# Shepherd's Pie, Cottage Pie, ??? Pie... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 21, 2015, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shepherds-pie-cottage-pie-pie/741004 "2015-12-21T15:31:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Wallaby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/dc4da7/32.png) [@Wallaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallaby)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2015, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shepherds-pie-cottage-pie-pie/741004/21 "2015-12-21T23:12:13Z")
I love me some shepherd’s pie… I’ve made it with beef, lamb, pork - never tried minced chicken or turkey, vegetarian options (mushroom and eggplant is great). On of the best things I ever bought was a giant baking pan - far too big for our 4-person family. That means whenever I make it, there is always heaps of leftovers (and there’s only one thing better than today’s shepherd’s pie…) ---
**Author:** ![Cyros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a698b9/32.png) [@Cyros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyros)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2015, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shepherds-pie-cottage-pie-pie/741004/22 "2015-12-21T23:46:53Z")
You are of course speaking of [Cottleston Pie.](https://youtu.be/KJ_07C89Tp0) ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2015, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shepherds-pie-cottage-pie-pie/741004/23 "2015-12-21T23:55:08Z")
If it was made with goose it would Gosherd’s Pie. Only term I can find for a turkey herder is ‘turkey herder’, so it’s Turkey Herder’s Pie. ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2015, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shepherds-pie-cottage-pie-pie/741004/24 "2015-12-22T01:20:45Z")
\*\*Rhiannon8404 \*\*notes that turkeys are native to the New World, so the dish in question should be called American Pie. ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2015, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shepherds-pie-cottage-pie-pie/741004/25 "2015-12-22T01:51:39Z")
The best of all of them is Fisherman’s Pie. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2015, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shepherds-pie-cottage-pie-pie/741004/26 "2015-12-22T01:54:46Z")
> [@jasg](#): > > The best of all of them is Fisherman’s Pie. Star-gazer pie, with whole fishes? Heads poking out looking up, and maybe tails, too. That’s a whole different thing from a casserole with mashed potatoes. ---
**Author:** ![the\_diego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@the\_diego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_diego)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2015, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shepherds-pie-cottage-pie-pie/741004/27 "2015-12-22T02:58:50Z")
At least we know the British have a naming standard for some things after all: Steak and kidney pie Steak pie Steak and mushroom pie [all 100% descriptive] ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2015, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shepherds-pie-cottage-pie-pie/741004/28 "2015-12-22T04:26:01Z")
The older of the two terms is _cottage pie_ which OED defines as “a dish of minced beef baked under mashed potatoes” with a first cite from 1791. _Shepherd’s pie_ has a more general definition as regarding the main ingredient, “a pie consisting of chopped meat and potatoes, covered with a crust of mashed potatoes browned”, the earliest cite they give being 1877. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2015, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shepherds-pie-cottage-pie-pie/741004/29 "2015-12-22T04:28:00Z")
> [@the\_diego](#): > > Steak and mushroom pie Never heard of that one. What’s in it? ---
**Author:** ![the\_diego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@the\_diego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_diego)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2015, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shepherds-pie-cottage-pie-pie/741004/30 "2015-12-22T05:02:04Z")
You have but one shot at guessing. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2015, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shepherds-pie-cottage-pie-pie/741004/31 "2015-12-22T15:04:11Z")
Kidneys? ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2015, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shepherds-pie-cottage-pie-pie/741004/32 "2015-12-22T15:37:25Z")
Echidnas? ---
**Author:** ![kferr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/71e660/32.png) [@kferr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kferr)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2015, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shepherds-pie-cottage-pie-pie/741004/33 "2015-12-23T14:14:41Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > Star-gazer pie, with whole fishes? Heads poking out looking up, and maybe tails, too. That’s a whole different thing from a casserole with mashed potatoes. Small nitpick - **stargazy** pie. It has a pastry top, not mash. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shepherds-pie-cottage-pie-pie/741004.md?page=1)