This classic French comfort food is like a luxurious shepherd’s pie, packed with rich, slow-cooked beef, silky mashed potatoes, and deep umami flavours. In this video, we’ll walk you through every step to make the best Hachis Parmentier at home like a chef.
VIDEO CHAPTERS
00:00 – The Prison Food Served to Royals
00:12 – Preparing the Beef
01:35 – Preparing the Vegetables
02:16 – Preparing the Mix
07:11 – Mashing the Potatoes
09:10 – Assembling the Hachis Parmentier
11:42 – Tasting!
RECIPE
Braised Beef
1.5kg Beef cheek
375ml Red wine (Bordeaux-style, not too sweet)
2L Beef stock (gelatinous, reduce if using store-bought)
2 Carrots (cut into large chunks)
2 Celery sticks (roughly chopped)
1 Onion (quartered, root left on)
½ Garlic bulb
30g Tomato paste
Herbs (thyme, bay leaf)
Salt & pepper
Method:
Trim excess silver skin from the beef cheeks. Season well.
Sear the beef on high heat until deep brown, then place on top of the mirepoix in the pot.
Deglaze the pan with red wine, then add beef stock. Scrape the fond.
Cover and cook at 160°C for 4 hours.
Cool the meat in the stock before shredding.
Hachis Parmentier
Sauce & Meat Mix:
2 Onions (1-2 cm dice)
2 Carrots (1-2 cm dice)
2 Celery sticks (1-2 cm dice)
Mushrooms (finely chopped into a duxelles)
130g Beurre manié (65g butter, 65g flour)
10g Fresh tarragon & thyme (chopped)
Salt & pepper
Potato Topping:
3 Desirée potatoes (baked on a bed of salt)
100g Butter
30ml Whole milk
Nutmeg (grated)
Grated cheese (Cheddar or Gruyère)
Salt
Method:
Dice onions, carrots, celery (Parmentier cut). Finely chop mushrooms (duxelles).
Sweat onions, then add other veg and cook for 5 minutes.
Add shredded beef and stock. Stir in beurre manié and simmer for 15 minutes.
Finish with fresh tarragon and thyme.
Scoop out potatoes and pass through a ricer or drum sieve. Mix with butter, milk, and nutmeg.
Pipe mashed potatoes over the beef mix. Sprinkle cheese.
Bake at 180-200°C for 15-25 minutes until golden.
34 Comments
Love the video and recipe, but doesn't Hache meant minced meat? Parmentier refers to potato yeah
great vid ! why don't you make a roux instead of a beurre meunier ?
Facts I gleaned from this:
– The French once believed potatoes caused leprosy. It makes you double think about anything a French "intellectual" says.
– Restaurant food really is all about butter.
So the french guy liked the german prison food so much that he became an advocate for it? 😂
Nice seeing the use of beurre manié in a video. The sister of the roux 😂
where do you buy meat/fish in london for home cooking? A lot of cuts aren't available in supermarkets, there aren't tonnes of butchers… should i be trying markets?
You're a great teacher. Really enjoyable.
Silverskin = fascia. It’s actually best to describe it as lubricating the muscle action.
trying this today its not cheap though hope it tastes as good as it looks subbed
Gotta make this
A view from the UK. YOU, of all people, with the job you have should know the benefits of a slow cooker and that is….lets all shout together….TIME. We use ours at times for over 8hrs and you would be stupid to lose an oven or a ring for so long, especially in a domestic setting. Secondly the are cheaper to run especially when used with a 'cosy'. Glad to be of help.
Beef cheek isn't even cheap where I live. And I love using it bc it makes such a rich and thick sauce.
A great dish. Any braised dish – done properly – is a delight. HOWEVER….the waste in cooking is appalling. Cook vegetables then throw them away and cook more. Cook potatoes on a bed of salt the throw that away……… Many families can’t afford to cook this way, especially in the current climate.
Very nice recipe, and most informative with all the cooking tips.
Watch the Rugby? 😂
annoys the hell out of me his knives arent sharp enough
Too much work. Piping your potatoes on makes it french.
In one word: Brilliant.
Nice one. I'm in France and have dinner guests coming round next week so might just do this. By the way Antoine is pronounced 'Ontwan' 😉
@3:51 absolutely not people who are busy and have to earn money a slow cooker is your friend especially if you have a family, we can't all be millionaires and if money is an issue and you need to use a cheaper cut of meat a slow cooker is your friend but hey let's all take advice from the snob who hates that his family weren't rich and couldn't stir the pot every 5 minutes
He's a good teacher, and that's no doubt delicious.
To anyone who isn't wealthy there's great recipes that use the slow cooking method using tougher cuts of meat or vegetables or beans, with or without electricity, look to African chefs and I think American chefs who know about being poor should also join the conversation we all can benefit and don't listen to this 1 he looks down on everyone
From those deep rich colours, you just know its going to taste bloody good.
No artifical voice, no way sorry.
Does the cutting board weigh ten kilos
I would gladly learn any recipe in history if Chef Fallow says it comes from a fuckin legend
Slow cookers… THANK YOU! Couldn’t agree more: everything cooked in a slow cooker tastes and feels like it was cooked in a slow cooker.
Typical ‘chef’ to dis the slow cooker. Try working full time whilst bringing up a family, then see the benefits of a slow cooker for all of us who haven’t got all day to be in the kitchen
I strongly suspect the Russian prison cooks did not put nearly as much effort into the dish. lol
The "sun king" was Louis XIV…not Louis XVI his grand son. Apart from that, hachis Parmentier was a staple in cantinas in my childhood, the one with duck meat is an absolute killer !
It's British Cottage Pie, you thick w anchor.
Looks a good shepherds pie
Mmm looks so delicious
100% Agree about the slow cooker.