[Sca-cooks] Re: Shepherd's Pie

[Sue Clemenger]

It may have more to do with what's reasonably cheap-and-available, 
because the shepherd's pie or cottage pie variants I've run across all 
seem to be of the "I've got a limited food budget, what kind of 
inexpensive casserole can I make to feed my family with" variety.  There 
are certainly sheep here (state of MT in the NW US), but they're far, 
far outnumbered by beef cattle.  So hamburger is easily found, and one 
of the most inexpensive forms of beef, while lamb/mutton, if you can 
find them at all, are several dollars a pound more expensive, and 
definitely considered a luxury item.
--maire

tracey sawyer wrote:
> Amazing -- you use minced (ground) beef for shepherd's pie!?!!  
>  
> In Australia it has always been minced mutton (or lamb) left over from roast lamb dinners.  
>  
> In our (admittedly short) history, as shepherds herd sheep - not cows - and the mutton was available for them to cook and eat, presumably at the cost of raising them, where they would have had to pay cash money for beef, it has ALWAYS been sheep meat.  
>  
> Diced beef is "goulash" and ground beef is Mince Meat (just to confuse the issue, mincemeat (one word) in minced up dried fruit.
>  
> -- Isn't it interesting the variations on a theme you get, when you cross national/international borders.
>  
> -- Lowry