When it comes to classic comfort food many would agree that Shepard’s pie is a favorite.  Over the years I have been served many different takes on what were all called Shepard’s pie, some with lamb and some with beef, others prepared with ground meat rather than with tender pieces.  With St. Patrick’s day fast approaching, I thought I would look in to this traditional Irish dish that everyone calls Shepard’s pie and find out the real scoop.

Deciding what is or isn’t Shepard’s pie is actually quite easy.  The traditional Irish dish is made with ground lamb, usually from a left over roast, although you will find it made with pieces of lamb and it is still called Shepard’s pie.  If the dish contains beef, ground or chunks then is should be referred to as Cottage pie which is English.  So our version of this dish is actually Cottage Pie and uses tender chunks of beef, carrots, and peas in a hearty sauce, and is topped with creamy champ mash for some added flavor.  So what ever you call it, one thing is for sure, there is no confusion over how delicious it is!

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Shepard's or Cottage Pie with Champ Mash

Comfort food at its best. This version uses beef instead of lamb and is topped with creamy mashed potatoes loaded with green onions for extra flavor.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Irish

Keyword casseroles, Comfort food, Shepard's Pie

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 45 minutes minutes

Servings 8

Author Christoph

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large onion diced
• 2 medium carrots peeled and sliced
• 1 ½ pounds beef roast*** or lamb roast cubed
• 3-4 sprigs fresh thyme
• 2 sprigs fresh Rosemary
• 2 cups beef stock
• 2 tablespoons tomato puree
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 ½ pounds potatoes peeled and cubed
• ¾ stick butter
• ¼ cup milk
• 6-8 green onions thinly sliced
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

• Heat one tablespoon of olive oil in a medium-sized skillet over medium heat. Cook onion and carrots until slightly softened. Remove vegetables from pan and set aside.
• Increase the heat to medium-high and add the other tablespoon of oil. Add the cubes of steak and cook turning to evenly brown all sides.
• Add the beef stock, tomato puree, and Worcestershire sauce to the skillet and stir to combine. Return onions and carrots to the skillet. Tie the thyme and Rosemary into a small bundle with kitchen string and add to the skillet. Bring to a mixture to a boil, and then reduce to a simmer partially covering with a lid. Simmer for about an hour or until the liquid has thickened.
• To make the champ mash for the topping, boil the potatoes in a large pot of water until fork tender. Drain potatoes and mash together with milk and butter until smooth and creamy. Mix in green onions and season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Heat oven to 350°F and lightly spray an oven proof baking dish with non-stick spray.
• Pour the beef gravy mixture into the baking dish and top with the mashed potatoes. Sprinkle the top with fresh ground black pepper.
• Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the tops of the potatoes have started to brown.

Notes

***Shepard’s pie is traditionally made with ground lamb. I used part of a beef roast for this dish, you could also use ground beef if you prefer.  Shepard'e pie made with beef or ground beef is usually known as Cottage pie.

Moist and dense is the best way to describe this traditional Irish Potato Bread.  The ingredients are somewhat similar to that of Boxty, incorporating both mashed and raw potatoes, as well as green onion.  Reminiscent of a large biscuit, this baking powder skillet bread uses a combination of white and whole wheat flour for an added depth of flavor.

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Irish Potato Bread

Moist and dense is the best way to describe this traditional Irish Potato Bread. Reminiscent of a large biscuit, this baking powder skillet bread uses a combination of white and whole wheat flour for an added depth of flavor.

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Irish

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 55 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 10 minutes minutes

Servings 8 Slices

Ingredients

• ¾ cup mashed potatoes room temp
• ¾ cup grated raw potato
• 1 whole egg
• 1 egg white
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• ¾ cup milk
• 3 Tablespoons green onion thinly sliced
• 1 teaspoon caraway seed
• 3 cup all-purpose flour
• ¼ cup whole wheat flour
• 2 Tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt

Instructions

• Position rack in the center of the oven and heat to 375º F.
• Grease the inside of an 8″ cast iron skillet or baking dish and set aside.
• Mix together the mashed and grated potatoes.
• Add in egg and egg white, oil, and milk until well combined.
• In another mixing bowl stir together, green onion, caraway seed, flours, and salt.
• Stir dry ingredients into wet ingredients and mix well (dough will be shaggy and a bit sticky).
• Turn dough out onto a lightly floured board and knead 7 to 8 times until a soft ball forms.
• Place dough in the center of the prepared pan and gently pat to cover the entire pan evenly.
• Using a sharp knife cut an “X” into the top about ½” deep.
• Bake for 45 to 55 minutes or until top is nicely browned and bread sounds hollow when tapped.
• Remove from oven and let stand for 5 minutes before removing bread from the pan.
• Place bread on a wire rack to cool.
• Allow bread to rest for an hour before slicing to avoid crumbling.

