Making Shepherd's Pie with Leftover Steak, Hamburgers, or Roast

Shepherd's Pie is a hearty dish of meat and vegetables in a gravy sauce topped by mashed potatoes. It can be made from leftover steak, leftover roast beef, leftover hamburgers, etc. Often a distinction is made between Cottage Pie and Shepherd's Pie, claiming the former is made exclusively with beef and the latter only with lamb or mutton. There is doubt to whether this was actually the case when the dish originated, but commonly in the United States, there is no distinction in the terms, even at restaurants serving British or Irish fare.

I like to use leftovers to make shepherd's pie because the gravy and vegetables keep the leftover steak moist and make it into something so much better than simply reheated leftover steak. When I am wondering what to do with leftover steak, how to use leftover grilled burgers, or what meals to make from leftover shredded roast beef, I very often turn to shepherd's pie for a tasty solution.

To make shepherd's pie from leftover steak, I trim the excess fat from the steak carefully, making sure to remove all the gristle or connective tissue. I like to cut it into pieces slightly smaller than bite size, perhaps a quarter of an inch cubed. Any cut of steak will be delicious for this and I find that shepherd's pie is a great way to use steak leftover from a restaurant meal.

To use leftover burgers for shepherd's pie, I just crumble them well, or cut them into small cubes. Leftover pot roast or roast beef is also a nice meat to use when making shepherd's pie, and is probably the most traditional. Roast can be shredded or cubed, depending on the cut and your preference.

After the meat is prepared, the dish is very simple to put together. The meat is mixed with gravy and vegetables and topped with mashed potatoes. I like to use homemade gravy, but the kind in the jar is okay as well. Any gravy you prefer will work in the recipe, but I'd encourage you to learn to make gravy if you never have, just because it's really fun to make it yourself.

The vegetables can be any number of variations, and this is a great recipe for going through the fridge and finding the bits and dabs of leftovers to use up. Onion, corn, peas, lima beans, green beans, carrots, broccoli, and celery are all nice and can be combined or omitted according to preference. I always precook all the veggies that go into the meat mixture, since it's not in the oven long enough to soften most of them. Often, I will start the gravy by first wilting onions and garlic in the butter before making the roux. The same can be done with the carrots if they are chopped finely enough.

The meat/gravy/vegetable mixture is layered in an oven proof dish and covered over with mashed potatoes. Traditionally a fork is used to make ridges on the potatoes, so they will brown in the oven. Bake this until it's heated through and it can also be broiled at the end of cooking to encourage the browning of mashed potatoes. Shepherd's Pie is absolutely one of my favorite dishes for using leftover steak, hamburgers, and roast.