Shepherd’s Pie with Potato Gratin (Beef Chuck Version)
This shepherd’s pie takes the cozy idea of a meat-and-potato casserole and slows it way down. Beef chuck braises with Italian sausage, fennel and beet in Pinot Noir until it’s rich and spoonable. Over it goes a shingled potato gratin with layers of caramelized onion cream and Gruyere. It’s a Sunday dish, and it fills the house with the smell of onions and red wine for most of the afternoon.
Is this shepherd’s pie or cottage pie?
Strictly speaking, a shepherd’s pie is made with lamb, and a pie made with beef is a cottage pie. This one is beef, so it’s a cottage pie, but “shepherd’s pie” is what most of us call it, so you’ll find both names here. Either way, the topping is where it parts ways with tradition: thin potato slices layered with caramelized onions and cream, closer to a French onion gratin than a scoop of mash.
Why this recipe works
- Braised chuck instead of ground beef. Small chunks of chuck turn tender during the long, covered bake, and the filling stays hearty rather than crumbly.
- Sausage, fennel and beet. The sausage adds seasoning and fat, the fennel adds a mild sweetness, and the beet adds an earthy depth that melts into the red wine gravy.
- Onions that cook alongside the filling. The onions need 45 minutes to an hour to turn deep golden, which is just about long enough to build the filling next to them.
- A gratin you can cut. Slicing the potatoes thin, less than ¼ inch, helps them cook through and layer neatly.
Tips for the best shepherd’s pie
- Brown the beef in batches so it sears instead of steaming.
- Taste and adjust the filling’s salt and pepper before you layer on the potatoes, because you can’t fix it later.
- Cover the pan tightly with foil for the first 1½ hours, then uncover it and add the Gruyere for the last hour.
- Let it rest for 20 minutes before cutting so the layers hold together.
How to make my Beef Chuck Shepherd’s Pie?
Shepherd’s Pie with Potato Gratin (Beef Chuck Version)
This is technically a cottage pie, since it’s made with beef, but most of us still call it shepherd’s pie. Slow-braised chuck, Italian sausage, fennel and beet cook down in Pinot Noir. Layers of sliced potato and caramelized onion cream, finished with Gruyere, bake on top until deep golden.
Equipment
- 1 13 inch cast iron or casserole dish of similar size and depth
Ingredients
Beef filling
- 2¼ to 2¾ lb beef chuck small chop (0.5 inch or less)
- ½ tsp salt and ½ tsp black pepper for the beef
- ½ lb mild Italian sausage
- 1 fennel bulb diced
- 1 large beet diced
- ½ tsp salt and ½ tsp black pepper for the vegetables
- ½ tbsp dried rosemary
- ½ tbsp dried parsley
- ½ tbsp dried thyme
- 6 cloves garlic minced
- 1 cup Pinot Noir
- ⅓ cup flour
- 2½ cups beef broth
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 3 tbsp olive oil divided (1½ tbsp for the beef, 1½ tbsp for the vegetables)
Caramelized onions and cream sauce
- 2 onions thin sliced
- ½ tsp kosher salt for the onions
- 2 tbsp butter
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- ½ cup white wine
- ⅓ cup heavy cream
- 2 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- A pinch of black pepper
Potato layers
- 2½ lb russet potatoes 4 to 5, peeled and sliced less than ¼ inch thick
- 6 oz Gruyere shredded
Instructions
Caramelize the onions (45 min to 1 hr)
- Set a pan over medium to medium-low heat. Add the 2 sliced onions and ½ tsp kosher salt in an even layer. No oil is needed.
- Cook slowly, stirring occasionally. When browned bits start sticking, add 1 to 2 tbsp water and scrape them up.
- Keep cooking and deglazing as needed until the onions are deep golden. Heat and water amounts change the time, from 45 minutes to 1 hour.
Make the beef filling (while the onions cook)
- Set the 13-inch cast iron over medium-high heat. Brown the sausage, then remove it from the pan.
- Add 1½ tbsp olive oil. Season the chuck with ½ tsp salt and ½ tsp pepper, then brown it in batches for a good sear. Set the beef aside.
- Reduce the heat to medium and add the remaining 1½ tbsp olive oil. Add the fennel, beet, rosemary, parsley, thyme, ½ tsp salt and ½ tsp pepper. Cook until softened.
- Add the garlic and stir until fragrant.
- Deglaze with the Pinot Noir and reduce by half.
- Add the flour and stir for 2 to 3 minutes.
- Stir in the beef broth and Worcestershire. Bring to a simmer.
- Stir in the beef, sausage and peas. Taste and adjust the salt and pepper before layering the potatoes.
Finish the creamed onions
- Melt the butter into the caramelized onions. Stir in the garlic and thyme and cook just until fragrant.
- Pour in the white wine and simmer until reduced by about half.
- Add the cream, Dijon, 1 tsp kosher salt and a pinch of pepper. Simmer gently for 1 minute to thicken the sauce.
Assemble and bake
- Preheat the oven to 425°F while the filling finishes.
- Flatten the beef filling in the cast iron.
- Shingle a first layer of potatoes over the filling.
- Spread half of the creamed onions over the potatoes.
- Add a second potato layer, then the remaining creamed onions, then a final potato layer.
- Cover tightly with foil and bake for 1½ hours.
- Remove the foil and spread the shredded Gruyere evenly over the top. Bake uncovered for 1 more hour, or until browned as you like.
- Rest for 20 minutes before serving.
Notes
Start the onions first, then build the beef filling while they cook. Prep everything before you start: peel and slice the potatoes, slice and dice the onions, fennel and beet, mince the garlic, and chop the chuck.