Notes

This recipe is a great use of left-over mashed potatoes. Allow the bread to rest for an hour after removing from the oven before slicing to avoid crumbling.

Like the buried pot of stolen gold in Finian’s Rainbow, briskets of corned beef seem to have mythically multiplied and have magically appeared in grocery stores everywhere. This otherwise barely stocked item is suddenly mounded in almost every end cap in meat departments, and there seems to be a mad dash by everyone to get some of the treasure before it disappears.  Alas, St Patrick’s day must be just around the corner.

This phenomenon has always amused me, especially since corned beef is actually not an Irish National dish, and it’s connection to St. Patrick’s day is specifically only part of the Irish-American culture.  But I too will go along and pick up a couple of these beauties before they vanish, they freeze exceptionally well, and this is the only time of year a sale sign ever casts its shadow on this cut of meat.  I wonder what it means if a Leprechaun sees a shadow on a corned beef?  Probably just that it’s almost St. Patrick’s day.

Choosing a cut

Brisket is a cut of meat from the breast or lower chest of beef or veal, and is one of the nine prime cuts.  The brisket muscles include the superficial and deep pectorals. Since cattle do not have collar bones, these muscles support about 60% of the body weight of the animal, which develops a significant amount of connective tissue.  Because of this, the resulting meat must be cooked correctly to tenderize it.  Seldom will you see a whole brisket in a store, rather the cut is normally divided into two parts, points and flats.

Points are usually priced cheaper than flats, they are irregular in shape, and contain a high content of fatty tissue.  Something to keep in mind is that a four pound point cut will reduce in weight by about 45% after cooking, making the remaining meat actually more expensive than the flat cut.  Points however are known to be a bit more tender than the flat cut due to the high percentage of marbling and fat.

Flats are leaner than their counterpart but are more evenly shaped.  During cooking a four pound flat cut will only reduce by about 15% leaving you with much more product. Properly cooked, flats are tender, delicious,and perfect for slicing.  It is for these reasons I prefer the flat cut.

There are several methods used to cook corned beef.  One of the most common ways is to boil the meat until tender.  I personally do not care for this method.  The reason being is that connective tissues are only broken down by two things, time and temperature, therefore boiling the meat long enough for it to become tender in my opinion results in a piece of meat with the flavor basically boiled out of it.

I prefer a low and slow approach to my brisket, cooking it either in a tightly covered dish like a Dutch oven, or in a crock pot.  The method I will share will work for either however I like to use the crock pot instead of having the oven on for hours and hours.

Begin by allowing the brisket to come up to room temperature, this allows the connective tissues to relax and prepares them for cooking.  Rinse the cut of meat under cool water and pat dry.  Corned beef usually comes with a small packet of pickling seasonings, you can use this or not depending on your personal likes, just watch that you don’t drop it down the drain while rinsing the meat.  I go back and forth on using it or not.

Rough cut a couple of onions and toss them in the bottom of the crock pot or Dutch oven.  The onions will hold the brisket out of the liquid as it cooks.  I added some cabbage only because of the holiday, but normally do not feel the need.  I fill the crock pot about a quarter of the way with the onions.

Place the corned beef “fat cap” up on top of the onion.  Sprinkle with the pickling seasonings (if desired) and some black pepper.  Since corned beef is cured with salt, there is no reason to add any.

Place the lid on the crock pot and set on high for about 1 hour to kick start the project.  I add no additional liquid, as the brisket cooks, the combination of fat and the water content of the onion and cabbage will provide more than enough liquid.  After about one hour, reduce the heat of the crock pot to low and cook for four to five more hours. depending on the size of your brisket.   I threw in some carrots for the last several hours.  The brisket is done when you can easily flake off some meat with a fork.

If you are preparing the brisket in the oven, begin at 425°F for the first hour, then reduce the heat to 275°F for the remaining three to four hours (about an hour per pound).  Internal temperature should reach 185°F. I find testing with a fork for tenderness is the best way to determine if your brisket is done.

