How to Cook Tasty Shepherd pie

Shepherd pie. Yes, shepherd's pie is predominantly thought of as Irish or British. But since I'm Scottish, I thought I'd give it a unique twist to suit my ancestral tastes. The use of lamb, the smoky, heather taste of Guinness® Draught (Irish, I admit), and the topping of sharp Cheddar and smoked paprika give this version its unique, smoky-sweet flavor.

Traditionally, shepherd's pie is made with lamb (hence the name). However, as the dish gained wider popularity outside of its native English homeland (where using beef would make this a cottage pie), beef became a common substitute, especially in America where it's more widely available than ground lamb. Spread potatoes evenly over beef; using a fork, decorate potatoes with lines and peaks. You can cook Shepherd pie using 8 ingredients and 5 steps. Here is how you cook it.

Ingredients of Shepherd pie

1. It's 1 1/2 pounds of ground beef.
2. You need 4 cups of mashed potatoes.
3. It's 2 1/2 cups of mixed vegetables.
4. You need 4 cans of refrigerated biscuits.
5. You need 2 cups of brown gravy.
6. You need 2 tablespoons of salt.
7. You need 1 tablespoon of coarse ground pepper.
8. You need 1 tablespoon of onion powder.

Brown ground beef in large nonstick skillet on medium-high heat. Return to skillet; stir in vegetables and gravy. Traditional Irish Shepherd's Pie would actually call for ground lamb. The difference between Shepherd's Pie and Cottage Pie is the meat.

Shepherd pie instructions

1. Line deep baking dish with biscuits. Let them set while doing other steps.
2. Brown ground beef. Cook mixed vegetables, adding seasoning. Combine vegetables with ground beef in mixing bowl. Mix..
3. Spoon 1/2 vegetable/meat mixture onto biscuits. Drizzle with 1/2 of gravy. At this time preheat oven to 375 degrees..
4. Add a layer of mashed potatoes, using about 1/3. Add second layer of vegetables/meat and top with gravy. Cover with rest of mashed potatoes..
5. Bake for 15 minutes and then broil for 15 or until potato topping is golden brown..

Cottage Pie uses ground beef, while Shepherd's Pie uses ground lamb. I called this recipe Shepherd's Pie. But, I wrote the recipe so that you could use ground beef or ground lamb. Shepherd's pie is traditionally made with a ground-lamb filling, but we make ours with ground beef. The sauce is really simple and flavorful, but the best part is the insanely fluffy mashed potato.