For St. Patrick’s Day I wanted to revamp Shepherd’s Pie using Mexican seasonings and braised beef. I’m a little Irish but never knew much about Irish food except for Shepherd’s, which my mom (non-Irish) made growing up. So now that I know how to cook, my cultural fusion version as an adult utilizes Mexican flavors I have come to enjoy from living in the Astoria neighborhood of New York City. Chipotle sauce and Mexican crema work in tandem to transform this traditional Irish recipe into something that’s spicy, smoky, and oh-so creamy.
St. Patrick’s Day, circa 2011 in New York City.
Instead of using the classic ground beef, I decided to braise a slab of chuck roast until it falls apart, the break it up. Make the meat ahead of time before you make your shepherd’s pie, so it’s ready to be assembled. In fact, it’s best to do this while you’re not even hungry. After about 4-5 hours in the oven, all the seasonings merge together with the succulent beef drippings and it can be effortlessly shredded with a fork. If you want to mimic ground beef you can chop the shredded beef into smaller pieces with a chef’s knife.
Chipotle sauce is the base for my shepherd’s pie meat.
Herbs and aromatics are important here because the key to braising is to season the liquid as much as possible. Instead of bay leaf I chose an avocado leaf (pictured below center) for a more sweet, anise-like flavor. In place of cilantro, I use it’s cousin … culantro (pictured below, left) which is usually found near the cilantro and spicy peppers in grocery stores. Basically culantro is a super-potent version of cilantro which can adequately stand up to the bold and spicy flavors of the Chipotle beef. If you can’t find culantro, just use cilantro but double up on the amount and also include the stems. Another herb to look for is Mexican oregano (pictured below right), because it’s boldness also works well with spicy meats, more so than Italian oregano.
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When it comes to the mashed potatoes for this version of Shepherd’s Pie, I seasoned the heck out of them with kosher salt, mixed in adequate butter, then stirred in some Mexican cream, or “crema”. I’m not exactly sure how crema is made, but it has a amazingly silky and thin consistency than that of classic American sour cream. It’s so thin that you can actually pour it from the bottle, rather than scoop it out with a spoon. And of course, all mashed potatoes need some butter,
My Irish roots
In my spare time when I’m not cooking, I’m a genealogy nerd and was excited to be able to trace my 15% Irish roots back to a specific Irish town … Rathfarnham, a suburb of Dublin. My Irish ancestors’ surnames include Murphy, Newell, Dalton, Sheehy and Bergen … all of which settled in Boston and New Hampshire. Also, a second great grandfather of on my Irish line was quite a notable person in Boston society, William Andrew Murphy, pictured below.
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Mexican Shepherd’s Pie
Ingredientsf
- 3 lbs. chuck roast
- 1 can (7 oz.) chipotle sauce
- 2 cans (7 oz.) plain tomato sauce, or make your own
- 3 heaping tablespoons cumin
- 2 tablespoons Mexican oregano
- 1 white onion, halved
- 1 avocado leaf
- 1 bunch culantro
- kosher salt to taste
- 8–10 russet potatoes
- 1 cup corn
- 1 cup peas, thawed
- 1 cup carrots, diced
- 1 cup Mexican cream
- 4 tablepsoons butter, melted
Instructionsf
- Season the beef with kosher salt. In a skillet on the highest heat, brown the beef on all sides just long enough to sear the surfaces.
- Place the seared beef in a baking dish and fill with water half way. Along the sides of the baking dish, stir in the Chipotle sauce, tomato sauce, cumin, Mexican oregano, and about 1 tablespoon of kosher salt. Once it’s thoroughly mixed, place the onion halves, culantro, and avocado leaf along the sides wherever they fit.
- Bake in a 375 degree oven for about 4-5 hours, occasionally stirring the liquid and basting the beef. The liquid will cook down and the sauce will thicken, add more water as needed.
- Meanwhile, peel and dice your potatoes. Bring them to a boil in a large pot with salted water. Cook until tender, about 20 minutes. Then drain the potatoes, and mash them in a large bowl. Finally, stir in the Mexican cream and butter.
- Once the beef falls apart easily with a fork, its ready to shred. Remove it from heat and let it cool just enough to be able to handled, then pull apart the beef with a fork or thongs. Or you can chop it loosely with a butcher knife. Return the shredded beef back to the pan in one layer.
- Add the layer of peas, corn and diced carrots. Carefully spread on the mashed potatoes without pulling up the veggies.
- Bake the Shepherd’s pie at 400 degrees for 25–30 minutes. It may bubble over, so it helps to have a pan on the rack below to catch the drippings.
- Broil for another 5–10 minutes to achieve some nice browned edges on the potato peaks.
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