15 East Peter Springs Road
Monticello, Utah, 84535
Phone: (435) 419-0750
Email: dpad482841@aol.com
Website: http://wildmontainmeats.com
The owner of Peter Springs Alpaca Ranch, LLC, Dorothy Pipkin-Padilla began a new venture in 2014, Wild Mountain Meats, LLC; purveyor of Alpaca meats featuring: burger, steaks, chops, ribs and sausage. While Alpaca is a staple in South American countries, it is beginning to find a place on the palates of North Americans. It has become available in, still existing, butcher shops for the residential kitchen; and making its way into gourmet restaurants.
The Alpaca for Wild Mountain Meats comes from Dorothy's ranch, so are locally bred and raised. The processing is done by Jerry's Custom Meats, located in Helper, Utah; and is certified safe by the State of Utah. Nothing from the Alpacas is wasted; the hides are made into leather goods. On the ranch, the Alpaca are sheared and their wool made into thread for weaving. In February 2015, Dorothy will be opening a new store on Center Street in Monticello, Utah; "Paca Pantry: Everything Alpaca and More". If you happen to be in the Monticello area, come visit the store, or call (435) 419-0750 to arrange a tour of the ranch and get to meet the Alpacas; the babies are adorable!
My recipe for today will be a Shepherd's Pie made with Alpaca sausage; though mainly ground Alpaca meat, there is a mixture of pork and spices added in. The pork absorbs a good amount of the ground black pepper giving it a bit of heat; while the Alpaca maintains its unique sweet flavor. Traditional Shepherd's Pie is made with ground lamb, but the Alpaca meat maintains the essence of this perfect comfort food.
Alpaca
Shepherd’s Pie
Ingredients:
1 cup chopped mushrooms
1 Tbsp. butter
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
1 and ½ Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
3 cups mashed potatoes
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp. garlic powder
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350F;
spray a one and one half quart baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
In a 10 inch skillet,
medium-high heat, brown the meat until no pink is showing; drain any excess
oil. If using only Alpaca meat, add half
teaspoon of salt plus one quarter teaspoon ground black pepper for
seasoning. While meat is browning, melt
butter in another 10 inch skillet, medium heat, and sauté mushrooms for five
minutes.Into a medium bowl, mix together browned meat, mushrooms, peas and Worcestershire sauce. In another bowl, mix together the mashed potatoes, cheese and garlic powder.
Spread out one cup of
potatoes on bottom of baking dish and partially up sides. Spoon meat mixture into bowl; cover
completely with remaining two cups of potatoes.
Bake for 35-40 minutes;
until potatoes are slightly browned. Let
rest for 15 minutes before serving.
Makes six servings.
Mary Cokenour
