Anglo Aussie here, had shepherds pie pretty much every Monday of my childhood. We used the left over lamb from Sunday’s roast. Ground up in a mincer then added it to the vegetables with homemade stock and a dash of Guinness. Best dish ever.
As someone who has delved into the depths of mastering shepard's pie, big time love for sharing these secrets with the masses. The amount of truly mediocre shepard's pie recipes on the internet is staggering. Getting that luscious creamy, meaty, complex gravy is so crucial. Definitely more of a fan of the yukon gold potatoes for this, but I might have to try busting out the russets one more time soon.
you can always mix them up, it's better if you cut them in smaller pieces when boiling for that, but a mixed russet/yukon mash is great for texture! I prefer the flavor and texture of yukons, but you REALLY want the extra starch for this particular dish to hold together, otherwise you might end up with a floating crust
Cant wait to make this. Every recipe of yours I’ve made has been high class. You’re one of the few cooks on youtube that makes videos with food that not only looks good, but actually tastes good too! Thanks Brian.
@@andywright8803 its a food video dude. No need for the correction police here. Why are you assuming a guy whose life is to make cooking content wouldn’t know this? Maybe he didn’t feel like making a video that way. How about you create a RU-vid channel and make a video on shepherds pie with lamb instead of telling someone else who is trying to create something for people to enjoy that he is doing it the wrong way. Grow up.
Brian, I shared this channel with my teenage grandson who loves to cook. He now watches you all the time and thinks you're cool. You're inspiring a new generation of future chefs! Thank you for sharing simple, sound, flavorful recipes - just good plain food that really, really tastes like it should. And please, accept my condolences for your recent loss. Take care of yourself, chef, and a heartfelt thanks.
A neighbor just lost her husband and I've been looking for the perfect comfort food to bring her. Thank you for this; I have everything (even the fennel) in my house right now and I'll deliver it this afternoon (plus, ya know, another one for my husband and I)!
The earliest written recipe for shepherds pie ("The Practice of Cookery and Pastry" by Mrs. Williamson, 1849) calls for "cold dressed meat of any kind."
Welcome back Bri! I hope youre doing well my condolences your recipies have brought me and my family much happiness and comfort I hope you can find some these days too my friend.
Same goes for onions. There are times where you just want to sweat them until they're translucent, but for chilli, bolognaise, or shepherd's pie, I'll cook them on a low heat until they start to develop a ton of umami flavour.
According to Wikipedia, there are many variations of meat you can use, but it's still called Shepard's pie. Not all recipe writers agree with the distinction of the two.
@@FunctionallyLiteratePerson Went and read that Wikipedia article and generally leans towards modern uses being lamb for Shepard and beef for cottage. Indeed on the table of recipes only two use beef in their Shepard's pie all the others use lamb only. In the home of these pies the UK it's pretty rigid
@@FunctionallyLiteratePerson Wikipedia is incorrect in this case, because any ham-fisted yahoo can change the entries, and they apparently have in this case, because they refuse to admit they're just plain wrong.
Thank you Brian! Made the Shepherds Pie (actually I made a Cottage Pie) for the second time. "Done Right" is a good description. The recipe you follow delivers and extremely delicious flavor. All others I have tasted in the past are way off track compare to yours. It's the flon that takes it to the next level. Thank you. This is a keeper.
I like to add the tomato paste to the ingredients first and cook for an extra couple minutes before the wine goes in, it just deepens that flavor for even more savory punch
Tried this last night and it was way better than any cottage pie I've made before. The wine adds such a great complexity to the flavor and I loved the sour cream in the potatoes on top. Keep the great recipes coming.
Perfect timing! Going to make this tomorrow for a few friends. Your recipe and technique are perfect, but I think adding a bit of rosemary will be good with lamb.
Hey Bri, I'm a newbie here to your channel, but am loving all the cool chef's insights you bring. Plus, you are actually entertaining, which makes these fun to watch to the end and not skip around. Anyway, I have been inspired to take my cooking to new levels as you seem to make everything from scratch, but you seem to make it look easy. Anyway, keep up the dope work!
you've probably figured it out by now, but most of the time, once you know the method, cooking from scratch doesn't take any longer and always tastes better. and the few times when it's not worth it, you can totally cheat the way brian does and use store bought bouillon or other ingredients.
I don't know why I havent commented on your videos before.....just made the Shepards Pie.... and my parents really loved it..... you are unique a talent....
My boyfriend mentioned a few days ago how much he likes shepherd's pie as a comfort food, then I saw this today so thought it was the perfect time to make it! This is my first time making it.
I grew up on Shepherd's Pie. I loved it as a kid. As an adult, very few restaurants in my decent sized city (Grand Rapids, MI) serve anything good. Homemade is great, but certainly not a weeknighting meal. 😆 Great video and tips, Bri-Guy. Always a joy to hang out in the kitchen with you.
I'm a native of Traverse City, MI, and I think there's at least one restaurant there that makes a good shepherd's pie, but couldn't tell you which one. I haven't been back home in seven years---moved 800 miles south to get away from the winters---so no longer know the various (numerous!) restaurants in T.C. All that blather to say that at least one restaurant in America has a good shepherd's pie ☺.