Cooks note: When slicing corned beef, be sure to cut across the grain of the meat. This is one of the most important parts to serving tender corned beef!

Boxty on the griddle, boxty in the pan. If you don’t get boxty, you’ll never get a man, or so the saying goes. Boxty, or bacstaí, is the quintessentially Irish potato cake. There are many different way to make these soft and delicious pancakes, with recipes being handed down from generation to generation, from mother to son.

This pancake is made by combining leftover mashed potatoes with shredded raw ones. Many recipes are based primarily on the mashed potatoes, while others use more of the shredded raw potatoes instead. But for the best results, and the smoothest of textures, for a dish that does not fall apart in the pan, the recommendation is to use an equal mixture of raw and cooked potato.

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Boxty

A traditional Irish dish using mashed and shredded raw potatoes to create a tender pancake.

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Irish

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Author Christoph

Ingredients

• 1 cup mashed potato, leftovers work great
• 1 cup shredded raw potato
• ½ cup slice scallion
• 1 cup flour
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

• Toss the flour and baking powder with the shredded raw potatoes and scallion. Mix in the mashed potatoes.
• In a separate bowl whisk together the egg and milk. Add to the potato mixture and combine.
• Season with salt and pepper.
• Heat ¼ cup of vegetable in a large skillet over medium high heat.
• Drop in enough of the potatoes to form a 2″ - 3″ pancake when flattened with the back of the spoon.
• Fry on both sides for 3 to 4 minutes or until slightly golden brown.
• Drain on a paper towel-lined plate. And serve warm.

Notes

Leftover boxty is also used sometimes instead of bread for a sandwich or burger. Now just how good with that be?

What’s Cooking is proud to participate in the Meatless Monday Campaign.

St Patrick’s Day, the one and only day of the year that everyone who isn’t Irish, pretends to be. But why? I don’t think that the Irish are a protected class and somehow have better lives than the rest of us, or that the “Luck of the Irish” is really extra lucky. So why is it we suddenly start to speak with a thick brogue, and feel compelled to eat corned beef and drink green beer? I guess maybe it’s simply because St.Patrick’s day is associated with fun, probably more fun than most any other special day, and maybe that turns all of us a bit “green”with envy.

Corned beef is actually not an Irish National dish, and it’s connection to St. Patrick’s day is specifically part of the Irish-American culture. Irish corned beef was considered primarily a trade item. During both the Irish Famine, and the Great Potato Famine, raising cattle for production of corned beef to sustain trade crowded out land that would have otherwise been used to raise crops to feed the local population.

The salted or corned brisket was widely used by British naval fleets and North American armies due to its non-perishable quality. Coastal cities in Ireland such as Dublin, Belfast, and Cork, created vast beef curing and packing industries to support the trade. The product was also desired by the French for use in Caribbean sugar plantations as sustenance for the colonist, the slave labor, and for the control of slave population.

There are many methods of cooking corned beef and cabbage. One way is to boil the meat in a pot with cabbage, potatoes, and carrots, however I find the end result to be a tough piece of meat with little flavor.

I prefer to purchase the brisket over the point cut. Adding no liquid, I place the meat in the crock pot on top of a bed of roughly chopped onions and cook covered on low for six to eight hours, depending on the size of the brisket. The combination of the water in the onion and the drippings from the beef create enough moisture to produce a tender piece of meat. Corned beef is very high in sodium so resist the temptation to add more salt. The fibers of the brisket tend to be long. Cutting the meat across the grain is important for best results.

Roasted potatoes and carrots add a nice flavor and texture to this meal. Drizzle some olive oil in the bottom of a baking dish and then turn the vegetables in the oil to evenly coat using your hands. Place the vegetables in a hot oven, 400º F for about an hour, stirring halfway through the cooking time to ensure even roasting. Sprinkle the potatoes and carrots with sea salt and pepper as they come out of the oven. Do not add salt before roasting, it will result in dry food! Salt forces the liquids out of meats and vegetables. Quarter and core the cabbage. Steam the cabbage in a colander placed over a pot of boiling water and covered with a lid.

I like to finish this dish with a parsley and white wine sauce. I make a thin béchamel sauce replacing half of the milk with white wine, and adding chopped parsley, and a squeeze of lemon. This sauce brings a light fresh contrast to the salty taste of the corned beef.

So get your green on and get out there, cause the pipes…… the pipes are calling.

Sláinte!