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Shepherd's (or maybe Cottage) Pie

SmokeyPitt
SmokeyPitt Posts: 10,490
edited October 2012 in EggHead Forum
I had a little too much fun on Saturday and wasn't feeling great on Sunday, so I needed some comfort food that was easy to make.  I just wanted to eat...not think. The Mrs. suggested Shephards Pie.  I looked up a recipe on the AllRecipes app on my iphone and picked the easiest one:


Now, I have heard that Shepherds Pie should have lamb, and this is technically a Cottage pie...so with that disclaimer out of the way...

I varied the recipe a little- I added a medium size sweet onion and I used prepared minced garlic I had on hand.  I didn't use "low" or "lean" anything.  I used ground chuck (85/15 I believe), regular sour cream, and regular beef broth. 

I used an 8 qt dutch oven on the small.  I set it up for a direct cook and added the onions first with a little butter to soften them, then I added the beef and minced garlic and browned the beef.  I used a nice dose of cherry chips during this stage and tried to keep the dome closed to get some smoke flavor.  Once the meat was browned, added the flour per the directions for a minute followed by the beef broth.  This just makes a cheap gravy.  I let this cook uncovered for about 5 more minutes, then I removed the dutch oven and set the egg up for indirect (sort of*) and stabilized around 375. 

Meanwhile, the Mrs. was inside taking care of the taters.  We used red taters with the skin on, added sour cream and cheese as the recipe stated, plus a little butter, garlic salt, and pepper.   I added the mashed taters to the DO, put it back on the egg for 18-20 minutes.  

*Now, I don't have a plate setter for my small, so I was using 3 pieces of a broken pizza stone to rig up an indirect setup.  I don't think it was blocking the  heat at the bottom so well, and the gravy was boiling up through the taters.  I think another contributing factor is the recipe is a bit "soupy".  I think next time I might use a combination of cream of mushroom soup and beef broth to thicken it up, as well as get a better indirect setup so it is not cooking from the bottom up. 

After 20 minutes I noticed the soupiness so I decided to pull it off the egg and cover it with the DO lid for a little while to let the gravy settle back in place.  After a few minutes I added cheese and and covered again until the cheese melted.  That's a great thing about a CI DO...you can keep cooking even after you have taken it away from the heat source. 

For a quick, easy, cheap meal...this was really good.  It was fun to do all the cooking in a single pot, and it was really easy.  I only took one iphone pic after the fam had devoured half of it.  It is certainly not the prettiest meal, but it was really tasty.  I'm definitely going to try this again with some variations.

Warning: If you are the type of person who can't stand your food touching, this is not the recipe for you! 


Which came first the chicken or the egg?  I egged the chicken and then I ate his leg. 

Comments

  • Little Steven
    Little Steven Posts: 28,817
    You don't lose as much moisture in the egg as you would in an oven so it is wise to use more flour or reduce the roux more. Shepherd's Pie is the bomb of comfort food.

    Steve 

    Caledon, ON

     

  • bud812
    bud812 Posts: 1,869
    Man that looks good..

    Not to get technical, but according to chemistry alcohol is a solution...

    Large & Small BGE

    Stockton Ca.

  • Griffin
    Griffin Posts: 8,200

    Great job, @SmokeyPitt. Like how you clarified for those not in the know the difference between a shepher's pie and a cottage pie, most people just call them both shepherd's even though there is a difference. Great walk through and you included a picture. Looks good from where I'm sitting. I like that you included corn as well, even though that's not really traditional. I'll take a bowl full of that please.

    I love shepherd's/cottage pie, but have only attempted to make it a time or two (with less than spectacular results). Funny thing is one of the best ones I've had, was in an Irish pub in Germany of all places. :))

    Thanks for sharing.

    Rowlett, Texas

    Griffin's Grub or you can find me on Facebook

    The Supreme Potentate, Sovereign Commander and Sultan of Wings

     

  • SmokeyPitt
    SmokeyPitt Posts: 10,490
    Thanks for the tip Lil Stephen.  Next time I try I will make sure that I get the consistency right before I throw on the taters. 

    Thanks bud!

    Thanks Griff!  The corn was included because it was in the bag of Publix frozen mixed veggies I threw in ;).  I think if I had made this in the oven it would have been so-so...but the egg made this simple recipe really good.  I'll have to remember to try an authentic Irish version next time I'm in Germany :P. 


    Which came first the chicken or the egg?  I egged the chicken and then I ate his leg. 

  • henapple
    henapple Posts: 16,025
    Sounds great...as you're mixing and adding how do you keep the temp controlled In the egg while it's open?
    Green egg, dead animal and alcohol. The "Boro".. TN