Head-to-head: Tesco Shepherd’s Pies

The “Head-to-head” is a feature of the RMR where the same meals at different price levels are pitted against each other in a battle for ready meal supremacy. In this head-to-head we have that staple of Irish dinners from Tesco, the humble Shepherd’s Pie.

The Competitors

Tesco Value

“Minced mutton, onions and carrots in a rich savoury gravy topped with fresh mashed potato.”
“Minced mutton and diced carrots with onion gravy topped with fresh mashed potato.”

Price: €1.00
Serving: 300g

Sugar: 1.2g
Fat: 3.7g (0.9g sat.)
Salt: 1.9g
Fibre: 4.2g

Tesco

“Juicy minced lamb and tender carrots, slow-simmered in a velvety, rosemary-scented gravy, under a blanket of buttery mashed potato.”
“Minced lamb and mutton with onion and carrots in a rich gravy topped with fresh mashed potato.”

Price: €2.50
Serving: 450g

Sugar: 6.4g
Fat: 11.7g (6g sat.)
Salt: 2.2g
Fibre: 6.0g

Tesco Finest

“Lean and tender minced free range lamb in a rich rosemary and red wine gravy topped with fresh mashed potato.”
“Minced lamb in a rich gravy topped with fresh mashed potato.”

Price: €4.15
Serving: 430g

Sugar: 1.8g
Fat: 17.9g (9.9g sat.)
Salt: 2.5g
Fibre: 6.8g

Preparation

All of the meals were chilled rather than frozen. The meals were  baked together at the recommended temperature of 190C for 25 minutes.

Tasting Notes

Tesco Value

I wasn’t expecting much from the Tesco Value meal and my expectations weren’t exceeded. At 300g it’s the lightest of the three meals and contains the least amount of meat by mass (11%). The meat is entirely mutton, but there’s so little of it that it could be anything. The little nuggets of mutton really stand out in the gravy. “Rich” and “savoury” is not how I’d describe it. Let’s try “thin” and “watery.” I saw a few tiny orange cubes of carrot. The dominating flavor of this meal is potato. For a euro you’d get much better value and nutrition by just nuking a big potato and topping it with baked beans.

Taste = 2 | Nutrition = 4 | Foodiness = 2 | Overall = 2.7

Tesco

In this trim level you get milk and butter in your mash, a thicker gravy and lamb in addition to your mutton. New Zealand “welfare-assured” lamb, as the box clearly states with a big Kiwi flag and side-bar. I have nothing against New Zealand nor their lamb, but is it really necessary for Tesco to ship lamb from the other side of the world when we have fantastic lamb right here in Ireland and the U.K.? It must somehow be cheaper. The mash tastes exactly like that in the Value meal despite the addition of milk and butter. The gravy is tastier and smells herbier than the Value meal and the meat is lambier.

Taste = 5 | Nutrition = 4 | Foodiness = 2 | Overall = 3.7

Tesco Finest

Ah, the Tesco Finest line. The finest of ingredients prepared in the finest of ways. The Cadillac (Bentley?) of ready meals. No coarse mutton here, only the finest free-range lamb from… hmmm… somewhere most fine, no doubt. Mash made with milk? Of course not! Only the creamiest and dare I say, finest, of cream in this mash. A splash of red wine, a dollop of redcurrant jelly and a touch of garlic puree round out the fine flavor of this shepherd’s pie. The result? Meh. The difference in flavor between this and the Tesco meal is nearly indistinguishable, and all that messing about only gives this meal more calories, fat and sodium.

Taste = 5 | Nutrition = 3 | Foodiness = 2 | Overall = 3.3

Result

The Value meal is brazen in its mediocrity so it’s at the bottom. Despite having the finest of ingredients the Finest pie just isn’t tastier than the Tesco pie. Plus, it’s unhealthier and 60% more expensive. So, the mid-range Tesco meal wins this battle.