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Natchitoches meat pies
Crisp fried half-moon pies of spiced beef and pork
AmericanNatchitoches, the oldest town in Louisiana, is famous for these crescent-shaped fried pies, sold at its Christmas Festival of Lights and from family pie shops on Front Street. The filling is minced beef and pork with onion, garlic and cayenne, wrapped in a short pastry and fried until blistered and crisp. It contains pork. Chef's tip: cool the filling completely before filling the pastry, or the dough softens and tears.
- Total time
- 90 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 12
Ingredients
For the filling
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 10 ½ oz beef mince
- 10 ½ oz pork mince
- 1 onionfinely diced
- ½ green pepperfinely diced
- 3 cloves garliccrushed
- 3 spring onionssliced
- ½ tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1 tbsp plain flour
For the pastry
- 14 oz plain flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 ⅞ oz vegetable shortening
- 1 egg
- ¾ cup milk
- 4 ¼ cups vegetable oilfor frying
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Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Brown the 10 ½ oz beef mince and 10 ½ oz pork mince in the 1 tbsp vegetable oil over a medium-high heat for 8 minutes, breaking up the lumps, until no pink remains.
8 minStep 2: Add the 1 onion, ½ green pepper and 3 cloves garlic and cook 6 minutes until soft. Stir in the ½ tsp cayenne pepper, 1 ½ tsp salt, ½ tsp black pepper and 1 tbsp plain flour and cook 2 minutes, then add the 3 spring onions. The mince must reach 160°F. Cool completely.
40 minStep 3: Mix the 14 oz plain flour, 1 tsp baking powder and 1 tsp salt, rub in the 2 ⅞ oz vegetable shortening, then add the 1 egg and ¾ cup milk to a firm dough. Rest 15 minutes.
20 minStep 4: Roll the dough 3 mm thick and cut 12 cm rounds. Put a heaped tablespoon of filling on one half, wet the edges, fold over and crimp with a fork.
15 minStep 5: Heat the 4 ¼ cups vegetable oil in a deep pan to 350°F and fry the pies 3 at a time for 4–5 minutes, turning, until golden and blistered. A common mistake is overfilling, which makes them burst in the oil. Drain on paper.
20 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 330 kcal
- Protein
- 14 g
- Carbs
- 26 g
- Fat
- 19 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does natchitoches meat pies take?
- About 90 minutes in total: 50 minutes to prepare and 40 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 12 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- What can I use instead of onion?
- 2 shallots per onion.
- What can I use instead of garlic?
- ½ tsp garlic paste or ⅛ tsp garlic powder per clove.
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