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. Chipotle sauce and Mexican crema work in tandem to makes this recipe spicy, smoky, spicy and thickened with velvety cream.
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 for a more sweet, anise-like flavor. In place of cilantro, I use it’s cousin … culantro. Basically it’s 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. Another herb to look for is Mexican oregano, because it’s boldness also works well with spicy meats, more so than Italian oregano.
If you can find culantro, definitely use it. If not, use cilantro with it’s stems.
When it comes to the mashed potatoes for this shepherd’s pie, the only thing I did with these mashed potatoes is seasoned the heck out of them with salt, and stirred in some Mexican cream, or “crema”. I’m not exactly sure how it’s made, but it has a thinner and creamier consistency than American sour cream. It’s so thin that you can actually pour it from the bottle, rather than scoop it out.
A Boston newspaper clipping of my Irish ancestor from 1910.
In my spare time I’m a genealogy nerd and was excited to actually trace my roots back to a specific town … Rathfarnham, a suburb of Dublin. My surnames include Murphy, Newell, Dalton, Sheehy and Bergen … all of which settled in Boston and New Hampshire.
According to DNA, I’m a person of the world, including 15% Irish.
Ingredientsfor shepherd’s pie
- 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
Instructionsfor shepherd’s pie
- 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, 1 can of tomato sauce, cumin, Mexican oregano, and about 1 tablespoon of kosher salt. The chipotle sauce also has salt, so don’t go overboard. Once it’s thoroughly mixed together, place the onion halves, culantro and avocado leaf along the sides wherever they fit. Coat the top of the exposed beef with some sauce.
- 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. Drain the potatoes, then mash them in a large bowl. Stir in the Mexican cream.
- Once the beef comes apart easily, its ready to shred. Remove it from heat and let it cool just enough to be able to handle it. Pull apart the beef with a fork or your fingers. Or you can chop it loosely with a butcher knife. Return the shredded beef back to the pan and stir in the other can of tomato sauce.
- Add the layer of peas, corn and diced carrots. Carefully spread on the mashed potatoes. You want to spread the 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.
