What's YOUR favorite Shepards Pie recipe?

[maslex]

I love Shepards Pie, DH...not so much (but will suffer through it once in a blue moon and when I say blue moon, I've made it 2-3x in the last 18yrs LOL)

Well, my oldest has been asking for it for dinner and I'd like to make it tonight.

Here are a few problems that I've had when I HAVE made it....

Either the potatoes where too dry or too soupy....same with the meat mixture.

Do you make the potatoes as you would when you make mashed? Or do you not put in as much of the milk/butter?

And what about the meat mixture? Do you put a gravy in it? Soup mix? I just want to get a good consistency and taste


***on a side note*** I know that you can pt ANY kind of veggie in the Shepards Pie, but what do you put in it? Thing is, over the years when I asked DH if he wanted SP for dinner, he would always answer, "NO, I don't like peas". Now this cracks me up....1-I've never seen it made with peas, my mom always used corn and 2-We've lived together for 18yrs and there has NEVER been a can of peas in our house!!!! NOBODY likes them here. So I'm assuming his mother must have used peas in her recipe while he was growing up.

 

[dizluvah]

I use corn (frozen) in my shephard's pie - I make it in a big 13 x 9 shallow pan - meat is usually 1 1/2-2lb ground burger, 1 jar of beef gravy (glass jar I can't think of the name....savory beef is the flavor....). I chop up onions and brown with the burger, season with garlic powder, onion powder, cracked pepper, drain all excess fat. I mix gravy and meat mixture together and line bottom of the pan. Then I just top the whole thing with mashed potatoes - I make them the same as I do when I am going to prepare eat/them normally. Then into the oven until the the potatoes get a nice brown crispy top - delish!

Oh we also layer in some shredded cheese - on top of the beef (below the potatoes)

My DH doesn't love it as much as I do but he covers it in hot sauce and with the cheese, he's happy.

 

[Silent1CB]

Maybe its regional, but I don't know anyone who uses gravy here in theirs. I have seen that mentioned online however.

We used creamed corn. My mom also added peas because my dad loves peas. Or 1/2 the casserole dish creamed corn, and the other 1/2 peas.

Same as above but with minced garlic, onions & salt pepper to taste. No cheese, never heard of that before.

Never had a recipe. Its not one of those dishes that needs one. Its just layers.

I come from a French Canadian background and area, so that might influence our version. I don't know. There was mostly ground lamb or pork with the beef at one time, but we just use ground beef now.

Here's a quick google search for ingredients.
http://www.google.com/search?source...fai=CV2YgsUQjTKWzAoLqzASx2YmlCgAAAKoEBU_QIAsD

Or pictures.
http://www.google.com/images?hl=en&...hards pie&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi

 

[kamik86]

My mom always made it with corn. I have seen carrots used as well.

 

[FormrCastMbr]

This is the recipe that I have been using and we love it! I have also served it to family for my son's birthday (we had a St Patricks day theme with corned beef, cabbage and this).

Its from the Puff the Magic Dragon guys!

http://www.therecipebook.info/beef/irish-rovers-unicorn-pub-shepherds-pie/

ETA: I just looked at the recipe...it just says mashed potatoes...I mash with milk, salt, pepper and butter.

 

[minnie56]

Maybe post this on the U.K Community board? If anyone would have the 'real deal' recipe it would be them!!

I make mine similar to the above recipe..no celery though and instead of a roux to thicken I add Bisto mixed with some of the stock. I add peas, sometimes corn instead but not both. And because my DD isn't a fan--I add curry powder when she is here to liven it up!

I grate sharp cheddar on top and put under the broiler before serving.

 

[sunnyday123]

I'm not sure if I can call mine "shepards pie"-I use chicken breasts! I cannot stand the texture of "loose" hamburger meat.

I typically make it with leftovers-gravy, whatever veggies we had, etc. I mix the mashed potatoes with 1 egg and some shredded cheese and bake.

 

[GeorgeG]

The Rose & Crown Pub at Epcot used to have a really good Shepards Pie, but they changed it. There was also a restaurant here in The Villages that had a really good one, but they closed. I wish I could find another good place, but everyone seems to be intent on making a really good basic meal into something gourmet or "healthier." Keep It Simple, Stupid!

 

[kimblebee]

LOL there must be a bug going around because out of the blue I decided to make shepherds pie for dinner as well tonight.

I am trying a new recipie which says to brown the meat and add a can of tomato soup along with garlic, salt and pepper. Put that in the bottom of a casserole dish and put canned corn on top of it. Cover it with mashed potatoes and bake for 30-45 minutes. It sounds good so I hope it works out.

 

[Micca]

The Rose & Crown Pub at Epcot used to have a really good Shepards Pie, but they changed it. There was also a restaurant here in The Villages that had a really good one, but they closed. I wish I could find another good place, but everyone seems to be intent on making a really good basic meal into something gourmet or "healthier." Keep It Simple, Stupid!

Rose & Crown also had an entree with three small savory pies. They were all delicious. I wish they'd bring those back.

 

[Gigi22]

I sometimes use ground lamb, more often lean ground beef. My mother used to put leftover roast beef through a grinder and used that for her shepard's pies, with any leftover gravy. I always use canned corn, drained. Sauteed onions, sometimes some sauteed mushrooms, and a bit of garlic. I've used tomato soup, or a mixture of beef broth and ketchup, as well as worcestershire sauce. Mashed potatoes with paprika sprinkled on top, and grated yellow cheddar added for the last 10-15 min.

