Jill Oman, head chef at McCarthy's Red Stag Pub & Whiskey Bar, didn't always know she wanted to be in the kitchen. She graduated from college with a criminology degree that had her working in that field in Boulder, Colorado. However, she felt that there was something else she should be doing, and with the encouragement of her mother, she enrolled in The Art Institute of Colorado in Denver and received her BA in culinary management in 2004.
Once graduated, she returned to the Lehigh Valley, where she had grown up enjoying classic Pennsylvania Dutch recipes. Oman's mom had always made these types of dishes as well as pies. “When I think about what I loved about food, it always comes back to what my mother would make and her delicious pies,” she shares with a smile.
On Oman's days off, she spends time with her eight-year-old husky, Mia, and enjoys crafting. You won't actually find this chef cooking when she's not at the restaurant.
“I never cook for just myself,” she laughs. “What I love about being in the kitchen is creating a dish for someone else and showing them you care. To me, that is the most gratifying thing.”
Here, she is sharing a dish that is comforting and traditional: Cottage Pie. The difference between a traditional Cottage Pie versusa Shepherd's Pie is all about the meat that is used. This recipe is an old family heirloom from the grandmother of McCarthy's owner Neville Gardner. The handwritten recipe is a favorite dish served at the Irish- and Scottish-inspired pub. It is a warm and comforting dish with beef, carrots and onions. It is best served with some traditional brown bread, which you can buy the mix for at the Donegal Square shop connected to the restaurant.
Oman has been cooking at McCarthy's for over seven years and attributes so much of the success of the pub to the wonderful work environment, great people and loyal customers.
534 Main St., Bethlehem | 610.861.7631 | redstagpub.com
Cottage Pie
Ingredients
- 5 lbs. ground beef
- 2 cups diced onion
- 2 cups diced carrots
- 2 Tbsp. oil
- 1 cup HP sauce (available for purchase from Donegal Square)
- 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
- 2 Tbsp. garlic powder
- 2 Tbsp. onion powder
- 2 Tbsp. salt
- 2 tsp. pepper
- 2 cups brown gravy (Oman uses Red Stag's onion stout gravy—their super secret recipe)
- 2 Tbsp. brown sugar
- 2 Tbsp. thyme
Instructions
Brown meat in large pan until half cooked. Drain fat and set aside. Meanwhile, sauté onions and carrots in oil until tender. Add ground beef. Mix well. Add all other ingredients. Mix well and simmer on low for 20 minutes. Put into a casserole dish. Top with mashed potatoes.
Bake in 350-degree oven for 10–15 minutes to heat thoroughly and brown top. Serve with gravy and buttered peas.
Brown Bread
Ingredients
- 1350 grams flour
- 7.5 grams salt
- 38 grams baking soda
- 215 grams rolled oats
- 175 grams steel cut oats
- 381 grams whole meal flour (available for purchase from Donegal Square)
- 2500 grams buttermilk
Instructions
Sift flour with salt and baking soda. Add all other dry ingredients and mix well (leave about 1/2 cup of rolled oats to the side for garnish). Add buttermilk and mix until just combined. Do not overmix. Spray five loaf pans with nonstick spray. Fill each pan 2/3 of the way. Sprinkle tops with remaining oats.
Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Rotate and bake an additional 25 minutes.
Allow to cool.
