cottage pie

northernstar007

can anyone help
ive made cottage pie once and when i added the patato it sank, so did my heart
so ive read online to let the mince cool down, this is going  to be cooked in the slowcooker
mushrooms small tin of peas diced onions and sliced carrots later in the cook this is going to be for 4 people so i want to get it right and using finest mince 5% fat
i like lots of gravy in meal , so can any great cooks out there give me some help where and tips before i start

Emmia

It's often about the relative density of the mash and the meat - you like gravy, but if it's too wet / liquid then the mash won't sit on top. If you want more sauce I'd serve extra gravy on the side.

I do mine so it's reasonably dense in terms of meat/veg but still moist - a Bolognese consistency for want of a better description.

Chloe_G

Yes, you need to strain a lot of the gravy out.  We make it in a traditional way.  Cook the mince with carrot and onion, water and an Oxo cube in a saucepan.  Let it cool.  Transfer it to a dish using a slotted spoon leaving a lot of the liquid in the saucepan.  Put mashed potato on top and cook in oven.  Add bisto powder to the remaining liquid to thicken the gravy.  Serve with vegetables.

JGB1955

Start by adding the mashed potato in 'dollops', around the outside of the dish.  Then work your way towards the middle, smoothing as you go.  That should stop the mash sinking.

Keep_pedalling

It must not be too wet otherwise the mash will turn to mush, just keep lots of gravy on the side to add at the table. Let the mince mixture and mash go cold before combining them and putting the pie in the oven.

MSE_ForumTeam5

We've moved this across to our Old Style board which is where recipes etc are usually discussed

gwynlas

When taught to make this at school placed a layer of boiled carrot on top of mince mixture before mash which might help.

northernstar007

great comments everyone and muchly appreciated
i'm going to try this week sometime and for sure keep you posted how it turns out
i might take the easy route out and just make mince and dumpings, cant go wrong with that 
also ive read online to oven bake the patato to get all the moisture out can anyone confirm this , and ive always pour a fair bit milk and butter in the patato, shall i go easy on that and keep it down to a min?

Emmia

northernstar007 said:

great comments everyone and muchly appreciated
i'm going to try this week sometime and for sure keep you posted how it turns out
i might take the easy route out and just make mince and dumpings, cant go wrong with that 
also ive read online to oven bake the patato to get all the moisture out can anyone confirm this , and ive always pour a fair bit milk and butter in the patato, shall i go easy on that and keep it down to a min?

I only use butter in my mash, I find milk can make it less thick.

Keep_pedalling

You have to oven bake the pie, and no milk in the mash. 

Katiehound

I would say that this is not a dish for the slow cooker.

 You can cook it in the microwave but you won't get that lovely crispy browned topping (you can reheat there 'tho)

Cook the mince & veg in a frying pan / saucepan uncovered. Allow to thicken. Cool
mashed potato can be made from microwaved jacket potatoes. Just add a little butter/ fat. 
great with grated cheese on top.