I guess. I’ve never made it. But I have a couple legs of lamb. One is in the freezer, and the other I was going to cook last night. What the hell. I’m not doing anything yet this morning. I went ahead and roasted the thawed one. (Incidentally, the lamb is from Trader Joe’s. It’s pre-seasoned, so all you have to do is put it in a pan – I used a cast iron skillet – and pop it in the oven for an hour. It’s delicious.) I had a slice for breakfast. For dinner I’ll mak colcannon and have a couple more slices.
So that’s still going to leave a lot of lamb. Roomie’s not due back from Canada until Monday. I think tomorrow I’ll make ‘shepherd’s pie’. As I said, I’ve never made it. So I’m making it up as I go along. I used the pan drippings to make gravy. I’ll mince the leftover lamb, some sautéed chopped onions, a package of mixed veg (sweet white corn, julienned carrots, peas and green beans), and the gravy, top it with leftover colcannon, and bake it.
Maybe it’s not how it’s supposed to be made, but there’s no way it won’t be good in spite of that!
When you order “shepherd’s pie” in an English-pub-style restaurant, what you get is usually made with ground beef. But that’s probably because lamb costs more, nowadays.
I usually make it with ground beef. I made one a few weeks ago with a chuck roast though. I seared it in a little bacon grease with S&P, then tossed in some carrots and onion and covered with water. Worcestershire sauce went into the braising liquid. A few hours later, I deconstructed the roast, made the gravy, then threw it in the pan with veg, mashed potatoes and 2 y.o. aged Tillamook cheddar on top. Yum.
I wish someone would eat some lamb with me though. I don’t think I’ve had any in 10 years. pouts None of the crew I cook for like it.
Sounds good. If I don’t go to What Exist’s place can I come over there?
I don’t usually do veg with shepard/cottage pie, just on the the side but what the hell. I think peas would be good enough. What I like to do is mix some of the the potato in with the meat, then the rest on top. But that’s just me.
Have they had it recently? My mom made lamb when I was a kid (I didn’t mean to type that, but I’m leaving it) and served it with mint jelly. ISTR I liked it, but I’ve had lamb with mint jelly recently and it was bad. Shayna makes lamb with a mint pesto sauce that is really, really good. So maybe they’ve had lamb with mint jelly instead of something good like Shayna makes?
I’ve heard some people say they object to the smell. I’ve been getting the Trader Joe’s lamb legs (and the ribs, but I like the legs better) and I haven’t noticed any smells that are different from any other roasting meat.
As far as the taste, I like it. It doesn’t taste like beef or pork, but I think it’s just as good. I suppose some people might not like it though, just like some people don’t like Brussels sprouts or apples or whatever. But in casual conversations it seems that nobody I’ve talked to who says he doesn’t like lamb either hasn’t tried it or hasn’t tried it in ‘forever’.
Why not make some and see how it goes over? Again, TJ’s is preseasoned and it’s nothing to cook it.
You know, I don’t think any of them have. I don’t think my husband’s had it in a long time, although he professes to love pit-roasted goat (remembering this made me think about a shovel and the neighbor’s goat that will not shut up). Just remembered too that my nephew will eat just about anything, so maybe if no one else likes it, we can manage between the two of us.
I put 'em inside because if they’re all mixed with meat and gravy, my family will eat them; if I serve them as a side dish, half the amount is eaten. (and no, I’m not really talking about the kids, more about my husband!) But classically, I think it’s supposed to be just meat and gravy covered with potatoes.
I’m also that mom who adds carrot and broccoli puree to the spaghetti sauce, corn to the taco meat and minced bell peppers to the hamburger patties. Anywhere I can squeeze another veg in, it’s going in! I call it “Stealth Health”. Heck, when someone’s getting a cold, I sneak medicinal herbs into our meals, too!
I do the ground beef, mixed veggies and beef gravy for the base, homemade mashed potatoes, then grated cheddar cheese on top for last 10 minutes of baking.
My kids used to love shepards pie night.
Their grandmother made a particularly unappealing version of shepards pie, ground beef, green beans and tomato soup for the base. Neither the kids or I liked it, but the ex loved it since he grew up eating it. But really, just kinda yuck.
Just to close out this thread: The shepherd’s pie turned out well. I was worried I’d put too much pepper in the gravy but it was fine since there was no pepper on the lamb or in the veg, and not much in the colcannon. I miscalculated on the lamb and used too much (although in good proportion to the veg). I ended up with a heaping 9x13 baking dish full. I had two bowls and there’s still like 7/8 of it left.
Oh, now! Be nice. It’s perfectly good mashed potatoes made delectable with the addition of steamed or boiled chopped cabbage and sometimes turnips or other veg mashed in. It’s ever so slightly sweet from the veg, and still warm and savory and lovely.
