So, Kid and I went to UP recently and feasted on Pasties most of the time we were not at Yoopers cottage. Surprisingly, she enjoyed them and even took notes on which place made the better pasties.
I figured we should try and make some when we get home, which we did. The first batch we ended up with filling left over (made up some traditional with ground beef and potatoes (store didn't have rutabagas), and some chicken pot pie style.) So I made more crust, but then I had some of that left over!
Realizing that I was headed towards the downward spiral of trying to balance filling and crust, I took a look in the fridge and saw a container of leftover Taco meat.
YES! I added some refried beans and some Mexican blend cheese (I usually prefer plain cheddar, but I wanted to use up the package) and made a couple Mexican Pasties!
Man, are they good! I'd like to put some shredded lettuce and some diced tomato on there, but I don't have any. A little sour cream on top is working out though.
Here is the recipe, more or less:
4.5 cups Flour
1 tsp. salt
1 cup CHILLED shortening (I used 3/4 cup shortening and 1/4 cup real unsalted butter)
1 1/4 cup ICE COLD water (or a little less, depending)
The crust is very much like a pie crust, but if you add the whole 1 1/4 cup water it will be a wet dough. No problem, really, but you can adjust to suit your preference. Just make sure to use COLD fat and water.
Whisk salt into flour and cut in shortening. Make a well in flour mixture and pour in water and mix with spoon or hands until JUST mixed. Chill for a bit while you prepare the filling:
Filling:
Ground Beef
Diced Potatoes
Diced Rutabaga
Diced Carrot
Chopped Onion
Salt
All of that is to taste. I just threw it all together in a bowl. I also added a bit of gravy mix to add a bit of flavor, since the ingredients listed can taste rather plain to a modern person's tongue.
Once you have the filling prepared, split the dough into balls slightly smaller than your fist ( I did not measure them for size. You can experiment. I promise you can eat them big or small!). Roll the dough chucks out using a bit of flour until they are the thickness and diameter you want. Place some filling on one side, leaving a bit of crust around the edge. Then fold the crust over the filling, making a "D" shape. Next, start at one end of the seam and fold it over an inch or so at a time all the way across. Finally place on light colored (Not dark) baking sheet and poke a few holes in the top to allow steam to escape. Bake until golden brown and delicious!
You can experiment with different fillings, but the beef and potatoes with rutabagas are considered traditional. I also defrosted some chicken pieces and chopped them up and mixed with mixed veggies for a chicken pot pie style pasty, which turned out as tasty as the beef.
Pasties were created in Cornwall of England and brought to the UP by Finnish Miners back when copper was being mined heavily up there. The pasty made an excellent meal for them. They would heat them on the blade of their shovel using the heat from the carbide lamps they had to see by. They remain a tradition and a tourist attraction.
I figured we should try and make some when we get home, which we did. The first batch we ended up with filling left over (made up some traditional with ground beef and potatoes (store didn't have rutabagas), and some chicken pot pie style.) So I made more crust, but then I had some of that left over!
Realizing that I was headed towards the downward spiral of trying to balance filling and crust, I took a look in the fridge and saw a container of leftover Taco meat.
YES! I added some refried beans and some Mexican blend cheese (I usually prefer plain cheddar, but I wanted to use up the package) and made a couple Mexican Pasties!
Man, are they good! I'd like to put some shredded lettuce and some diced tomato on there, but I don't have any. A little sour cream on top is working out though.
Here is the recipe, more or less:
4.5 cups Flour
1 tsp. salt
1 cup CHILLED shortening (I used 3/4 cup shortening and 1/4 cup real unsalted butter)
1 1/4 cup ICE COLD water (or a little less, depending)
The crust is very much like a pie crust, but if you add the whole 1 1/4 cup water it will be a wet dough. No problem, really, but you can adjust to suit your preference. Just make sure to use COLD fat and water.
Whisk salt into flour and cut in shortening. Make a well in flour mixture and pour in water and mix with spoon or hands until JUST mixed. Chill for a bit while you prepare the filling:
Filling:
Ground Beef
Diced Potatoes
Diced Rutabaga
Diced Carrot
Chopped Onion
Salt
All of that is to taste. I just threw it all together in a bowl. I also added a bit of gravy mix to add a bit of flavor, since the ingredients listed can taste rather plain to a modern person's tongue.
Once you have the filling prepared, split the dough into balls slightly smaller than your fist ( I did not measure them for size. You can experiment. I promise you can eat them big or small!). Roll the dough chucks out using a bit of flour until they are the thickness and diameter you want. Place some filling on one side, leaving a bit of crust around the edge. Then fold the crust over the filling, making a "D" shape. Next, start at one end of the seam and fold it over an inch or so at a time all the way across. Finally place on light colored (Not dark) baking sheet and poke a few holes in the top to allow steam to escape. Bake until golden brown and delicious!
You can experiment with different fillings, but the beef and potatoes with rutabagas are considered traditional. I also defrosted some chicken pieces and chopped them up and mixed with mixed veggies for a chicken pot pie style pasty, which turned out as tasty as the beef.
Pasties were created in Cornwall of England and brought to the UP by Finnish Miners back when copper was being mined heavily up there. The pasty made an excellent meal for them. They would heat them on the blade of their shovel using the heat from the carbide lamps they had to see by. They remain a tradition and a tourist attraction.