Shepherd's Pie

This Shepherd's Pie recipe delivers a classic, comforting casserole featuring a rich, savory meat filling topped with a golden, crusty layer of mashed potatoes. The process involves creating a smooth mashed potato topping enriched with milk, butter, and egg, which is set aside while a flavorful filling is prepared by sautéing carrots and onion, browning lean ground beef, and simmering it in a sauce thickened with tomato paste, flour, chicken broth, and Worcestershire sauce, and finished with peas. Finally, the potato topping is piped over the meat mixture in a cast-iron skillet and broiled until golden brown and crusty for a perfect finish.

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1 large egg
  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 2 carrots, peeled and chopped fine
  • 1 onion, chopped fine
  • 1 1/2 pounds 93 percent lean ground beef
  • 2 tablespons tomato paste
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme or 1/2 teaspoon dried
  • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
  • 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 cup frozen peas

Steps

* Don't use ground beef that's fattier than 93 percent or thie dish will be greasy.

  1. Cover potatoes with water in large saucepan. Add 1 tablespoon salt, bring to simmer over medium-high heat, and cook until potatoes are tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain potatoes and return to now-empty saucepan. Using potato masher, mash potatoes until smooth. Whisk milk and egg together, then stir into potatoes along with 4 tablespoons melted butter, 1 teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper; cover and set aside.

  2. Heat 10-inch cast-iron skillet over medium heat for 3 minutes. Melt remaining 2 tablespoons butter in skillet. Add carrots, onion, and ¾ teaspoon salt and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add ground beef and cook, breaking up meat with wooden spoon, until no longer pink, 8 to 10 minutes.

  3. Stir in tomato paste, garlic, and thyme and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in flour and cook for 1 minute. Slowly stir in broth and Worcestershire, scraping up any browned bits and smoothing out any lumps. Bring to simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture has thickened slightly, about 10 minutes. Off heat, stir in peas and season with salt and pepper to taste.

  4. Adjust oven rack 5 inches from broiler element and heat broiler. Transfer potato mixture to 1-gallon zipper-lock bag and snip off 1 corner to create 1-inch opening. Pipe mixture in even layer over filling. Smooth mixture with back of spoon, then use tines of fork to make ridges on surface. Place skillet in rimmed baking sheet and broil until topping is golden brown and crusty, 5 to 10 minutes. Let casserole cool for 10 minutes before serving.