Traditional Shepherd's Pie (STLCC-Culinary)

Traditional Shepherd's Pie as cooked at STLCC Culinary Program:

SHEPARD’S PIE

Yield: 6

INGREDIENTS:

            15 oz               Lamb stock (or light beef stock)

            1 oz                 Dried wild mushrooms

            1 ½ lb              New red potatoes, cut into medium dice

            4 ea                  Garlic clove, minced

            8 oz                 Sweet butter

            2 oz                 Heavy cream

            1 oz                 Scallion, finely chopped

            1 ½ tblsp         Parsley, chopped

            To taste           Salt and black pepper

            4 oz                 Onion, medium dice

            6 oz                 Button mushrooms, sliced

            1 ½ lb              Ground lamb

            1 oz                 All-purpose flour

            4 oz                 Dry sherry

            1 tsp                Dried thyme

`           15 oz               Corn kernels

           

METHOD:

1. Bring the lamb stock to a boil and add the wild mushrooms.  Remove from heat and let rest.
2. Place the potatoes and garlic in a large saucepan and cover with water.  Bring to a boil.  Cook until the potatoes are tender, remove from the heat, and mash until smooth.
3. Stir into the mashed potatoes, one third of the butter, heavy cream, green onions, and parsley.  Mix until the ingredients are thoroughly incorporated.  Reserve.
4. Heat half the remaining butter in a sauté pan over medium-high heat and sauté the onions and button mushrooms for 3-4 minutes until the onions become translucent.
5. Add the ground lamb and continue to cook until it is browned.
6. Strain the wild mushrooms from the stock and finely chopped.  Reserve the stock and mushrooms until needed.
7. Sprinkle the flour over the lamb mixture and stir until incorporated,
8. Cook while stirring over medium heat for 3 minutes.
9. Add the sherry and the reserved wild mushrooms and stock.
10. Continue to cook over medium heat, stirring, until the mixture thickens slightly.
11. Add the thyme.  Season with salt and pepper.
12. Melt the remaining butter in another sauté pan over medium heat and add the corn kernels.  Sauté the corn for approximately 5 minutes or until tender.  Season.
13. Spoon the lamb mixture into a slightly greased baking dish and spread mixture evenly on the bottom of the dish.
14. Spread the sautéed corn kernels over the lamb.
15. Spread the potatoes over the corn kernels.  Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 45 minutes or until lightly browned on top.

Redskin Mashed Potatoes

Today at work, had a customer asking about how to make mashed potatoes.  These were the potatoes we served at the restaurant where I was GM.

Redskin Mashed Potatoes


5 pounds Redskin Potatoes, quartered or halved
2 sticks Unsalted Butter, softened room temp
1 cup Whipping Cream, warmed (more if needed)
1/3 cup Green Onion, small dice, loosely packed
1 tsp Sea Salt
1/2 tsp White Pepper, fresh ground
1/2 Cup Sour Cream (optional)

1. Quarter the potatoes and place in a large pot with salted water and bring to a boil. Boil for about 25 minutes or until fork tender. Drain the potatoes and dry on a sheet pan in a 350 F oven for about 10 minutes to remove any moisture from water.
2. Return the potatoes to the pot they were boiled in and place over low heat. Begin to mash the potatoes and add the butter, and then the cream little by little until you reach the desired consistency you wish to have.
3. Fold in the Green Onion and sauteed Garlic if desired.
4. Adjust Salt & Pepper to taste.
5. Finish with Sour Cream. (optional)
6. Serve or hold hot until ready for service.
   

Prepare ahead: You can prepare the day ahead and reheat slowly over low heat adding whole milk or more cream slowly to keep them from being too firm and stiff.

Variations:  You can add, cream cheese instead of sour cream or grated parmesan cheese when finishing by folding in, even a sharp cheddar could be used.

How do you make your Corned beef?

Okay this is part rant and part how I make my Corned Beef!

Those who follow me on "FB" know which company I work for. I work for a prominent grocer in the STL area, we are union and I recently transferred to a store closer to home. So I am low in seniority and get the jobs and shifts no one wants.

Subsequently, there are guys who are cooking that I question there abilities...

So I posed a question this evening on "FB", "do you remove all the fat off your Corned Beef; before or after cooking, or not at all?"

I posed this question cause the cook there this evening was trimming all fat off the corned beef to hold for serving...
IMHO, this would make the meat suseptable to drying out?

About half the people who responded to my question said they would leave the fat on to cook it and remove to eat. While the other half resoundly said, "this was where the flavor was at and they would leave it on."

I believe that to eat healthier, the fat needs to be removed as much as possible. With that being said, this is corned beef, to be served on St. Patty's Day. This is a once a year meal which should be packed with as much flavor as possible.

Fat is where the flavor is!

I myself would prepare the corned beef with the fat and the serve it with the fat...

Leaving it upto the person eating it, to remove that which they did not want.

Especially if I were cutting it to hold for up to two hours for the person coming up to buy it on a whim...

Why would I do this?

One as I have stated in order to help it keep moist. Secondly, for the flavor aspect...

Now here to how I prepare my Corned Beef & Cabbage meal, on St. Patty's Day:

I prefer the flat cut Corned Beef...
I use a large roasting pan...
Line it with heavy aluminum foil...
Cut up Red Potatoes, Carrots, and Onions, making a bed to lay my corned beef on it...
The only seasoning I use is the seasoning packet that comes with the corned beef...
Add water to cover the vegetables and place 3-4 beef bullion cubes in it...
Add a few more vegetables to cover the meat...
Seal the roaster with more aluminum foil...
Bake in a 350 degree oven, half hour for each pound of meat...
Remove from oven...
Place corned beef on serving platter...
Scoop out all the cooked vegetables...
Slice Corned Beef in thin slices...
Drizzle au jus over the mCorned Beef and resereve the rest to be served on the side!

I never cook my Cabbage with the Corned Beef, instead, I steam it, to keep it a vibrant green with texture. (I can not stand mushy cabbage!)

Enjoy!!!!!!!

What ever is left over after the meal, I save for the morning after to make a
scrambled Corned Beef Scramble to be served with Biscuits and Gravy....