You've gone and done it again! What a simple good comfort food dish elevated to great! Every herb, every seasoning, the addition of flavor enhancers have taken boring into something to share with company. The shepherd's pie with a fresh garden salad and you have a special treat (with left-overs, hopefully).
Kyle, do you also use Irish Cheddar in mixing the potatoes too? I'm so NOT a fan of parmesan (especially the "green can" junk). I assume that Irish Cheddar is a "white" cheese, is that right? What are the names for it, and where can I find it in the USA?
@@bsteven885 yup, I mix it in the potatoes as well. Babish has a video on shepherd's pie that I base my recipe off of (or maybe copy entirely, I don't recall). Kerrygold Irish Cheddar is the stuff you're looking for. They sell it at Costco (the greatest place on Earth). The green can stuff is disgusting and I will never purchase it. I generally prefer Pecorino Romano overall though. Always buy your cheese in blocks and shred it yourself.
I made this one over the weekend for a dinner with friends and everyone was BLOWN AWAY!!! They continually said it was the best Shepard's Pie they ever tasted. Do you know that part, where you are already full but something tastes so good that you are like 'I am full but I am fearful for the moment I won't have this taste in my mouth'? So thank God I suggested I'll leave half of the dish for them because they were bursting 😄 I made it without the beef paste (we don't have that where I live), so if you don't have any - still tastes AMAZING!
Once again, I will be making this dish very soon ! It is very cold these days in Paris. And once again, I will be the star of my family and friends for bringing them such joy! They think I am talented, but I just replicate whatever you teach us! 😉
I love your channel and by pure coincidence I made shepherds pie for dinner. Wish I’d waited until tomorrow so I’d have your recipe lol. I made your boeuf bourguignon a few weeks ago and it turned out great btw
Beef is Cottage Pie, Lamb is Shepards. I always do a layer of mash on the bottom, then filling, then on top. We also don't love peas, so we use corn nibblets instead. Comes out really nicely for presentation :)
Thanks for the recipe Bri. Tried it with my bro today and it was great. We omitted some ingredients we didnt have but the result was amazing. Defo will make again
I think Bri invented the term "grip" as a unit of measurement. This looks amazing. A lot of shepherd's pie recipes online look boring and this doesn't.
I've made shepherd's pie a number of ways over the years, usually with beef, and I add a layer of corn as well. I simply don't understand the concept of 'soupy' or 'boring' when it comes to this dish - it should be an explosion of many flavours.
One thing that I like to do with my Shepherd's pie is put in two or three packets of unflavored gelatin. It just adds that delicious gloss and smooth texture to the sauce that I love so much.
@@tet5uo I know a lot of chefs put demi-glauce in theirs, so a spoonful of bullion paste and gelatin works like a charm. Don't get me wrong, though, I absolutely use home made chicken stock too lmao
Literally made Shepherd's Pie last night! I usually use Babish's recipe but this looks similarly great. Time to go eat some. Also, fun fact: if you use beef, it's "Cottage Pie".
@FlowersInHisHair Cottage pie came first in the 18th century and originally contained mutton as it was cheaper than beef or lamb. The name came from the fact that the Irish lived in cottages. Shepherds pie came about in the 19th century and was made with lamb as a shepherd is a person who tends to lambs.
Made this last night with beef (didn't have lamb money this time around). Sooooooooo amazing. Definitely going to try the lamb version as well. That beef paste is where it's AT.
Looks fantastic! One little quibble - you said ground beef works just as well. If you use ground beef you have a cottage pie, not a shepherd's pie. But both are delicious, and otherwise identical, so just a quibble.
Bri, this is my childhood favorite dinner! Only you have the best tips to avoid souping the Shepard's pie & adding more delicious flavors. Thank you!! Will share your video with my siblings, too .
I made this just as Brian said, and all I can say is "wow!!"!!! This is easily the best shephard's pie I have ever tasted! A couple of things went differently for me than Brian. I seemed to get much more water out of the lamb, it took at least 15 minutes of very high heat to get most of it gone. Then I needed a splatter guard over the dutch oven. The lamb mince was 80% meat 20% fat, and I would have preferred a little less fat. But, my God, the flavor was just terrific!! And the advice on how to do it was superb!! Thank you, thank you, Brian!!!
Breathing new life into an old staple. Thank you for this! It helps everyone who's bored with the old standards, and anyone who's refuses to try something new and, those too fussy to please, hopefully. Those potatoes alone would make a believer out of my most resistant guests. It looks soo comforting and delicious!
Speak for yourself…. and they’re called old standards for a reason.. the recipe does not NEED updating,it’s a traditional ENGLISH recipe and made properly with good British ingredients is delicious..I can see that with american ingredients it may need help which is why you shove all sorts we Brits don’t allow in to your food. .. 🙄
Looks like a fantastic recipe. Personally I hate hate HATE fennel, so one substitution I would make is to simply replace the fennel with some finely chopped leek. Another sub I recommend trying is to replace the wine with a dark porter beer. I wouldn't say it's better than the wine, nor is it worse, it's just different, and both are worth trying for everyone to see which they prefer. Last, one addition I would make, when adding the thyme try augmenting that by adding a little rosemary at the same time. Other than that I gotta say this looks ridiculously good.
