To think you do not cook cottage pie like this?

[Louie92]

A freind was saying that she boils her mincemeat before putting in the oven.
I always fry mine.
How do you do your cottage/shepherds pie?

My mother boils mince. I simmer too Gasp0de. If you boil the mince comes out like gray rubber.

Yes people seem horrified at the word boil 😀

Talking of words being the issue... it is braising rather than frying and boiling or frying and simmering.

Braising is a two-stage process: the food is first either seared in a dry pan or browned in a little oil, and then cooked slowly in a simmering aqueous (non-fat) liquid

Fry the mince, boil the veg and potatoes, mash the potatoes, bung it all into a big bowl and stick it in the oven for five minutes at the end.

With seasoning... Natural or from a packet :)

I know someone who boils the mince in milk. She says it tenderizes it.

Also know people who put sweetcorn in. Vom

I saw tom ketteridge roast his mince wtf is that about

Crispbutty - I will try that. I make a mean cottage pie if I do say so myself. My grandma was the master of cottage pie.

However it's interesting what you say about frying making the mince harder, I agree with that. Currently I fry off the mince with finely grated onions in a small amount of oil until mince has browned.

Then put in pyrex or casserole dish, add just-boiled water until it's covered most but not all of the the mince, crumble in an Oxo cube, add a bay leaf and seasoning, then cook in oven on 180 degrees for 45-60 mins.

When it comes out I mix up a small amount of bisto powder (NOT the instant gravy granules!) with some cold water into a loose paste and add that to the mince to thicken it.

Top with mash potatoes and grill until top bits are crispy and brown-black.

But the only thing is the mince (although it tastes heavenly) is slightly more chewy than I remember my grandma's. I doubt very much she fried anything off, it wasn't done in the 1930s when she learned to cook for her husband

I will definitely try your method!

I hate cottage pie I don't care how it's made.

Fry then drain off the fat.
Then I add leeks and a tin of tomato condensed soup!! runs from thread with my delicious pie!

I fry and add tinned tomatoes. I prefer a tomatoey sauce, and it is a good way of getting tomato into the DC.

It's basically pretty similar to my bolognese sauce and the sauce I use when I make lasagne (rarely).
I don't think it matters if other people do things differently, it would be a shame if everyone used the same recipe!
I put different vegetables in every time too, depending on what I have in the fridge (though I always have carrots and tinned tomatoes).

I always call it shepherd's pie even if I make it with beef, because I like the way the word shepherd sounds more than the word cottage, which reminds me of cottage cheese .

As far as I'm concerned, I'll cook what I like in my own house, for my own family, and I'll call it what I like too.

And I don't fry it in a frying pan. I do the same with Bolognese - it goes in a big pot on some heat.

People don't really still use Bisto and Oxo do they? Surely it's a 70s joke.

Dry fry then add stock and simmer.

Tomato

People don't really still use Bisto and Oxo do they? Surely it's a 70s joke

Urm what 😕.

Boiling the mince reminds me of my mum doing it about 40 yrs ago
boiling all the flavour out and it was revolting

I've never boiled mince. It makes it grey and tasteless. I've been frying mince all my life and I'm in my fifties. I thought boiled mince had gone out with my grandmother's generation!

Lightly sauté onions (maybe garlic and/or finely chopped celery) in a little oil for a minute, add mince and fry until browned. Stir in finely chopped carrots (maybe swede too) and soften them with the mince. Once they are starting to cook maybe add some tomato purée or other flavouring. When stirred through add a tin of chopped tomatoes (or passata/stock) and simmer gently. Add some more tomatoes/passata/stock as required. But simmer gently, never boil. If it needs flavouring either add salt and pepper or a bit of a stock cube. It doesn't always need anything extra though.

Surely the key question is whether or not the mince is rinsed first.

People don't really still use Bisto and Oxo do they? Surely it's a 70s joke

I do. I wasn’t even born in the 70s! Although I do like the knorr jelly stock pots too.

I don’t cook cottage pie, on account of it being just about the blandest food I can think of.

Boiling any kind of meat is just yuk.

Why would you think that, @RidingWindhorses? Bisto gravy powder contains Potato Starch, Salt, Wheat Starch, Colour (E150c), Yeast Powder (contains Barley), Onion Powder. E150C is caramel. What's so odd about any of that?

Don't know what goes into Oxo as I use Marigold bouillon powder, which contains Sea Salt, Hydrolysed Vegetable Protein (Soya, Maize), Potato Starch, Palm Oil (sustainable), Vegetables 8% (Parsnip, Onion, Leek, Carrot), Lactose (Milk), Parsley, Celery Seed, Turmeric, White Pepper, Garlic, Mace, Lovage, Nutmeg.

nooo rinsing mince if you are doing it stopit

Cook cottage pie how you want, and ignore the Rest on here.

I use Bisto, I don't mind being a joke if it means I get a lovely cottage pie.