoning (can use salt, pepper and garlic instead). Towards the end of browing I add sliced mushrooms and a bit of beef broth (I like Better Than Boullion). Place beef mixture in bottom of casserole dish, so that the dish is appx 1/3 full. I may also add a bit more broth so the meat will not be dry, especially if I am going to refrigerate it a while before cooking. To me, the key to a good Shepherd's Pie is moist, well-seasoned meat.

 

I make the mashed potatoes as I would if I were serving them as a side dish. Make them the way you like, enough to cover the beef in the casserole dish and leave some space at the top of the dish.

 

Top with cheese. My family likes sliced American, which I may also sprinkle with cheddar.

 

All the ingredients are already cooked, so you just need to cook it long enough to heat it through and melt the cheese. Say 15-20 minutes at 350.

 

Now that you have reminded me of this, I think I'm going to make it! This dish is very easy to prepare early in the day so at dinner all you have to do is stick it in the oven while you prepare a big green salad. Voilà, dinner!

[AuntieM]

FWIW, my "recipe" above is my family-friendly version. I know there are many gourmet SP recipes out there - and I'd love to try a few! - but this is an economical version that my family likes.

 

There is a Celtic restaurant around the corner that is known for their SP, but I always order something else. Now I might have to schedule a lunch over there for some research!

 

Now I am off to click on Marianne's links, which I know will be good...

[Quiver0f10]

I don't have a real recipe, but can tell you how I make it.

 

First I brown 1-2 pounds lean ground beef with chopped onions and Montreal steak seasoning (can use salt, pepper and garlic instead). Towards the end of browing I add sliced mushrooms and a bit of beef broth (I like Better Than Boullion). Place beef mixture in bottom of casserole dish, so that the dish is appx 1/3 full. I may also add a bit more broth so the meat will not be dry, especially if I am going to refrigerate it a while before cooking. To me, the key to a good Shepherd's Pie is moist, well-seasoned meat.

 

I make the mashed potatoes as I would if I were serving them as a side dish. Make them the way you like, enough to cover the beef in the casserole dish and leave some space at the top of the dish.

 

Top with cheese. My family likes sliced American, which I may also sprinkle with cheddar.

 

All the ingredients are already cooked, so you just need to cook it long enough to heat it through and melt the cheese. Say 15-20 minutes at 350.

 

Now that you have reminded me of this, I think I'm going to make it! This dish is very easy to prepare early in the day so at dinner all you have to do is stick it in the oven while you prepare a big green salad. Voilà, dinner!

 

This is pretty much how I make it too except I add creamed corn before the potato layer.

[Cheryl in NM]

Rachel Ray just did one on her show this week. You can find it on her website.

[Susan in TN]

Here's how I make it.

 

Cook your ground beef (1 to 1.5 lb.) and chopped onion (about 1 small). Add seasonings (salt, pepper, etc.) and 1/4 c. tomato paste (or leftover marinara sauce, or tomato soup, etc.) - enough to make it moist, but not soupy. Put this in the bottom of your (deep dish) pie plate or casserole dish.

 

Then lightly cook 2C green beans, carrots, and/or peas (whatever kind of vegetable you like) and put this over the meat.

 

Top with 2-3 C mashed potatoes (sometimes I use boxed mashed potatoes and it works just fine). Put a good layer of shredded cheddar cheese on that, and then bake at 350* for 20 minutes or so.

 

Shepherd's Pie can be frozen right in the pie plate (or foil pan) and then baked. I always make 3 or 4 at a time and freeze the extra pies because I hate to go through all that pre-cooking for just one meal. The frozen mashed potatoes will seem grainy right out of the freezer but they will smooth out after baking.

[happyhomemaker25]

Ours is just simple and the kids love it. We brown the ground beef. Throw in some mixed veggies and BBQ sauce. Make mashed potatoes the way you normally make them. Place the meat mixture in the cassarole dish, top with mashed potatoes, throw some cheese on top, cook at 350 for 30m and done! Yum.

