Shepherd's Pie

Posted Posted 3/7/2010 10:53:03 PM

Back when I was stationed at Sheppard AFB, TX, the cafeteria served Shephard's Pie once to twice a week. I always looked forward to those days and went back for seconds and thirds. Don't think I'd had any since I left.

So I was recently perusing through one of the few cookbooks I have (Thanks, Dad), and came across the recipe. It had to be mine. The book rated it as 'Hard' difficulty, but I wasn't about to let that (combined with a total lack of cooking skill) stop me. I went out for a grocery run (my third one in as many months) and prepared to feast.

Little did I know just how much work goes into a meal like this. I made the mistake of deciding to follow the recipe for the most part, which involved making mashed potatoes from scratch, chopping a fresh onion, and some seasoning I had never tried before (Thyme, Nutmeg, Garlic, and Rosemary (which gets stuck in my teeth so I left it out)). I had never made a meal like this from scratch before, and I'll never do it again.

My problem is that, geek as I am, I tend to follow instructions as I receive them: Sequentially - In order to prevent them from getting screwed up (i.e. my experiences with assembly dependencies and the like). Therefore it took me three hours.

I also didn't have everything I needed, like a potato masher. I managed to compromise a makeshift potato masher from a metal grill spatula, which worked reasonably well. However, in the future, I'll simply use Instant Mashed Potatoes. They taste better anyway, and I don't have to worry about nonsense like how to judge a potato at the store. Fortunately I'm tall and can therefore access the potatoes the short housewives have neglected.

The pie lasted me through five meals (two including seconds) in three days, so when I reduce it to an equation of Man Hours per Meal, the work wasn't really all that excessive. With the instant potatoes decision I think it will be well worth it. Plus, the instant potatoes I've made in the past came out with significantly better consistency and mashedness, so I think it will help the consistency of the overall pie.

Specifically, properly-made Shephard's Pie should cut evenly and hold its shape as you cut it into servings and subsequent forkfulls. Mine failed to do so due to the poorly-mashed potatoes I jury rigged. With the Instant Potatoes, I predict this will not be the case.

And, of course, I added a layer of corn between the potatoes and the beef. It wasn't in the recipé, but who can eat a shephard's pie made of just beef and potatoes?

And salt. Lots and lots of salt.

OK, actually that's oversimplifying. The beef was seasoned with thyme, garlic, salt, and a whole onion which I bought fresh and chopped up. Unfortunately, refactoring the onion would be a tradeoff. I know the freshly chopped onion was far superior to buying pre-chopped onions or using onion powder, and the chopping only took a few minutes... I'll probably leave that part in.

Pictured above is not the Shephard's Pie I made. I stole this pic from the Internet without express written consent (i.e. only Implied Oral consent / fair use). Mine looked just like this but with much clumpier potatoes.

Anyway, I declare success. It tasted great, fed me for days, and didn't lose any quality during refrigeration and reheating.