browned butter mashed potato shepherd’s pie

Have I mentioned before how much I love browned butter? Well, if I haven’t, I’m doing it now. It’s. Pure. Gold.

Well, technically… it’s pure browned gold. But, hopefully you’re picking up what I’m throwing down here.

Which would be, comfort food to the maxx.

I mean, you could just make a batch of these amazingly delicious mashed potatoes and eat them sans meat and veg, and probably be perfectly content. But they’re just that much better baked on top of a savory burger pie with gravy, mushrooms and sweet peas.

Mmmm, hmmm. Go big comfort, or go home.

Browned Butter Mashed Potatoes Shepherd’s Pie
(makes 4 – 6 servings)
2.5 lbs yukon gold potatoes (peeled and cubed)
6 tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup whole milk
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground white pepper
1 lb ground beef
1/2 of a yellow onion (diced)
1 clove garlic (finely minced)
1 cup button mushrooms (cleaned and chopped)
3 tbsp flour
2 cups beef broth
1 cup frozen sweet peas
2 tbsp fresh parsley (chopped)
salt & pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

To make the browned butter mashed potatoes, slice the butter and melt it over medium heat in a small saute pan. Once it starts melting, start whisking it and continue until the butter is completely melted and starts to bubble and foam on the top. Soon after you’ll see little brown bits forming at the bottom of the pan. At this point, remove the pan from the heat and continue whisking until the brown bits are a tad bit darker and the butter itself is a nice golden caramel color. Transfer the browned butter to a glass or ceramic dish and set aside. (Browned bits and all.)

Boil the peeled, cubed potatoes in a large pot with salted water until fork tender. Drain the potatoes, then return them to the same pot. Pour 3/4 of the browned butter over the top, add the buttermilk, whole milk, salt and ground white pepper. Mash with a hand held masher or an electric mixer to desired consistency. Set them aside (after taking a few bites, you know… quality assurance.)

To make the meat & veg layer, brown the ground beef in a large oven proof saute pan or cast iron skillet then transfer to a bowl and set aside. Pour out all but 2 tbsp of the browned beef juices from the pan, then add the diced onion and saute it until softened. Add the garlic and chopped mushrooms and cook until the mushrooms are soft.

Add the flour and stir to coat. Slowly pour in the beef broth and stir to thicken and combine. Add the browned ground beef back into the pan, throw in the chopped parsley and peas, season to taste with salt and pepper.

Top the beef & veg layer (right in the same saute pan or cast iron skillet) with the browned butter mashed potatoes using a pastry bag and large piping tip (Or you can drop it on in spoonfuls. Sometimes I just like to pretend I’m fancy.)

Bake the shepherd’s pie in the preheated oven for 25 – 30 minutes, or until the potato layer turns a nice golden brown. Let it rest for 10 – 15 minutes before serving.

To serve, spoon into bowls and drizzle with the remaining browned butter.

Yeah, I went there. You can thank me later.

OMFG. SO GOOD.