What Is Shepherd’s Pie?
This lamb pie—or “shepherd’s pie” as it’s called across the U.K. and Ireland—is a savory casserole made of ground meat and peas and carrots cooked in a rich gravy and topped with a mountain of mashed potatoes—or puff pastry—or both (as we do here), and sometimes cheese (yup, we do that, too). It’s the kind of food that feeds the body and nourishes the soul, especially in the winter doldrums when it’s dreary outside and dark by 4 pm. Our rack of lamb is another hearty classic lamb recipe.
Shepherd’s Pie Ingredients
Alright—let’s get down to business! What’s in shepherd’s pie? Here’s a quick rundown of what makes our shepherd’s pie so, so good:
- Ground lamb. Lamb is classic, and we love its hearty flavor. But, you can use ground beef or even ground turkey here, too, if you prefer.
- Onions + carrots + peas. We basically keep a bag of peas in the freezer at all times so we can make lamb shepherd’s pie whenever the craving strikes. We recommend you do the same.
- Garlic + thyme. The only two seasonings you’ll need.
- Beef broth + stout beer. We love the added layer of complexity the beer brings to the overall dish. That said, you can always substitute an equal amount of beef broth for the beer.
- Mashed potatoes + puff pastry + Gruyère. Our meat pie gets not one, not two, but three different toppers. And we wouldn’t have it any other way.
How to Make Shepherd’s Pie
Our shepherd’s pie recipe perfect for a lazy afternoon of cooking—it’s not fast, but it is supremely satisfying sometimes to just slow down and spend a day in the kitchen. We like to imagine the (admittedly long-ish) process in three steps:
- Brown the meat. Browing your meat before roasting creates what’s called the Maillard reaction, which is basically a chemical reaction of turning the amino acids on the surface of the meat into caramelized sugars. Which is why it always makes meat taste better than if you hadn’t browned it.
- Soften veggies, add liquids, then roast with meat in the oven until super tender and moist. You can do homemade shepherd’s pie on the stovetop and just broil at the end, but we really love the texture and flavor of a dish that’s been slow-roasted.
- Distribute into coquettes, top with potatoes, puff pastry, and cheese, and return to bake until almost blistery. Make sure your potatoes have cooled before you assemble your dishes—otherwise there’s a chance your pastry won’t puff.
Cottage Pie vs. Shepherd’s Pie
But isn’t shepherd’s pie also called “cottage pie”? Well, yes. And no. The shepherd's pie origin story is murky at best, because people have been making some version of this recipe for a long, long time. But, most food historians agree that shepherd’s pie was traditionally made with lamb (named for the shepherds that tended sheep—get it?), and it’s thought to be of Irish origin, while cottage pie was traditionally made in Britain with leftover beef, and named for the cottage-dwelling peasants that created it. In both cases, the dishes were thought to have originated in the 18th century as a way for people to make use of a week’s leftover roast by putting it all in a pie with a potato crust. These days, though, the two terms are often used interchangeably.
Tools to Make Our Shepherd’s Pie with Lamb
- Large saute pan (with lid) or Dutch oven. Use something heavy so it’ll both retain heat and help the roast cook evenly.
- Slotted spoon. A slotted spoon really is the easiest way to scoop out the browned meat before you soften your veggies.
- Mini coquettes. Or, you can use mini disposable pie tins, but we’ll really take any excuse to bust out the coquettes.
Want Other Easy-to-Make Pie Ideas?
We love feeding our family pie for dinner! We especially love it when they are savory pies like these ones:
Pie Face
How much did you and your crew love our lamb pie? Show us your meaty pie tins and tag us @themodernproper and #themodernproper
