AIBU to put HP sauce in a cottage pie?

[OmicronPersei7]

Yes, this is real. And I do it with a shepherd's pie too!

I use no packet mixes... not even a granule of Bisto or anything! Make my own stock, mash my own potatoes, chop my own vegetables. It takes me effing HOURS.

But, the one thing I do like is just a couple of spoons of HP in the mix. Is that so criminal???

Had the afternoon off work, which means plenty of me time, such as: scrubbing bathroom; changing beds; cleaning kitchen etc. You know. Also thought I might make a cottage pie.

DH shuffles in after logging off, tastes it, pulls face, announces he can taste "nothing but brown sauce" and fucks off upstairs to sulk. Says people don't do it.

He's acting like I pooed in the pot.

I'm not changing my ways. I will live and die by a bit of HP in my cottage pie.

But... AIBU?

HP sounds great! Top tip.

I throw half the cupboard in mine including Hp sauce, Worcestershire sauce, red wine
I fry it all off first and then put it in the slow cooker all day. Have the mash all cooked and cooled so it doesn't sink and then it's easy to just top it and in to the oven. Keep one for freezer. Mostly stick to the BBC good food recipe https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/cottage-pie
The mash is to die for.

Put tomato sauce a bit of sugar in my bolognese too

Toddler DS is so fussy at the minute yet eats two plates of these dishes

Lea and perrins, English mustard and marmite go in mine. I've had no complaints so far!

Brown sauce on mine.

If I bit into cottage pie with even a hint of brown sauce in it, that would literally make me vomit immediately. I cannot even smell that evil stuff without feeling sick. Other people might love it but I don't. My partner likes it but does not even buy it because he knows I can't take the smell. Why would you put something your partner doesn't like in their food.

Have you done it before and if so did he eat it then?

I found (and made last night) a cottage pie recipe with ketchup, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, stock (I used a Tesco vegetable stockpot) and curry powder. I don't generally like ketchup but it's fine in this (and also in a Schwartz barbecue sausage mix I'm rather fond of). I going to try brown sauce (which I do like) instead of most of the other stuff next time.

We always had it with baked beans when I was young ... I was shocked when I started school and found they served them hot!!

Ohh I am going to try that. We love daddies brown sauce in this house. Have it in pizza, beans, cheese and chips.

Yes my Mum does on hers and it's delirious.

Or delicious

most cookery works on the basis of whether once made, you need to add
sugar
salt or
acid
to balance the flavours already in the meal

the trick of any cookery surely is not to have an overwhelming taste of any one thing, so if HP was that obvious in the mix, it probably did need diluting down.

that said, let the picky fecker cook his own food and see how easy it is!

Perfectly normal OP. I prefer Worcester sauce, but if I've run out I would use HP.

I thought most people did?

I run out of tomato puree and put a bit of ketchup with my bolognese with the tinned tomatoes. It was lovely.

I put ketchup and HP in mine!

I put HP, ketchup, and Lea and Perrins - makes it really tasty. Quite often I add a spoon of curry paste for a spicy version of Shepherds Pie, which is even better.

It depends on the size of the spoon. Tsp is passable, tablespoon no way

I have never heard of putting HP in a pie, but I usually add Worcestershire sauce and I recently discovered Henderson’s so I used that last time.

You’d be utterly unreasonable not to! John Torode suggests using brown sauce if you need Tamarind but have none.

@WitchDancer and @APurpleSquirrel

I have always made it this way and he's never said anything but "delicious". He spotted me add the HP last time and kicked off. Because he's a baby and doesn't like HP.

The taste is definitely not overwhelming! I add a bacon-sandwich-worth-of-squirt.

Is that a measurement? I reckon Jamie Oliver would say it is. Pukka.

This thread blew up Happy to be validated! Ho ho.

I add HP & ketchup. Just about a couple of tsp of each for a family sized pie. Always have, so did my mum. Only for shepherd's pie though - I halve the amount for cottage pie as the taste of the meat is milder. Otherwise it's overpowering.

YABU to put brown sauce in anything tbh.

@NuniaBeeswax

YABU to put brown sauce in anything tbh.

I knew my DH was on Mumsnet...

YABU that it's brown sauce, it should be HP Fruity!

But your DH is a philistine to not realise this is not a thing!

Exactly the Same as me defo not BU!

The first time I ever made a Cottage or Shepherd (can't remember which) I was at school. The recipe included a spoonful of pickle, it was either Branston or Pan Yan in those days.

I chuck all sorts in these days, I don't eat it if it contains meat so never know if it is nice or not.