After reading all the comments I just want to know if SP is as good the second day as it is on the first......

All you folks are wonderful with your ideas and comments. Food Ideas is a great way to bring the world together.

Try sauteing the beef with a tablespoon of Oyster Sauce. That's right I said TRY IT... : )

In our 70's, we have loved shepherds pie' forever'! Always perfect, never the same! Have had it all over the world and rarely disappointed. Esme, we're with you, the mix is great! Gets us to the table before I drool too much over the smell of my wife's cooking. See what you have done....Miss Libby is doing it tonight......thank you all sooooo much!!!!

AMEN Esme Trent, That is exactly how I make shepherds pie, my mother in law always sends me a package in the mail with shepherds pie and cottage pie mix, I make it with ground beef (or as my mother in law calls it Minced meat). It is absolutely perfect!!

I grew up with Shephard's Pie in Canada made with ground beef, usually leftovers! Now I go to the local British Restaurant, buy their Shephard's Pie Mix (from England), follow the recipe, add the potatoes on top (with cheese) put it under the broiler for the cheese to melt and "Boy What a Great Meal"! The mix has all the right spices and no guesswork involved......the only way to go. Make it the way you like it, that's what's important.

I have enjoyed all of the comments . We are going to try this with deer meat .

To the lady who was going to go for the deer meat variation... You may want to add some sort of fat to make up for the lean-ness of the venison. Sounds an obvious suggestion, but it could be a useful reminder. I always tinker a bit with recipes... (except with baking) that's part of the fun of creating, then you can always make it your own!!! If someone is offended... Well, they seem to be pretty thin skinned. What a shame. :-)

Boy, You guys are too serious. Being from Boston my shepards pie has hamburger, creamed corn, and garlic or plain mashed potatoes. WITH cheese on the top. Doesn't mean it's right or wrong just different! I'm going to try your versions just because. Thanks everyone!

You all have made me very hungry!! Cannot wait to make this dish!

As a professional Chef, I found this recipe to be quite tasty and delightful. This is one of those dishs that has been remade in many different styles.Any of which can be called Shepards or Cottage Pie. I like it with beef, but the Lamb is also very good.

I made it and put the filling in a ready-made pie crust that had been in my freezer for a while. I needed to use it! It was good with the crust on the bottom. The shepherd's pie was quite good, perfect for the Winter in the Midwest.

I used a crock pot Leg of Lamb I originally made to eat on it's own with roasted potatoes. The Shepherd's Pie with the leg of lamb made the next day was much better than my original, marinated, leg of lamb.

Wikipedia: Wild potato species occur from the United States to Uruguay and Chile. Genetic testing of the wide variety of cultivars and wild species suggest that the potato has a single origin in the area of southern Peru, from a species in the Solanum brevicaule complex. Although Peru is essentially the birthplace of the potato, today over 99% of all cultivated potatoes worldwide are descendants of a subspecies indigenous to south-central Chile. Based on historical records, local agriculturalists, and DNA analyses, the most widely cultivated variety worldwide, Solanum tuberosum ssp. tuberosum, is believed to be indigenous to the Chiloé Archipelago where it was cultivated as long as 10,000 years ago.

sunny side up eggs with fried potatoes, and vinegar is the best meal a british lady ever made for me, I never would have thought to eat vinegar seasoned potatoes in the am, but the tang was really a eye opener.

My great-grandmother was born in England in the 1890s (lived somewhere outside of London) and lived there until the start of WWII. She always made shepherd's pie with leftover roast leg of lamb, which she ground up with a hand-grinder. She'd throw the ground lamb and some left-over gravy into a caserole with whatever leftover veggies were available (usually peas, carrots, beans, maybe pearl onions), a bit of rosemary, salt and pepper, topped it with mashed potatoes. She brushed on a bit of melted butter and cooked it in the oven for as long as it took to turn golden brown. She lived to 105! I attribute it to good eating and a small glass of scotch every night...

Andrew - your granny is right on the button. Shepherds Pie is Sunday Roast Lamb leftovers, ground with leftover gravy. Then clean out the fridge. If you need more volume, try adding a tin of baked beans. (I actually use planned-overs which entails making too much food on Sunday so I can have an easy time cooking Monday's dinner). No-one has mentioned adding Worcestershire sauce either in, or on when plated. Try that...

Hello all, I have been reading your comments for Sheperds Pie. I think that age is showing here. I am 70 and love this dinner (bubble and squeek). My Mum always made it from the left over sunday roast, either beef or lamb. She (and I) mince the cooked meat, add the leftover gravy and veggies, and reheat in the cooker. Leftover mashed spubs were mounded on top and fork marks made, then it was under the grille until brown and crisp. My DAD was the one who put grated cheese on his. To him cheese was it's own food room. Thanks for allowing me to butt in. T.D.F.N.

Andrew, Jane and Rita, you are spot on. Like you, the cooks in our large (Australian) family all use the left over lamb roast, chopped anyhow off the bone then ground with a hand grinder (the only kind). The left over gravy goes in, leftover peas, pumpkin, etc, some bread, some onions, all ground up and mixed in a big bowl, plus a dash or three of Perrins Worcestershire (say it woostershire, you yanks) sauce, and an egg to bind. Then into the oven with some mash on top, forked as mentioned, & you can brush a little egg yolk (I reserve it from the binding egg) on the spud to make it brown nicely. Bake for as long as it takes. I never dreamed there was any other way! Our Lancashire dad no doubt told my mum how to make it, a long while ago. Rough and ready reuse of leftovers, and unbelievably good.

Thank-you so much for everyone's input. I am an anglophile and love to cook, to hear all of your takes on real British food is a delight. Esp the origins. But I do agree there are variations everywhere and always will be!