Turkey Shepard’s Pie

Cozy, comfy, this Turkey Shepard’s Pie is a definite keeper.

I have an odd affinity for that cute little lamb chop that used to sing and dance annoyingly around on my living room screen when I was small.  Somehow, because the puppet was small and fluffy, rather than a giant purple dinosaur, the obnoxiousness of the show was marginally more acceptable and led to a tiny Iris deciding that eating lambs was a terribly horrible, no good thing to do.  Therefore, all the rich lamb stews, juicy lamb burgers, and (gulp) lamb chops never made it into my culinary consumption.  To be fair, I do not recall us eating lamb at all as a family so that probably plays a part in the “avoid lamb” mentality as well.  

Despite this lack of lamb in my childhood, our family would eat “Shepard’s Pie”, which I later discovered is actually “Cottage Pie” as it was made with ground beef.  This was one of the few beef dishes that brought actual happiness if it was served, primarily because I could hide all the beef in the copious amounts of mashed potatoes.  Mashed potatoes, after all, are incredibly fluffy, soft, and a food that hits all the home comfort marks.  There are many, many people out there that love casseroles (which is arguably one of the biggest comfort foods out there), and this was one of the only casseroles that I, even as a child, could eat and actually liked.  I just tend to prefer different textures and flavor combinations in every bite, which many casseroles just…do not have those qualities.  The typical casserole tends to just favor one note consistencies, flavor combos, and have a lot of mush.  But as I said, with this particular one, mashed potatoes had me all in as I could hide the beef.

Super savory, with hits of sweet corn, this Turkey Shepard’s Pie is super simple to prepare.

My mother’s Shepard’s Pie, which was actually Cottage Pie (there are VERY STRONG opinions out there about calling these dishes by the proper names) I remember having pretty simple seasonings, corn, some cheese, and the mashed potatoes.  The beef was browned with onions, salt and pepper, and as mentioned above, the mashed potatoes made this a meal my brothers and I could chow down on.  

As I stopped eating beef roughly around the age of 14, I have occasionally made Shepard’s Pie with ground turkey.  This recipe is the culmination of years of tweaks here and there to really amp up the flavor in the ground meat mixture, which then lends itself to have a very simple mashed potato on top.  Everyone has a favored potato and style of making their own mashed potatoes, and mine tend toward two types:  a fluffilicious Russet Potato mash made with just milk, butter, salt and pepper, or a smashed red potato mash, made with milk, butter, salt, pepper and some garlic.  For this recipe, I use the Russet Potato mash as the fluffed up consistency of the potatoes is what complements the meat mixture best.  Some recipes out there call for heavily flavored mashed potatoes, ones that include tons of cream and sour cream, chives, or cream cheese, or scallions, or bacon, which are delicious on their own but I do not necessarily think will enhance the savoriness and flavor of the ground turkey mixture in this recipe.  The simple potato is similar to a fluffy, perfect white rice in Asian cuisines that complement those fragrant, intensely flavored stir frys.  

Creamed corn helps create an extra luscious gravy, and gives the flavorful ground turkey mixture a contrasting natural sweetness.

The ground turkey mixture is filled with deliciously browned onions, garlic, peas and carrots, corn, and a thick gravy that is flavored with tons of spices and Worcestershire sauce.  I always use 80/20 ground turkey as I think the flavor is better than the leaner varieties, and the meat holds up better in my opinion in tenderness without drying out.  The meat and gravy get incredibly savory, salty, with a hit of “oomph” and acidity from the Worcestershire sauce.  There is some earthiness added from both the carrots and the peas, while the corn, and especially the creamed corn, add a nice bit of sweetness.  I use two pounds of ground turkey mainly because of my fondness for extra mashed potatoes, to me it has a good balance between the two especially since the gravy helps sauce things when the dish is piping hot.

