Happy St. Patrick’s Day Weekend!

This meal has to be hands down one of my all time favorites. And even though it’s not the lightest dish, when it’s both Pi Day (3.14) AND close to St. Patrick’s Day I pretty much HAVE to make it. First of all, it’s meat and potatoes in pie form, which spells comfort food perfection. And it involves cooking with beer, which obviously, means that I have to drink a beer while cooking (a well-known rule). It also includes mashed potatoes, which I could eat with every meal, every day. And the rich, beefy, Guinnessy, gravyish filling part is pretty delicious too.

And it’s also been proven to be a great accompaniment to green beer, so drink and eat up this weekend!

Guinness Shepherd’s Pie

Serves 6ish

Mashed Potatoes

(OK… so this makes way more mashed potato then you will probably need for the pie. But I, for one, enjoy having leftover mashed potatoes. If you are a weirdo and, for some unknown and crazy reason, do not, feel free to cut it down a bit.)

4 lbs Yukon gold potatoes, peeled, rinsed, and cut into 1” cubes

1 cup whole milk

¼ c sour cream

5 Tablespoons butter

¾ teaspoon Salt

½ t Pepper

½ t Garlic Powder

Filling

1 T olive oil

1 small onion, diced

½ c diced carrots

½ c diced celery

3 cloves minced garlic

1 lb ground beef (85/15)

1 ½ T tomato paste

2 T flour

12 oz Guinness Draught

1 c frozen corn kernels

1 c shredded cheddar (I had a garlic and herb cheddar on hand that worked out pretty well)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put potatoes in a large pot, add enough water to cover them, and add about 2-3t of salt. Bring to a boil over high heat and continue to boil until potatoes can be split easily with a fork, about 15-20 minutes. Drain and mash with milk, butter, and sour cream. Add seasonings and mash to incorporate.

Heat olive oil in 12” cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add onions, carrots, and celery. Season with salt and pepper.

Cook until soft and translucent, about 10 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook an additional minute.

Add ground beef and cook, stirring to break up and incorporate beef, until cooked through, about 8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Stir in tomato paste and flour.

Add beer and bring to a boil.

Then reduce to a simmer and cook, stirring, until gravy reaches desired thickness, about 5-10 minutes. I like my sauce to be thick enough that you can see the bottom of the pan when you push it aside, like so. Taste and season with salt and pepper if needed.

Smooth out beef mixture and sprinkle corn over top evenly.

Carefully spread mashed potatoes evenly over the corn.

Then sprinkle cheese over the potatoes.

Bake in oven for 20 minutes, or until cheese is melted and filling starts to bubble around the edges

You can pop it under the broiler for about 2-3 minutes after this for maximum golden-brown crispiness.

Now, it’s a good idea to wait a few minutes before cutting in to this. But I’d understand if you can’t wait. I’ll confess, I didn’t.

Slainte!