Back to HostaLibrary

Back to Recipe Homepage

Print this Recipe
   It's a mystery to us where the American version of Shepherd's Pie came from, but it certainly isn't the real thing. As you can guess from the name the original  was made with lamb or mutton. Bill's late grandmother came from Ireland to the US as a teenager and brought some genuine Irish recipes with her. She would cook a leg of lamb and after the best parts were served she would clean all the good bits of meat off to make her real Shepherd's Pie. She would do the same with a rib roast, but as cattle don't have shepherds, that was properly known as a Cottage Pie. Our recipe, like hers, works with either meat.  
                               Real Shepherd's Pie
                             Bill and Carol
   trimmings from a lamb or beef roast
   onions minced 
   mashed potatoes
   cheddar cheese 
   Swiss cheese slices
   paprika
   store bought pie crust
   leftover gravy

Instructions

   Begin with the leftover leg of lamb or beef rib roast. Trim off any edible parts, then put them through a meat grinder.

Prebake the pie crust (directions on package), let cool, then line with the Swiss cheese slices. Dice and saute the onion. Add the ground meat to pie, then top with the onions. Next cover with the mashed potatoes, then the cheddar. Sprinkle top with a little paprika.

Bake at 325F until meat temperature is around 125F.

Notes - This is the answer to an overly tough roast, along with very thin slicing for sandwiches.