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pasties {the food kind}

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Vaino

Cannon
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Just put 8 pasties in the oven and 2 will be our supper and 6 will be frozen.

Pasties are probably the "perfect" meal away from home and were introduced by the Welsh miners working in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and the tradition was carried on by the later arriving Finns. The pasty is a complete meal w/in a dough envelope.


My Mother made excellent pasties at home and they were a very popular menu item in her restaurant. She was was born and lived in the UP for many years.

Pasties are fairly easy to make and the dough is a simple mixture of flour, lard or Crisco, salt and ice water. When thoroughly mixed, the dough is formed into a ball, wrapped in plastic wrap and put in the fridge for 4-6 hrs.

The mixture is composed of lean hamburger, onions, potatoes, carrots, rutabegas, garlic, salt, pepper, ground thyme and parsley leaves.

Many recipes use 1/4" thick dough that's 8" in dia, one side is filled and the other side is folded on top and a fork closes the seam.

My Mother used dough that was 1/16" thick and that's what I used. The mixture is scooped into the middle of the "pancake" and is shaped in a hump. The dough is then folded onto the mixture from 4 directions. Raw egg is brushed on and yields a nice golden brown when fully cooked.

Pasties were always a part of my deer and elk hunting trips....courtesy of my Mother and later on my wife.

They're better when warm but can be eaten cold....Fred
 
I'm a fan of Pasties - they were eaten by Irish (Scots-Irish?) Miners in the Butte/Anaconda area. They are available in the freezer section of a local store - Winds brand http://windspasties.com/. A rich Guinness gravy is a delicious addition.

Would you post your recipe with measurements? Sounds like an excellent way to use ground venison.
 
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PLEASE ask your Mom or your "better half" for their recipe(s). = I really like them but don't have a real/traditional Welsh recipe.
(I once was TDY in an AZ mining town & much enjoyed the pastries, where these were famous in the local cafes/diners, but couldn't get a recipe.)

yours, satx
 
To both you and Black Hand....my Mother passed away a long time ago and my wife is afflicted w/ Alzheimers which makes it impossible for me to post their recipes.

My recipe isn't according to Hoyle......the dough is and the mixture is, but the amounts are by "eyeball".

Neglecting the 1/4" thick dough, the mixture recipes on the internet come quite close....especially those from the UP that have all the veggies I listed.

I'm a fairly good cook but would be a lousy baker because I don't follow recipes which is important for best results. I treat recipes as "suggestions" and do a lot of cooking by taste.

By the way....we had the 2 pasties for supper and they were delicious...brought back some fond memories. The dough was very tender and crisp and just crumpled when eaten...reminded me of filo dough. The mixture was A-1 and all the veggies contributed but none predominated....Fred
 
flehto said:
I'm a fairly good cook but would be a lousy baker because I don't follow recipes which is important for best results. I treat recipes as "suggestions" and do a lot of cooking by taste.
That is why I cook and leave the baking to others.

I will be trying my hand at Venison Pasties next weekend. Thankfully, my Lady is a skilled baker and will supervise & assist.

I am sorry to hear of your wife's condition - Alzheimer's is a difficult disease.
 
I was forced to eat them as a child and never developed a taste for them....Now my wife helps make about 600 a month....Got some in the freezer and can't even stand the smell... :haha:

I use to love pot pies though.... :idunno:
 
Do you cook the ingredients before putting them in the pastry? I assume you do or the grease from the hamburger would make a mess. Also, I'd think you have to cook the rutabagas because they take a long time to cook.

I ate them in the UP. They were good and stick-to-your-ribs. A lunch on their own.
 
If the ingredients are minced or ground, everything should cook quickly enough. The recipes I found mixed raw ingredients and cooked the Pasties for about an hour. Some used sliced meat and cubed vegetables, others used ground beef with/without ground pork and the filling was more a paste than a chunky mixture.

The Pasties I've had contained a coarse mixture - not a paste but not quite chunks either.
 
Also says they use sirloin instead of hamburger.

Just onions potatoes sirloin salt and pepper.....Some are made without onions on request....

The real secret is the crust......A closely guarded secret.
 
I used 15% fatty hamburger. All the veggies have a 1/4" dice except the onions which are chopped finer. All the veggies were done and tender including the rutabagas after 1 hr at 350 degrees.

They're cooked on a cookie tray lined w/ parchment paper.

Sirloin steak could be used or a chuck roast and the meat would have a 1/4" dice.

All the ingredients are used raw.

A few yrs ago my wife and I visited the UP and after driving across and back over the Mackinac bridge , we bought 2 pasties at Lehto's pasty stand a few miles down the hwy. Seeing it was lunch time, we stopped at a wayside and started to eat the pasties and after we each took a couple of bites, looked at each other and spit it out. Immediately a few seagulls ate what was on the ground and then started in on us. We threw chunks of the pasty and pretty soon there must have been 50 seagulls. Where they came from wasn't apparent, but they sure did appreciate the rest of the 2 pasties....in fact, seagulls are nasty birds and a few fights broke out. So, the famous pasties from Lehto's pasty stand ended up in the gullets of seagulls. Later on I vomited and felt lousy and often wondered if the seagulls got sick......Fred
 
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How many Tommyknockers will a whole pastie feed??

IF I was guessing, I'd bet that you have "a KILLER recipe" for Cornish pasties.

yours, satx
 
Thanks, all. Good info. I'm no baker and have no idea how long it takes to cook meat pies. I love the idea. My only experience is I have made beef pies and they turned out well...just cook them until the crust turns brown.
 
I've had them when I was on the road and up in the UP. Good, but a little too dry for my taste buds. Here in Nebraska, we have a fast food chain called RUNZA. A Runza is a German seasoned cabbage, onion and ground meat mixture cooked in a yeast bread long bun. They're GREAT! Also make the best Fries, that I have ever had.

Rick
 
Our basic Pastie or meat pie.

1 1/4 lb. well trimmed stew meat
1 1/2 c. raw diced carrots
1 1/2 c. raw diced potatoes
1 1/2 c. raw peas
1 sm. onion, chopped
1/4 c. flour
2 c. beef broth
1/4 c. cooking oil
1 bay leaf
Salt and pepper to taste
Milk
Pie dough for 2 crust pie (below)

In a Dutch oven heat oil to medium high. Brown meat. Remove meat and set aside. Stir in flour and slowly add beef broth. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened. Add meat and bay leaf and simmer covered about 1 hour. Add vegetables, salt, and pepper and simmer 30 minutes more. Remove bay leaf and set filling aside to cool.

To bake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Divide pie dough in half. Roll each piece into an 8 inch circle. Cut each circle in half, divide filling equally spreading over bottom half of circles leaving a 1/2 inch margin at edges fold top half over and press to seal edges. Flute the edges and brush with milk. Place on ungreased baking sheet. Cut 3 steam vents in top. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown.


Ingredients for one double-crust 9 inch or 10 inch pie:
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour.
1 teaspoon salt.
2 Tablespoons sugar.
3/4 cup (a stick and a half) unsalted butter, chilled, cut into 1/4 inch cubes.
1/2 cup of all-vegetable shortening (8 Tbsp)
6-8 Tablespoons ice water.
 
Pardon me for asking: What KIND of "raw diced peas"??
(Is anyone but me confused by that ingredient??)

The great Cornish Pasties that I ate (way too many of) in AZ didn't seem to have peas of any sort.

yours, satx
 
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