I used to hate fennel, too. But one day we roasted some with just a drizzle of oil, salt, and black pepper, and all that chemical nastiness boiled away, and we were left with something like mild onions. I was surprised how much I enjoyed it.
Nice work Bri! A few tweaks I can try - but I can make a pretty 'dope' Shepherds pie anyway... obviously if you make it with beef mince it is a Cottage Pie...
@@FunctionallyLiteratePerson You keep saying this, but it's not an arbitrary distinction, any more than replacing all the poutlry & bacon with fish fillets & bratwurst, and still insisting on calling it a club sandwich. But excuse me while I go have some New-York-Style pizza. It's deep-dish, has the cheese inside and the tomato sauce on top, and it's from a place in Chicago, but that doesn't matter, because the ingredients are mostly the same, and those are just arbitrary disinctions.
This one looks amazing. Especially because most elements I can find in my country (except better than bouillon, that's on my shopping list for my next visit to the States!). I may very well try this next winter.
Brian, first off, let me say how much I enjoy your videos. I made your Tiramisu the other day, and it was amazing. I know you sense a "but" coming on. Well, here it is. I'm from the UK, which is the home of Shepherd's Pie. I've been making it for years, and the beauty of Shepherd's Pie is capturing the delicious combination of flavours that the British have developed over the years. Those flavours are roasted meat, veg and potatoes. They do not include the flavours of our Southern European neighbours like Italy and France. No, there is no wine, tomato, garlic or parmesan in an excellent Shepherd's pie. Although Worcestershire Sauce is typically English, it certainly doesn't belong in Shepherd''s Pie, either. I won't get into whether or not a cutable Shepherd's Pie is preferable to a more relaxed dish. I've had both many times. In any case, keep up the great work. You are definitely the best cook on the Internet. 👍🏻
Made it! Perfection! Thanks for all of your knowledge, and entertaining style. My wife and kids watch with me all the time and you have added a spectacular.Sparkle.
I was so happy to use lamb for a Shepherd's Pie! If you use beef, it's called a Cottage Pipe 🙂 It might seem trivial, but to us Brit's it's important to get that bit right 😀
Your videos are inspirational! I have enjoyed watching especially the last three months while home recuperating from surgery and made many of your recipes along the way. Shepherds pie, beef stew, bread, lasagna, chicken parm,mozzarella sticks , and many more. My family LOVES the result. Keep it up, we look forward to every new video. Best wishes.
Alright I need to make this. In the dark long ago years of my past, I made a "shepherd's pie" for my friends but I committed pretty much every one of the cardinal sins possible. This one looks amazing and like a dish I'd be proud to serve to my friends. Appreciate you!!
Solid pie recipe! I find my potatoes sink into the meat mix if to warm.. I just cook the potatoes while the mix cools.. No more sinking of potato Atlantis
For the record, if you use lamb, it is a Shepherd's Pie; if you use beef, it is a Cottage Pie. Sorry for being so picky, but I had this practically beaten into me when I lived in the UK. 😂😂
@@FunctionallyLiteratePerson And those recipe writers who don't agree are wrong. Now excuse me while I have some rocky road ice cream. It's made with chocolate ice cream, marshmallow swirls, cherries, and chunks of shortbread, but no nuts. But it's definitely rocky road.
One other tip is to add a splash of lemon juice at the end of browning that can reduce the gaminess that lamb can often have. It doesn’t really change the flavor but softens it a bit.
@@b.garland1826I grew up in Michigan and my hunter friends supplied the best venison. I used the venison in this recipe, chili, and any other recipe using ground meat. My family loved it 😊.
I’ve made your recipe 4 times now and it’s my favorite. Made it once before and, yes, it was a soupy mess. I will always stick to this recipe over all the rest. No need to search for any others if I found one that is just about perfect. Flavor and all.
He says "ground beef would work just as well". Trivia: If you use ground beef, it's Cottage Pie. Sprinkled cheese and breadcrumbs on either and you have a Cumberland Pie.
Technically, sheppards pie with beef instead of lamb is cottage pie. So no. You cannot use beef in a sheppards pie. Also, I kind of prefer cottage pie.
@@BrianLagerstrom i know you did!! Just mentioning because when you add the lamb you say that beef is also fine. Just checking you knew there was a difference :)
I just followed your recipe and they my friends said it was outstanding. One said he could eat Italian anytime, but would eat this Shepherd's pie in preference
Made this tonight and it was a success. Im not a very good cook & got compliments from all. Only thing I would mention is I don’t recommend using lean meat. It didn’t frond well so it almost dried out on me.
Hey buddy, quick suggestion. Could you also include the how many servings does the recipes serve? Great videos. Thanks very much. We appreciate your videos.
This is before i watch. I can only imagine what you'll come up with. I've done this a ton of times in my life. it was a childhood special once every few months thing. I love it. It better have lots of buttery potatoes, paprika sprinkled on top. Good pea's in the middle and decadant rich beefy layer. Good luck
