Recipe For Making The Best Shepherds Pie I Made It Ii

Recipe For Making The Best Shepherds Pie

LindaLMT 5 years ago
Recipe For Making The Best Shepherds Pie
Recipe made for IMI2's March 2019 "Irish or Green" challenge. I made this recipe for the Irish part.

I never made a Shepherds Pie and there are so many variations to choose from … cheese on top, garlicky, tomato in the base, etc.
I've had them out at restaurants and love them but have no idea how they make them. I took Shona's advice and made the pies in stages. Made the filling, put it away, and cleaned up the mess. Made the potato topping, put it away, and cleaned up the mess. Then when we wanted to eat made the pies and baked.
The recipe I choose did everything at once and because everything was already hot didn't note a bake time/length so I used my judgement and baked at 350 on the convection setting for about 1/2 hour. My pies were individual.
They were good but not "knock your socks off" good. Not sure if it was my beef (gave off water even though I drained it well after cooking, my husband picked out Kobe ground beef), the beef stock used to make the gravy, or just the recipe itself. We ate them but they were not as good as what I remember having out.
The recipe looks pretty standard so it must have been my beef or beef stock that I wasn't thrilled about.
Surprisingly, my husband who is not an adventurous eater ate his entire pie and enjoyed it.

My review: This is a great recipe and yields a good 'ole fashioned pie. I made my meat mix and potatoes ahead of time and assembled individuals pies when we were ready to eat and baked them at 350 on a convection setting and cooked till they were bubbling hot which I could see along the sides. I like that the recipe uses 1 pound of meat which is usually how pre-packed ground beef comes.
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LindaLMT 5 years ago said:

Here is a question I have for you all … not one recipe notes what % fat of ground beef to use. What do you use??

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Cosmicmother 5 years ago said:

That looks pretty with the heart on it, too cute! And wonderful photo! It's hard to get a nice photo of shepherd's pie and you nailed it. :D
If I buy one pound at a time I get extra lean. If I buy the Club packs (family size) I get Lean. I'm not sure what the percentages are as I only see X-Lean, Lean or Regular. But the extra lean has little to no fat, the lean has a little bit of fat to drain and regular is swimming in it.
I like Shepherds pie that either has a rich beefy gravy with garlic, or a tangy tomato base with herbs. I looked at this recipe several times and the only thing I found odd was that the gravy was separate from the beef and that it doesn't bake--just broils. I think simmering it with the beef gives it more flavor. :)

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eastcoaster 5 years ago said:

Linda, that is a beautiful photo. I read the recipe and wondering if maybe it was the sour cream and cream cheese? I have never seen these in any recipe.
Like Shona i buy extra lean if buying small, club pack when on sale, usually regular.

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LindaLMT 5 years ago said:

The potato part was fine (really any mashed potato recipe could be used).
After I made the gravy I did mix it with the beef. I'm convinced I just didn't like the ground beef I used. I'm going to try another recipe, maybe one with a little tomato in the base would be good.

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DIZ3 5 years ago said:

Great photo, LindaLMT! I like how you did the heart on top. Kobe beef also called Wagyu beef is a Japanese breed of cattle. It has a unique flavor and a tender, silky texture. It's extremely high in fat! If you like "prime" grade beef you will probably like Wagyu. I've had Wagyu meatloaf at one of our favorite steakhouses. I loved it! Never tried one of the steaks there because it's close to $100. My local butcher bought an American Wagyu and butchered it for his shop. I bought a few packages of burger and a rib steak. It was awesome! Loaded with good, flavorful fat. I fried the burger and it was swimming in fat before it was done. lol! Lots of info on Kobe/Wagyu beef if you google it. As far as buying burger, I prefer a fattier burger and use 85/15.

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LindaLMT 5 years ago said:

I've had American Kobe/Wagyu but it's been a long time DIZ. I guess I'm use to the chuck I buy which is 80/20% which is ideal for burgers and it's mostly what I use it for. I'm so use to the taste and do like it so the Kobe ground beef was just "off" for me.

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mommyluvs2cook 5 years ago said:

Wow, gorgeous photo Linda, LOVE the heart! Sorry it came out watery, bit it's always a win when the husband gives it two thumbs up :). We get a steer processed every couple of years so I have no idea what percent fat it is. Not a whole lot of fat collects in the pan when I cook it so I'm assuming pretty lean?

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