Valerie you may be interested to learn that Cornish Pasties have just been granted protected status.

Bre, You could use lamb stock for SP but as lamb is a strong and sweet meat it is advised that beef stock is used so as not to overpower (in the same way as you have to be careful when creating a seafood meal and using chicken stock instead of fish stock or the result could be overly "fishy")

I do so hope you all try Neil's recipe. It has been pleasing us Brits for many years and is a wonderful staple mid-week meal.

Just a tip.... Wait until the meat/gravy component is cool before you add the potato topping or the potato will sink into the mix.

If I could get off the floor from laughing I might be able to get serious! Haven't had a good laugh in ages. Thanks everybody. You have made my day.

Dear Clara: Yes, they are. Get used to it.

Shepherds Pie vs. Cottage Pie

The etymologies are somewhat different but both go back a long way and probably have origins with English meat pies (far more popular there than in the rest of Europe at the time).

Cottage Pie is the earlier term with references from around 1790 and probably in existence before that although maybe not by much. The potato was introduced to the UK by Sir Walter Raleigh in the late 16th century but they did not catch on quickly because of a debacle where boiled potato leaves (poisonous) were served to the Queen and court and got them all ill. Cottage Pie probably arose as the potato was later promoted as a staple for the poorer classes of society.

In essence it was a meat pie based on leftovers...often ground roast beef but really pretty much anything that "might be found wandering or growing around the cottage". A cottage then being a poor quality dwelling in a rural environment. Some sources suggest it originally used slices of potato on top arranges to look like a slate roof. Although in many parts back then cottages would have had a thatched roof so how accurate that is I have no idea (fork marks in mashed potato could also be said to resemble a thatched roof).

Shepherds Pie is essentially a more narrowly defined refinement of Cottage Pie that did not surface until almost a century later (first references around 1885). It was originally cooked with mutton, more recently using lamb as an acceptable substitute since mutton is harder to find.

So from a language point of view all Shepherds Pie could also perfectly correctly be called Cottage Pie. The opposite is NOT true...not all Cottage Pies can be called Shepherds Pie which should indeed always be made with mutton or lamb.

That said the usage of the terms is widely recognized to have regional variations as the "meat pie" love affair spread far and wide with Brits doing their Empire thing! Even Scotland has recognizable variations from the English recipe.

Historically the recorded traditional recipes have never contained cheese. However cheese-making is a widely recognized cottage industry so there can be little objection to including it in Cottage Pie (besides...it tastes good in mash). However, for those who wish to fight the good fight against the entropy of language, cheese should not be part of pie given the moniker Shepherds Pie.

In short all the rich variety is perfectly valid and from a traditional and UK perspective should be called Cottage Pie. That leaves Shepherds Pie as the narrowly defined version made with mutton/lamb and without the wide range of embellishments.

Good game eh?

So if its so important to use lamb, why do we use beef broth? Why not make your own lamb broth?

Bisto is a brand of gravy mixes in a variety of different formulations originating in the UK and available in many Commonwealth (and possibly other) countries. The most common reference is to dried beef gravy granules that can be added to dishes or reconstituted with water. Even then there are 'instant' and 'add to drippings and cook'.

It is more than just a thickened stock. It was originally just a good beef gravy made and then dried in industrial quantities before packaging. I once toured one of their plants looking at some of their drying technologies.

From those origins they now do a wide range of other animal renderings too!:-)

The flavour is what many Brits grew up with and therefore relate to as good gravy. For Shepherds Pie I prefer a good lamb gravy...totally different and more authentic taste.

Please tell us (me) what is Bisto? I for one would like to know. THANKS

I loved this recipe, and I thought it was hilarious, not snobbish at all. More recipes from Neil, please!

Good post Tom.

If anyone wants to eat Shepherds Pie with garlic, cheese, tomatoes or a can of soup as that is how they prefer their food then that is their prerogative.

HOWEVER that is NOT a British Shepherds Pie. No more then I would post a recipe for American Apple Pie claiming it contains a can of Tuna.

Shepherds pie is made with LAMB, of course. In the USA doing 'things' right is often confused with snobbishness. Please excuse those who are so sloppy as to criticise one for caring about quality. I've eaten SP in Ireland (Dublin & Belfast) and Britain (London, Manchester, and Bristol) never confused that with the slop I've read about in above postings. Have a good day.

i am english and living in the u.s. shepherds pie was really like the cornish pastie, just a way to get the whole meal in one dih, i actually prefer beef with cheese on top, if thats american well i will drink to that its really good.

He just woke something up in me, I had no idea that cheese in Shepherds pie tasted sooooooo good, I used aged Gouda cheese. Thanks Brit.

Quite frankly, I am offended that Cooks.com even put this person's recipe on their site. Not only are his comments rude but very disrespectful.

I'm sure he has NEVER taken another's recipe and changed it up to HIS liking.

Kim

I am please that some person has the ability to explain the difference between a Shepherd's, Sheppard's, Shepard's Pie and a Cottage Pie. I did not find it snobbish, but extremely clear. People try to add extra or leave out ingredients in a recipe, but is it still a Shepherd's Pie? My mother used to make a Shepherd's Pie; try purchasing one in the store in North America and it is like Pot Luck with pieces of chicken in it. A very colourful dish, but not so tasty.

Gee go tell that to Chef Ramsey who always adds Cheese to the Mashed potatoes.........