State of Superior Cuisine: Yooper Food: Pasties



	Yooper Food

Pasties

When we think of Yooper Food, I think most of us think first of pasties. However, since we have an entire site devoted to the Pasty, I will be including only a few pasty recipes that have been sent in to us here, and asking you to visit our sister site:

Pasties, Plain & Simple.

Basic Homemade Pasty

½ cup potatoes, diced
¼ cup carrots, shaved
¼ cup onions, diced
garlic powder, to taste
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste
pie crust, enough for one crust
pasty fillings, most any meat

Dice potatoes and onions, shave carrots. Prepare your favorite pie crust, and roll it out. On the crust, place, in layers, the potatoes, then the carrots, the onions, and then whatever ground meat you want to use. Season, to taste. Fold the crust over, and crimp the edges together to seal. Bake in a 400 F oven for 45-60 minutes, or until the crust is a golden brown. Our thanks to Jeremy Peterson for this simple pasty recipe.

Axel Anderson’s Venison Pasties

Filling

1½ lb. venison
¾ lb. pork
8 cups potatoes
1 cup onion
½ cup rutabagas
¾ cup carrots
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper

Crust

7 cups flour
1 lb. shortening
2 cups milk
1 tbsp. salt

To prepare the crust, mix the salt into the flour. Cut the shortening into the flour, as you would in making a pie crust. Add milk and mix to form a dough that is neither sticky nor dry. Divide the dough into 12 equal balls, and roll each ball into a 9-inch circle. To prepare the filling, grind the meats together in a meat grinder, coarse; add salt. Dice the potatoes and the rutabagas, and chop the carrots and onion. In a separate, clean bowl, combine all of the filling ingredients, season with pepper, to taste, and mix together well. Add ¾ cup of filling on half of each circle of crust. Fold the other side over, and crimp the edges to seal. An egg wash might add color to the pasty. Bake on a cookie sheet at 400 F for one hour, or until golden brown. Makes twelve pasties.

Hamburger Pasties

Filling

6 lbs. lean ground beef
25 cups potatoes
12 cups carrots
9 cups rutabagas
6 cups onions
1 tbsp. garlic salt
2 tbsp. salt
2 tbsp. pepper

Crust

15 cups flour
5 cups shortening
5 cups water
1 dash of salt

Egg Wash

4 eggs
1 cup milk
¼ stick of butter

To prepare the crust, combine the flour, the shortening, and a dash of salt with about 5 cups of water, or enough to make dough. Separate the dough into balls and roll each into a 12-inch circle. To prepare the filling, peel and dice the vegetables to about ½-inch cubes, or a little larger. Mix the vegetables and the meat together thoroughly, and let it sit for a half hour. Place one cup of the hamburger/vegetable mixture in the center of each of the circles of dough that you have made, fold the dough over, and crimp the edge. With a knife, cut two small slits in the top of each pasty, and insert a small sliver of butter. To prepare the top wipe, beat the eggs and milk together. Brush the top of each pasty with the top wipe mixture. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 F for about an hour, or until the pasty is a golden brown. Makes about forty pasties.


	Hamburger Pasties ¾ lb. hamburger 3 medium potatoes, cooked 1 onion, chopped fine 2 carrots, chopped coarse 1 tsp. salt 1 tsp. pepper Dough 1¾ cups sifted all-purpose flour 1 tsp. baking powder ¼ tsp. salt 6 tbsp. shortening 6 tbsp. cold water Lightly sauté the ground meat until it is browned and about the size of hickory nuts. Add the diced potatoes, onion, and carrots. You might also want to add any leftover peas, lima beans, or other vegetables. Add the salt and pepper, and set aside to cool slightly. Mix the flour, baking powder, and salt together. Cut in the shortening with two knives or a pastry blender until it is the consistence of pie dough. Add the cold water, 1 tablespoonful at a time, and knead into a dough. Place the dough on a floured board and roll out until it is about ¼-inch thick. Cut into squares or circles about 3 inches in diameter. On half of each square or circle, place one heaping tablespoonful of the meat mixture. Wet one edge of the square or circle, and bring the other half down over the meat mixture. Press the edges together. You wet the edge of the dough to keep it together. Place the filled circles or squares on a greased and floured cookie sheet, and bake in a 325 F oven for one hour, or until the tops are golden brown. Plain Pasties Filling ½ lb. raw beef, diced 1 cup raw potatoes, diced 1 cup onion, chopped 2 tsp. butter salt & pepper, to taste Crust 1½ cups flour ½ cup butter, or shortening ½ tsp. baking powder ½ tsp. salt ¼ cup cold water To make the crust, sift the flour, salt, and baking powder together; work the butter (or shortening) into the flour with a fork, or rub it very lightly with the tips of your fingers; the less it is handled, the better. Add cold water very slowly, just enough to hold the dough together, but do not work or knead the dough. For one pasty, divide the dough in half, rolling each out thin on a floured board. About one inch from the edge of the rolled crust, pile half the potato, onion, and meat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper; and repeat for the second pasty. Fold the other half of the crust over the filling, press the edges together, and trim. Place the two pasties in a pie plate. Cut a slit in the top of each pasty, into which you should drop one teaspoon of butter. Bake for forty-five minutes in a hot oven (400 F), or until well browned, then reduce the heat to 350 F, and bake for another fifteen minutes, pouring a teaspoon of hot water into the slit that you created occasionally to prevent drying out.



		Visit our Sister Site: Pasties, Plain & Simple