Pair this Turkey Shepard’s Pie with a salad as well as my childhood side of applesauce, you’ve got a sweet little comfy meal for the cooler months.  This dish has cozy written all over it, especially now that we are in the thick of winter.  

easy to make ahead, this Turkey Shepard’s Pie can definitely be a lifesaver during the craziness of everyday life.

Turkey Shepard’s Pie

Author:  Iris Anna Gohn

Servings: 6 adult portions

I did the Turkey Shepard’s Pie in a 2.5 quart oval baking dish, and everything just barely fit - there was a little bit of bubbling over the edge which is easy to catch by baking the dish on a foil lined baking sheet.  However, if you don’t want to dirty a separate dish (because why would you?) a 9x13 will comfortably fit everything without the gravy bubbling over the edge.  

I have frozen this in the past in individual portions, and it reheats fine. I do think that if you have a wetter mashed potato the reheating in a microwave will make the potatoes a little gummy, so be aware of that.  

This Turkey Shepard’s Pie is an excellent make ahead dish.  You can assemble it ahead of time, cover, and bake off the following day if needed.  If you are heating it up from a cold refrigerator, adjust the baking time to at least an hour to ensure the entire thing gets warmed through.  If you have smaller little baking dishes, you could absolutely make this into little individual Turkey Shepard’s Pies.  

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

• 2 pounds ground Turkey

• 1 heaping cup onion small dice (1 medium onion)

• 2 Tsp minced Garlic (2 garlic cloves)

• 1 3/4 Tsp Monterey Chicken Seasoning

• 1/2 Tsp Ground Cumin

• 1/2 Tsp Dried Oregano

• 1 Bay Leaf

• 5 Tsp Worcestershire Sauce

• 1 Cup Chicken Stock

• 1 Tbsp Cornstarch

• 3/4 Cup frozen Peas and Carrots

• 1/2Cup Frozen Corn

• 1 1/4 Tsp Sea Salt, divided

• 1/4 Tsp Fresh Cracked Black Pepper + more to Taste

• 1 can Creamed Corn

• 1 Cup grated Cheddar Cheese

• 6 Cups Mashed Potatoes (This should roughly come from about 3 pounds of potatoes)

• Paprika

• 2 Tbsp cubed Butter, optional

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.

2. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add in the onions and sauté for about 5 to 7 minutes, till the onions soften and start to brown on the edges. This caramelization will deepen the flavor in the final dish.Add 1/4 Tsp of the sea salt after a couple minutes of cooking to help draw out the sugars in the onions to enhance the caramelization process.

3. Turn the heat up to medium high and add in the ground turkey. Break apart the ground turkey so it can brown and deepen the flavor. Color = flavor.

4. While the meat is browning, in a small bowl, combine the chicken stock and cornstarch. Whisk to combine thoroughly.

5. Lower the heat to medium and add the garlic, 3/4 Tsp salt, pepper, Monterey seasoning, cumin, oregano, bay leaf, Worcestershire sauce, peas, carrots, and corn. Stir to incorporate the spices and sauté for a minute till the garlic gets fragrant.

6. Add the chicken stock/cornstarch mixture, give it a good stir, then bring to a low boil. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes so flavors can mingle and broth reduce and thicken. You wan the liquid to reduce by 2/3, till the viscosity of the gravy is like honey. If needed, remove the cover and let some of the liquid evaporate towards the end of the 15 minutes.

7. Once broth has reduced, taste and add the additional 1/4 Tsp Salt and some extra pepper if needed. Fish out the Bay Leaf and discard it.

8. Pour turkey mixture into an 9x13 baking pan and spread mixture out evenly. Top meat mixture with the creamed corn, then cheese, and finally evenly spread the mashed potatoes on top with a spatula. Sprinkle Paprika and dot the cubes butter evenly over the top.

9. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes, or until potatoes are hot and the sides are bubbling. Uncover and broil for 5 minus or so until the top gets crusty and golden brown. Remove from oven and let sit for a few minutes before serving as it will help the gravy re-thicken up. Sprinkle with parsley for serving, if desired.