I promised last week that I'd share the recipe for Mr. Brillig's new favorite comfort food: a wonderfully good, both-K's-eat-it Shepherd's Pie. It's from the November 2012 issue of the one cooking magazine we get, Cooks Illustrated. Follow me below the dingledoodle squigglie dKosagnocchi dividerthingie fold after a word from our sponsor...
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Before I get started, I'm obliged to state for the record that yes, I am aware that traditionally Shepherd's Pie is made with lamb and the dish made with beef is often called called Cottage Pie. I'm sticking with Shepherd's Pie because (A) If it's good enough for the Oxford English Dictionary it's good enough for me, and (B) That's what Cook's Illustrated called it.
OK, with that out of the way...
We belong to a meat CSA, and once a month Mr. Brillig stops at the pickup place to bring home a cooler filled with 10lbs of amazingly delicious farm-fresh meat. There's always a pound or two of lean ground beef (I did the calculations by weight one package and it's ~94% lean), and while it makes the BEST burgers ever in summertime there's only so many ways to make taco beef in winter. Ergo, when I saw this recipe I had to make it. I was prepared for everyone to eat it politely, not devour it and all but lick the plates and CorningWare dish. It takes a bit of prep time and a leap of faith (you'll see when we get there!) but the result is well, well worth the work.
Note: The first time I made this, I didn't have everything required for the potato layer that officially makes this Shepherd's Pie. I crumbled up some baked potatoes like crumb topping, and everyone liked it. We usually make just the filling, and have either 'regular' mashed potatoes or noodles with it. I'm not including the recipe for mashed potatoes they use, because I've never made it... but if you're dying to make the dish Exactly As Written, drop my a dkosmail and I'll get it to you.
Brillig's Adapted Cook's Illustrated Shepherd's Pie
Ingredients:
1.5 lbs 93% lean ground beef (We use 2 lbs as ours comes in 1 lb packages. It has to be extra lean, because you won't be draining it after cooking)
2 Tbs water
0.5 tsp baking soda
2 tsp vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
4 oz white mushrooms, trimmed & chopped
1 Tbs tomato paste
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 Tbs Madeira or ruby port (I've used both port & plain old red wine)
2 Tbs all-purpose flour
1.25 cups beef broth (I use Swanson unsalted beef cooking stock)
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 sprigs fresh thyme (or several shakes of dried)
1 bay leaf
2 carrots, peeled & chopped
2 tsp cornstarch mixed with 2 tsp water
salt and pepper
Potatoes for mashing (several lbs minimum, we all adore mashed potatoes so usually cook a 5lb bag whenever we're having them so we have leftovers).
In small bowl combine ground beef, water & baking soda; let sit at least 20 minutes. There's science magic going on here, tenderizing the meat. If we're having this with mashed potatoes, this is where I peel and get them cooking; this also is a great place for helpers to do their thing!
Heat oil in 10-inch skillet over medium heat, add onion, mushrooms, 0.5 tsp salt & 0.25 tsp pepper. (About now you'll be asking "why aren't there red peppers in the ingredient list but brillig used them?" Well, after the ingredients picture I found a forgotten red pepper in the fridge & decided to throw it in. Moral is you, too can add to the recipe!)
Cook with occasional stirring until vegetables are just starting to soften & dark bits form on bottom of skillet, 4 to 6 minutes. Note: You are NOT burning dinner. The dark bits are what's going to make this delicious. Have faith and trust me on this.
Stir in tomato paste & garlic; cook 2 minutes or until bottom of skillet is dark brown:
Add alcohol/deglazer of choice & cook 1 minute, scraping up any browned bits, until evaporated. This is where the yummy brown "fond" on the pan bottom starts its trek to becoming delicious gravy!
Stir in flour and cook for 1 minute. This scared me because the whole thing clumped up, but it turns out OK so don't worry :-). Add broth, Worcestershire, thyme, bay leaf, and carrots; scrape up any browned bits into the yummy gravy-to-be & bring to a boil:
Add beef in 2-inch chunks to broth (I use my hand to drop it in), and simmer gently over medium heat:
After about 5-7 minutes, it will look like this:
Break the pieces up into small, bite-sized chunks by 'tearing' them apart with two forks, then stir everything around, cover and simmer until cooked through, another 5-7 minutes:
Stir cornstarch mixture into filling and continue to simmer for 30 seconds until thickened. Remove thyme and bay leaf. Season with salt and pepper to taste then pour into oven-safe dish:
If you want mashed potatoes on top, this is the time to add them. I've made a relatively dry mashed potato (ie sturdy not whipped soft & ready to disintegrate into the beef) and spread it on top, I've also crumbled cooked potatoes and added them "dry" over the top, like crumb topping. The Cook's recipe was more involved, with egg yolks, milk, butter, and a ziploc bag to pipe with. I'm sure it's delicious :). Bake it in a 350°F oven til the potatoes are browned slightly.
If you didn't want mashed potatoes, I'm sure by now you've devoured the meat over rice, noodles, or on its own!
I forgot to take a picture when we served it, but I got a picture of the ONE leftover portion, which was just as good the next day for lunch:
I hope you enjoy!
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From Free Jazz at High Noon:
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From JBL55:
irate had this in response to the word salad in Kaili Joy Gray's Midday Open Thread:
“This will be a fun, festive, thought-provoking book, which will encourage all to see what is possible when we unite in defense of our faith and ignore the politically correct Scrooges who would rather take Christ out of Christmas”
From aoeu:
Some serious pie in kos' reply.
From Yours Truly, brillig:
Shockwave and the participants in the resulting thread taught me something I didn't know about COSTCO.
In Meteor Blades' diary Polls: Americans want stricter gun controls, nearly half who own guns have them for self-protection, Do Something brings us poll questions I'd really like to see asked.
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