I've never had or made a Shepherds pie with a pie crust. Usually the meat is just topped with the mashed potatoes. But that said, no you do not have to bake the crust first.

I make a Tourtiere which is a French Canadian meat pie with a double crust and the crust is not prebaked.

Ann

I'd guess it's up to you. Should work either way. I'd probably bake it first. Do the directions say to prebake for use with pie or is it optional?

Are you planning to put a sauce or gravy in there with the meat? If so, I think I'd definitely bake it first or you'd probably have a gloppy mess.

Like Ann, I have never used or have had a pie crust in my shepard's pie either. Just a meat layer w/gravy, vegetable and then topped with mashed potatoes. But if you are going to us a pie crust I would not pre-bake it. It would go along the lines of a French meat pie and those don't use pre-baked crusts. NancyLouise

You mean you are putting a crust UNDER the meat and gravy and potatoes on top? I'd skip the crust....pre baked or not it'll be better without a crust under. Or just top with the crust and call it a beef pot pie.
Linda c

Thanks for the input. I think that I'll just skip the pie crust.

Good choice papa, Shepherd's pie doesn't need a bottom crust.

I'm sure you don't need the added advice but I'd chop the beef very fine or even mince it, mix with gravy to make very moist and add chopped onion as well as either peas or carrots....or even both!

Hope it works out well for you!

I have done as you described with pot pie many times. Using a pre fab crust from the grocery. My husband likes is that way and I don't prebake the crust. Not necessary. Hope that worked out for you. There's no reason you could not do that in making a Shepherd's Pie.

Kate

Kate, Pot pie for sure and trust me I've used many a frozen pie crust!

However Shepherd's pie does not have a crust at all...not top nor bottom. That's one on the things that makes it different from pot pie.

Okay. I can accept that:) I always thought the primary qualifier there was the mashed potatoes. I guess our pie is essentially a pot pie, with crust and mashed potatoes on top. Not sure what you would call that creation but it feels right in a person stomach that's for sure.

Kate

Kate, what's not to love about crust , meat , gravy and potatoes. I just have never heard of it.....until now! Funny how dishes take on their own persona, perhaps it's regional? Whatever I'd be happy enough with it.

Might just give it a try!

Uh, I think I want to point out to y'all that Shepherd's Pie should be made with cooked LAMB since shepherds herd sheep - not cattle! LOL. That dish is traditionally made with mashed potatoes piped on the top and no bottom crust. It is wonderful.

I make beef pot pies with leftover roast, potatoes and veggies (all cut up to fit on a spoon), a tiny bit of gravy and a little bit of fresh thyme leaves, or dried parsley if I don't have any fresh at the moment. It goes into a crust and is topped with another lightly buttered crust with holes poked to let the steam escape.

That same pot pie "recipe" is also made with cooked chicken, turkey, pork roast, kielbasa, or even "gasp" white fish or salmon! My DH calls it "Leftover Supreme" when I add a little grated cheese under the top crust.

Nancy

They must be regional because I've never had shepherd's pie and have only had pot pie once or twice. I'm used to meat pies being fried instead of baked. I've never had a touriere either. If I were going to make a beef pie, I would use a puff paste dough and make it Wellington style. I've never had that dish either, but my friend Jimmy ordered it at a restaurant, and it looked good.

Lars

publickman - Meat pies are usually enclosed in a circular crust folded over and pinched, then stuck into hot oil to "fry", or to be baked, or can be piled into a tart pan and covered with piped mashed potatoes. I wouldn't call them "regional" because they appear all over the world -- they are called "shepherd's pies", "pot pies", "hand pies", "meat pasties", "empanadas", "impanadas", "empanadillas", or "tourtiere's" - and all are basically the same thing. The common denominator is that those cooking take leftover meat and veggies and put them in a crust to make them more transportable (like in a lunch box), and are more exciting than just a plate of separate individual leftovers. Sometimes they are fried, sometimes baked, and always just are a way to make them into a meal that can be enjoyed without a fork.

Nancy

If you want to get technical, a Shepherds Pie made with beef is actually a "Cottage Pie". But Shepherd's Pie works for me.

I also like the idea of making a meat pie with a bottom crust and mashed potatoes on top. Like Sharon said, what is not to love about that. I might have to give that a try.

I don't like meat pies made from leftover meat. I cook the meat specifically for the pie.

Ann

Which I recently read is a favorite dish of Prince William-cottage pie.

I agree, shepherd's pie has no crust and is made traditionally with lamb. Too bad I don't like lamb, LOL.

My girls like it made with ground beef, whatever vegetables are leftover and mashed potatoes on the top.

Pot pie has a top and a bottom crust, which I do not pre-bake, and is meat/vegetables/gravy. I had never heard of a pot pie being made from anything except leftovers until Ann T said she made chicken specifically for pot pie!

I've never made a tourtiere either, but I keep threatening to. Elery absolutely detests pot pie and shepherd's pie and cottage pie and all things similar. He does like Cornish pasty, because it has no gravy. Silly man, he doesn't like gravy, go figure...

It all sounds good to me.

Annie

I'd disagree with your description of "meat pie" Nancy- here a meat pie is like a small double crust pie with a meat filling, generally stewed beef chunks or mince. Some have other things included, then they're called "beef and mushroom pie", "chicken and vegetable pie" or whatever. But they're all single portion size, double crust and baked, not fried.

It's easy to see that where meat pies are concerned, there is no "usually." Whether beef, lamb, chicken, or ....fish? we can all agree to disagree, but I'll bet that done right, they can all be delicious. I'm with William, cottage pie is one of my favorites!

Teresa

I shamelessly use whatever leftover meat, veggies, cheese/potatoes or crust I have to make savory pies. This is a pretty often seen menu item in our house now that I think about it:) This kind of thing very effectively utilizes leftovers.

Kate

I make a Cottage Pie with hamburger, veggies, beef broth, red wine etc and topped with mashed potatoes.

I didn't know until today why the recipe is called a Cottage Pie and not Shepherd's pie!

Didn't bother bringing it up but I knew about shepherd's pie technically being with lamb, after watching Hell's Kitchen and Kitchen Nightmares enough! Gordon Ramsay gets very upset about lambless shepherds pies. There's a lot of misnamed concoctions though. Macaroni hotdish is not "goulash" as any Hungarian can tell you (goulash is a stew) and say what you want, microwaved potatoes are far from "baked" potatoes - since they're actually steamed. And for that matter a non-Jarden/Rival slow cooker is not a "Crock-Pot" technically, but to me it's all a variation of the original, which most all cooking is be it chocolate cake without chocolate, meatballs without meat or whatever the slop du jour happens to be. There's limits of course which I won't name... and culinary terrorists are all around us!

That'd be a good topic for a thread of its own... food misnomers.