Shepherd’s Pie w/ Caramelized Onions + Zaycon Ground Beef

I know it’s spring and everyone’s dreaming of lighter fare like salads and fresh strawberries. Meat and potatoes season is over. But we just got an unexpectedly cool rainy Sunday, and I had both ground beef and time on my hands, so I made a shepherd’s pie with caramelized onions. And then I took pictures. Because I love this meal and you need to make it.

Now when I say I had ground beef on hand, I mean I just picked up an order of Zaycon ground beef earlier in the week. Those days are the best days and also the worst days. The best because, holy moly is this ground beef good! I seriously won’t buy it anywhere else anymore. But it’s the worst because once you have a 40 lb box of ground beef in the trunk of your car, the clock is ticking! Of course I can’t just drive home and putting it in the fridge, because it comes like this:

(Margot’s hand included for scale.) That’s four gigantic 10 lb logs of raw meat. Say it with me: EW!

You can read about Zaycon Fresh here, but basically you can buy really high quality meat–beef, chicken, fish, all kinds of stuff–in bulk for a fraction of the price you’d get at the grocery store. This is totally not a sponsored post; I just really really like their products. But, full disclosure, I am using my referral link, and when you sign up and order, I get a credit toward my next purchase. (I’m thinking bacon, since we just recently stocked up on chicken breasts too. Which, incidentally, are HUMONGOUS and delicious.)

Anyway…in a highly scientific process involving me eyeballing it and wielding a giant knife, I chop each log into approximately 1 lb chunks, bag it all up, then throw it in the chest freezer.

It’s not a fun or a pretty process, but I do it because a) this ground beef is the best ever in the history of domesticated cattle, and b) now I don’t have to buy any grocery store pink sludge for like eight months.

Which means we can have sweet + sour meatballs, tacos, and shepherd’s pie to our hearts’ content until then.

Shepherd’s Pie With Caramelized Onions

Note: Read the recipe through before starting. There are a few components and each takes some time to cook before the entire shepherd’s pie can be assembled and baked. You can do each step well ahead of time and refrigerate everything until it’s time for dinner; if I plan ahead I can do it during nap time. You can even cook everything, put it together, and throw it in the freezer for another day. If you don’t have time for advance prep, give yourself an hour or more before you plan to eat. Start with the onions, then get the potatoes going, then do the meat in the same pan you used for the onions. Fewer dishes that way. However you make it, it’s a time consuming meal to prepare, but I promise it’s worth it.

Ingredients:

4 Tbsp oil, divided
1 pound ground beef
3 carrots, diced or sliced into coins
1 tsp ground thyme
1/4 cup flour
2 Tbsp tomato paste OR ketchup
1 cup apple juice
1 cup frozen peas
6 red or yellow potatoes, cubed (I don’t peel mine, but that’s because I’m lazy. Peel ’em if it makes you happy.)
1 Tbsp butter
splash of milk
2-3 large yellow onions, sliced thinly
1 cup grated sharp or medium cheddar

For beef + veggies:

Heat 2 Tbsp oil in a large skillet. Add carrots and saute on medium high until just starting to get soft (3-5 minutes). Add ground beef and thyme; cook, stirring frequently, until beef is thoroughly browned. Drain off any fat (this is why I love the 93/7 beef; there’s literally no fat to drain off!) and return to heat. Stir in flour until you can’t see any white, then add tomato paste and apple juice. Stir and cook until liquid thickens (2-3 minutes). Remove from heat and stir in frozen peas. Optional: stir 1/3 of your caramelized onions into the meat and veggie mixture if they’re done and you want to.

For mashed potatoes:

Set a large pot of water to boil. Add cubed potatoes and cook until done. (A fork should easily slip into the biggest pieces.) Drain water and return potatoes to hot pot for a minute to allow excess water to steam off. Add butter and milk (err on the side of too little milk; you can always add more) and smash well with a potato masher. (If you don’t have a potato masher, dump the cooked potatoes into a bowl and use hand mixer, or beat them in a stand mixer.) Don’t worry about making the mashed potatoes super smooth; lumps make the shepherd’s pie more rustic. (Read: I’m too lazy to be bothered by lumps.)

For caramelized onions:

Heat 2 Tbsp oil in skillet or pan. Add onions and saute on medium, stirring frequently, until very soft and golden brown. (Be aware that it will seem like you have WAY too many onions at first, but they will shrink down dramatically by the time they’re done. Also, this always seems to take FOREVER. I know you’ll be tempted to skip this step but trust me: caramelized onions are the bomb and you will not regret including them.)

Assembly:

Preheat oven to 425°. Pour meat and veggie mixture into a 9×13 pan. Spoon mashed potatoes on top and spread evenly-ish. Distribute caramelized onions on top of mashed potatoes. Bake 20 minutes or so, until the sauce under the potatoes is bubbling. Top with cheese and bake another 3-5 minutes until melted. Serve.

Optional: Assemble individual shepherd’s pies in ramekins, place on a baking pan, and bake for about 10 minutes before topping with cheese. Honestly I only did this for photos, because my ramekins are much prettier than my baking dish, but I kind of dig the idea of individual servings and may do it that way every time now.

Have you ever ordered anything from Zaycon Fresh? If they deliver to your area, you should definitely check them out!

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