One day I might try "real" Shepherd's pie, but this is working for now.

[justasque]

Brown 1 lb ground beef, drain. Put aside.

Saute onions, garlic, celery, and carrots in 3 tbsp olive oil or butter.

Add the beef back in.

Add 3 tbsp flour, mix well, cook for a minute.

Gradually add 2 cups (1 can) beef broth, stirring constantly.

Simmer until thickened.

This is your "innards". At this point you can freeze it, if you like. You can also freeze just before the broth, which takes less space in the freezer.

 

Now make your mashed potatoes.

Grease a casserole dish. Add beef mixture. Cover with potatoes. Put a bit of cheese on top if you like.

 

You can use the same basic recipe for chicken pot pie, using chicken instead of beef, and chicken broth instead of beef broth.

 

You can vary the veggies, or use a frozen veg mixture.

We like to add turnips and parsnips for a "winter" feel.

 

You can top with potatoes, or pie crust, or biscuit dough.

You can eat as a "stew", without adding a topping, or perhaps over rice.

 

Stir in some sour cream, mix the potatoes, and you have a beef stroganof - nice with mushrooms, serve over egg noodles.

[unsinkable]

Cross reference this with the things I never knew about DH:

 

He justrightnowthisminute told me that when they were growing up they never called it Shepherd's Pie...they called it:

 

Pâté Chinois

 

But from the moment I met him, he'd tell me how much he loved Shepherd's Pie.

 

Huh.

[ladydusk]

I make mine with leftover pot roast. So one day, I do a crockpot roast (with potatoes, carrots, celery, onion, sometimes fennel). Then when I want shepherd's pie, I separate out the veggies and dice them, I heat up the potatoes (and usually cook some more) and make "smashed potatoes." I shred the meat. Then, I make gravy out of (some of) the leftover broth from the crockpot. Add the meat and veggies to the gravy and warm. Put it in an appropriate sized pan. Top with smashed potatoes and some cheese. Bake. Yum.

[ktgrok]

Not a recipe exactly....

 

Brown the meat (lamb is shepherds pie, beef is cottage pie. I like a mixture of both). Add some onion and garlic and some seasonings of your choice. I love a bit of rosemary. Simmer for a while with some liquid, you can use beef broth but I like to use a bit of dark beer (like guiness or a seasoned stout). In another pan I sautee some chopped up carrot with a bit of butter. You could use peas too, but I hate peas. Boil and mash the potatoes, a bit thicker than normal is my way. Layer the beef, then the veggies, then the potatoes and bake until heated through, about 30 minutes or so. You can top with some cheese at the end if you like, a good cheddar would work.

[HollyDay]

Mine is not exactly proper shepherd's pie either. I use any type of ground meat. Brown it with onions and a bit of garlic. Use something "saucy" like cream of mushroom soup, ketchup, tomato paste and water, jar gravy, thickened beef broth, etc. Mix in a bag of frozen mixed veggies. Top with mashed potatoes. Cook a bit in the oven - everything is already cooked, you just want to mix the flavors and brown the potatoes a bit.

 

You might try looking up Cottage Pie. If I recall, that is the beef version of shepherd's pie

[Gooblink]

Mine is not exactly proper shepherd's pie either. I use any type of ground meat. Brown it with onions and a bit of garlic. Use something "saucy" like cream of mushroom soup, ketchup, tomato paste and water, jar gravy, thickened beef broth, etc. Mix in a bag of frozen mixed veggies. Top with mashed potatoes. Cook a bit in the oven - everything is already cooked, you just want to mix the flavors and brown the potatoes a bit.

 

You might try looking up Cottage Pie. If I recall, that is the beef version of shepherd's pie

 

This is almost exactly how I make mine, too. We don't do the cream soup due to gluten intolerance, but I do some sort of sauce/gravy and the frozen mixed veggies.

