My Favourite Short Rib Cottage Pie

This is the ultimate, dinner party worthy cottage pie. Cooking this was like catching up with an old friend. Took me back to the tasting menu days at @trinityrestaurant lining these up on the pass and setting fire to each and every one of them

Happy Cooking x

Short Rib Cottage Pie
3 x 4/500g pieces of shortrib per bone
Bone marrow cylinders, soaked in 5% brine overnight
2 carrots
2 onions
2 sticks celery
1 head garlic
1 bunch thyme
-
200ml red wine
2ltrs brown chicken stock
-
Sear short ribs slowly until deeply coloured. Remove, then cook vegetables, garlic and herbs in the same pan and allow to colour. After 10 minutes, deglaze with red wine, reduce fully. Add stock, return meat, cover and braise at 160 °C for 2–2½ hours until tender, can check by piercing with spoon handle with no resistance. Rest until cool, remove bones, flake meat.

Carrots
4 carrots
Olive oil
-
Peel the carrots, split lengthways and slice into 1cm thick pieces. Heat the olive oil in a pan and colour the carrots and salt. Cook until coloured and soft. Drain.

Lyonnaise Onions
6 Italian white onions, thinly sliced
125g butter
5g Maldon salt
25g sherry vinegar
-
In a wide based pan, over a medium heat - sweat sliced onions with salt until soft, add butter and cook for another hour or so until very soft and golden brown. Remove from heat and reserve.

Duchesse Potato
500g potatoes
1 egg yolk
1 whole egg
25g grated parmesan
50g melted butter
Maldon salt, to taste
-
Bake potatoes until tender, then mash well or pass through a fine sieve. Transfer potato to a large bowl - quickly mix in the egg yolk, whole egg, and melted butter without scrambling the eggs. Season and reserve in a piping bag.

Finishing Cottage Pie
Reduce cooking liquor by half. Mix meat with lyonnaise onions and reduced sauce. Spoon into dish, top with roasted carrots, marrow in the centre, pipe duchesse around. Bake at 200 °C for 45 minutes until golden. Rest, finish with flaming rosemary.