 

[cabmom]

Too funny we are having shepards pie tonight too!

Corn, carrots, onion, bisto to mix of beef, top with creamy mashed potatoes and sometimes cheese on top!

 

[Mad4Mickey]

we are about to leave to see Toy Story but I will check to see if you can find the Rachael Ray one online . If you cant I will get out the cookbook she did 4 years ago . It is " the bomb.com" as my Nephew who is 9 says LOL


Easy and YUMMO!

 

[Golf4food]

Alton Brown's - on the Food Network website I think - but with beef or turkey instead of lamb since we don't eat lamb. It is amazing.

 

[Andy B]

Ok from a traditional Uk point of view, ground/minced lamb makes Shepherd's pie Bround beef makes cottage pie.

Finely chop onion and fry til light golden (a clove of crushed Garlic can be added if desired) add the ground meat and brown, add seasoning, for lamb I use a mixture of Dried Onion, Mint, Salt, Dried Garlic Coriander Seed, Black Pepper, Rosemary, Oregano, a squirt of tomato puree a dash of worcestershire sauce and some Lamb stock or water and cook to make meat tender, to this add chopped carrots and peas (frozen or fresh.

Meanwhile make mash .

When meat is tender put the mix in a casserole dish making sure it is moist but not runny and top with the mash. At this stage a little grated mature chedder cheese can be sprinkled over the top and then this is placed in a moderately hot oven until the top is browned.

A cottage pie is similar with ground beef but in the seasoning no mint or rosemary and the stock is beef stock.

 

[walden]

Ok from a traditional Uk point of view, ground/minced lamb makes Shepherd's pie Bround beef makes cottage pie.

. . .
A cottage pie is similar with ground beef but in the seasoning no mint or rosemary and the stock is beef stock.

I was just about to say exactly the same thing! I'm British-born. If you use beef it is cottage pie. Gordon Ramsay once had a 5 minute tirade on the subject

I don't use a recipe just add things and taste, but this recipe is fairly close to how I make cottage pie.

http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/proper-english-cottage-pie/Detail.aspx

I also use a dash of worcestershire sauce to season, simmer a bay leaf with the meat (remove before combining) and try to use fresh herbs.

On veggies: I've been known to use this dish as a way to hide extra veggies from reluctant veggie eaters. I've used peas, but also sometimes chopped zucchini, finely chopped kale or spinach . . .(Shhh, don't give me away!)

The trick is to keep your mashed potatoes quite dry. After draining put the pan back on a very low burner for a minute or two to let any extra moisture steam off, and be cautious in adding milk and butter when mashing.

 

[LiberalPrincess]

I have found that using a bit of cream cheese and less milk in the potatoes also keeps them from getting too mushy.

 

[disneyhand]

My family loves this recipe. However, since someone (DH) doesn't like corn or pea's, I use more of the carrots or add chopped broccoli instead. Still yummy. This recipe comes from simplyrecipes.com

Easy Shepherd's Pie

Ingredients

* 1 1/2 lbs ground round beef
* 1 onion chopped
* 1-2 cups vegetables - chopped carrots, corn, peas
* 1 1/2 - 2 lbs potatoes (3 big ones)
* 8 tablespoons butter (1 stick)
* 1/2 cup beef broth
* 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
* Salt, pepper, other seasonings of choice

Method

1 Peel and quarter potatoes, boil in salted water until tender (about 20 minutes).

2 While the potatoes are cooking, melt 4 Tablespoons butter (1/2 a stick) in large frying pan.

3 Sauté onions in butter until tender over medium heat (10 mins). If you are adding vegetables, add them according to cooking time. Put any carrots in with the onions. Add corn or peas either at the end of the cooking of the onions, or after the meat has initially cooked.

shepherds-pie-1.jpg shepherds-pie-3.jpg

4 Add ground beef and sauté until no longer pink. Add salt and pepper. Add worcesterchire sauce. Add half a cup of beef broth and cook, uncovered, over low heat for 10 minutes, adding more beef broth as necessary to keep moist.

5 Mash potatoes in bowl with remainder of butter, season to taste.

shepherds-pie-4.jpg shepherds-pie-5.jpg

6 Place beef and onions in baking dish. Distribute mashed potatoes on top. Rough up with a fork so that there are peaks that will brown nicely. You can use the fork to make some designs in the potatoes as well.

7 Cook in 400 degree oven until bubbling and brown (about 30 minutes). Broil for last few minutes if necessary to brown.

Serves four.

 

[maslex]

Well, thanks for all the different recipes!!! I got the general idea and made it last night with what I had in house and it turned out to be a success

DH (the one who doesn't really like Shepards Pie) said that it was THE BEST Shepard's Pie that he's ever had (not that's he's had a lot LOL) And even asked for leftovers for today's lunch at work!!!


I just browned up the hambuger with onions, salt, pepper and some Garlic Garlic from Tastefully Simple. Mixed in a can of corn and a jar of beef gravy. Then layered some shredded cheese (son didn't care for the cheese though) then topped it with the potatoes!!! Easy peasey!!!