 

Mmmm, think I know what we're having for dinner. :)

[unsinkable]

Brown 1 lb ground beef, drain. Put aside.

Saute onions, garlic, celery, and carrots in 3 tbsp olive oil or butter.

Add the beef back in.

Add 3 tbsp flour, mix well, cook for a minute.

Gradually add 2 cups (1 can) beef broth, stirring constantly.

Simmer until thickened.

This is your "innards". At this point you can freeze it, if you like. You can also freeze just before the broth, which takes less space in the freezer.

 

Now make your mashed potatoes.

Grease a casserole dish. Add beef mixture. Cover with potatoes. Put a bit of cheese on top if you like.

 

You can use the same basic recipe for chicken pot pie, using chicken instead of beef, and chicken broth instead of beef broth.

 

 

You can vary the veggies, or use a frozen veg mixture.

We like to add turnips and parsnips for a "winter" feel.

 

You can top with potatoes, or pie crust, or biscuit dough.

You can eat as a "stew", without adding a topping, or perhaps over rice.

 

Stir in some sour cream, mix the potatoes, and you have a beef stroganof - nice with mushrooms, serve over egg noodles.

 

Pauline, thank you!

 

Reading your post made me think that the shepherd's pie I loved so much was probably thickened with cornstarch, not flour That is probably why it was shiny and glaz-y looking, not opaque like gravy.

[anotherbrother]

The Rachael Ray recipe is really good and super easy to make. You can find it by doing a google search. I think it calls for ground lamb, but I often use ground beef because it's cheaper.

[creekland]

We call ours Hunter's Pie because we use ground deer instead of ground lamb or beef...

 

And we put a bottom layer of mashed potatoes as well as a top layer - like a pie with two crusts.

 

Like others, we brown the meat with whatever spices you like (I use Mrs. Dash) and then add in the veggies. We don't use any broth or cream soups. When in season I use veggies from our garden. When not, I used frozen mixed veggies.

 

Layer the bottom of the casserole dish with mashed potatoes, spread the mixture in the middle. Cover the top with more mashed potatoes. Paint with melted butter, paprika, and shredded cheese. Cover and bake at 350 for about half an hour - it's flexible, but you want the top to be brown and crusty. Sometimes we put it on broil a little bit to get the top crusted the way we like it.

 

I always make enough for supper and leftovers as my family loves it. When we have garden veggies (including potatoes), this is an extremely inexpensive meal.

[justasque]

Pauline, thank you!

 

Reading your post made me think that the shepherd's pie I loved so much was probably thickened with cornstarch, not flour That is probably why it was shiny and glaz-y looking, not opaque like gravy.

 

Oh, that sounds like something I'd like to try. I know what you mean by glaz-y, and it sounds yummy!

[lisabelle]

I make mine with hamburger most of the time. Other times I do a vegetarian version, which means I just make it with more vegetables--maybe add some yellow squash for more color.

 

1 lb. hamburger

1 med. onion

2 med. zuccchini

1 lb. mushrooms, sliced

1 c. frozen peas

1 pkg. mushroom gravy

4 potatoes

grated cheddar cheese

oregano

black pepper

garlic powder

basil

thyme

 

Brown the hamburger with chopped onion. Drain. Mix in the chopped zucchini and sliced mushrooms. Cover for a few minutes so that the veggies can soften. Add peas, and spices to taste. Usually the zucchini and mushrooms give off a decent amount of liquid, so when I stir the mushroom gravy mix in I only need to add a little more water to make a nice, thick gravy. Then I stir in a handful of grated cheddar cheese and pour the mixed meat and veggies into a casserole dish.

 

While I've been doing that, I'm also making mashed potatoes. If I'm in the mood for something a little kicky, I throw a little horseradish into the mashed potatoes as well. I top the meat/veggie mixture with mashed potatoes and sprinkle grated cheese over that. Then it gets baked in the oven at 350 until the cheese is starting to brown.