Michigan Pasties

By mz0926

From Cook's Country

February/March 2010
Why this recipe works:
Cornish miners brought Michigan Pasties to the U.S. in the 1800s, and they are still a popular out-of-hand meal today. With a few adjustments, leftover beef stew made an excellent filling. We sautéed onion, ground pork, and a little bit of flour to fortify the stew so that it stayed put in the pastries. While any pie dough recipe would work for the crust, we found supermarket premade dough was acceptable. Using our fingers or a fork to crimp the edges of the pasties ensured the filling didn’t spill out as they baked.

Ingredients

• Serves 4
• Use your favorite pie dough or one 15-ounce box Pillsbury Just Unroll! pie crusts.
• Ingredients2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 onion, chopped fine
• 1/2 pound ground pork
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 2 cups leftover meat and vegetables from Joe Booker Stew, plus 1 cup leftover broth
• Salt and pepper
• 2 (9-inch) pie dough rounds (see note)

Preparation

Step 1

Serves 4




Use your favorite pie dough or one 15-ounce box Pillsbury Just Unroll! pie crusts.
Ingredients2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 onion, chopped fine
1/2 pound ground pork
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
2 cups leftover meat and vegetables from Joe Booker Stew, plus 1 cup leftover broth
Salt and pepper
2 (9-inch) pie dough rounds (see note)
Instructions
1. MAKE FILLING Melt butter in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Cook onion until softened, about 3 minutes. Add pork and cook until no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Stir in flour, thyme, and allspice and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add leftover meat, vegetables, and broth and cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid evaporates, about 10 minutes. Transfer to large bowl and mash with potato masher until mixture is coarsely mashed. Season with salt and pepper. Cool completely.


2. ASSEMBLE PASTIES Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 450 degrees. Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Cut each dough round in half. Arrange one-quarter of filling on one side of each half, leaving 1-inch border around edges. Brush edges of dough with water, fold over filling, and crimp edges to seal. (At this point, pasties can be refrigerated for up to 12 hours.) Transfer to prepared baking sheet. Cut 3 vent holes in top of each pasty and bake until golden, about 25 minutes. Transfer to wire rack and cool 15 minutes. Serve.



Forming Pasties


1. Place the filling over half of the dough crescent, then fold the other side over it.



2. Using your fingers or a fork, crimp the edges of the pasty to seal.