I put too much flour in shepherds pie.. what will happen?

[Welshgal1]

I didn't realise it takes a bit of simmering for the flour to thicken it properly. I just kept adding flour until it was nice and thick. Just read I should only of put one table spoon, I just kept sprinkling a bit on top then stirring so not sure how much I put but definitely a lot more than one table spoon. It still tasted nice when hot on the pan but now it's in the fridge with mash on top waiting to go in the oven later.. is it going to taste awful? What happens when you add too much flour?

Flour in shepherds pie? Are you my mum? She does some weird food. Remember having a parent meeting around 2 years ago. He was surprised that the youngest didn't have tales of the weird stuff like his older siblings (8 years between him and the next one).

Anyway erm, might end up with a weird shepherds pie cake.

Fancy one now. Mmmm. I make it with mince, garlic, onions, herbs, sometimes a bit of chilli, whatever veg is around, tomato puree, stock, leave to simmer to reduce the liquid a bit. Pop into the dish and leave to cool. Then add the mash. For some reason allowing it to cool stops the mash from sinking. Cover mash with cheese. Don't know how but the liquid thickens enough on its own.

Another one here who wouldn’t add flour. The mince mixture should be simmered long enough so it naturally reduces and thickens like a bolognaise

But it’s the tomatoes that thicken the bolognese surely? What is thickening in the mince mixture - just mince and water? Or do you add other things?

I have never added flour?

Harrykanesrightsock - I always have stock/gravy in the freezer. I don't bake and don't have flour in the house.

I make mine in a similar way to this recipe www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/9644/nofuss-shepherds-pie
No flour needed

It’s a gravy that you’re aiming for, isn’t it? So I guess people either use Oxo/Bisto which will already have some thickening agents in; or flour and stock like you would making gravy from scratch.

I'd put gravy granules and oxo in it, not flour as I wNan my mince in, well, gravy.

I'm sure it'll be fine, just serve with gravy

I make my shepherds pie with a tin of tomatoes (basically bolognese with lamb mince). No flour. I am obviously a complete heathen.

My shepherds pie has mince, grated carrot and courgette, peas and bisto caramelised onion gravy. It’s delicious and needs no thickening!

Ew tinkly that sounds grim. Sorry .

Soulrider beat me to it. That’s how I make a shepherd’s pie too.

Tinned tomato in shepherds pie is wrong 🤮 bitter taste

Tomato purée in shepherds pie, stock and if you want flour

can honestly say in 42 years of cooking i have never put flour in a shepherds pie, mind you i add baked beans to mine that starts the gravy off thickening (this is how my mom made it) and then a sprinkle of gravy granules if its not quite thick enough (adds gravy taste too)

But FourteenCows the Bisto is the thickener in that case, so no it doesn’t need any extra. Oxo doesn’t thicken, it just adds flavour so, for me, would want thickening.

But I guess it’s a bit like people who are happy to have a ‘jus’ served with their dinner instead of proper gravy. Some people just like it a bit thicker and other prefer it watery and wrong less thick.

I make mine with flour. It's a Phil Vickery recipe that calls for 3 tablespoons of it.

It's the nicest shepherds pie I've tasted!

I’m amazed that flour in shepherds pie is so controversial.

Flour in a shepherds pie?!?
Never put that in. If you wanted the gravy to thicken then use bisto or a tiny bit of cornflour. Or let the gravy reduce by simmering.
Flour is going to make it taste, well gloopy!

Flour is going to make it taste, well gloopy!

It doesn’t. Gravy made from scratch has flour in.

Baked beans

Tomato puree

You savages

Not helpful now but maybe for future reference- I always thicken with Bisto for Shepherds pie. Tasty and effective.

I'll let you all know how it goes! Like I said I've never used flour before but it was very watery today so had to do something and that's what google suggested - I'm hoping for the best.

Seeing as I have a bit of a shepherds pie fan club going on here. My controversial take of shepherds pie is.. lightly curried sweet potato 'shepherds' pie! Turkey mince, curry powder, peas, onions, carrots and sweet potato mash on top. It's gorgeous. I've made that so much lately I think I forgot how to make normal shepherds pie and now I've gone and messed it up hence the flour!

If you use gravy granules then you do not use flour. If you use stock then you use flour to thicken as you are essentially make your own gravy.

I make it with stock DH uses gravy granules. Mine tastes better.

Lol at the shock of adding flour when the people who don’t are adding’gravy’... gravy clearly has flour in it otherwise it’d just be brown water. Op it might just be a perfect restaurant square of cottage pie or it might not!

I don't add flour or gravy, just stock. I'm coeliac so never make gravy with flour anyway.

The main ingredients of gravy granules are starches, so basically flour.