Meat pies

Perhaps a little refinement of Louisiana history will help.  The Wikipedia article notes the resemblance of the NMP to the Spanish empanada, a treat common to all the countries of the former Spanish colonial empire, and notes the original capital of Spanish Texas was just 15 miles east of Nachitoches.  It also notes there is no similar item common in the eastern part of LA (Anglo dominated culture) or the French/Acadian influenced region of southern LA.

Going back further, the article on empanadas suggests that specialty of the Iberian peninsula was inspired by the sanbusak of the Middle East which is also believed to be the ancestor of the samosa of Indian and Pakistan.

No suggestion of a Gallic or Acadian influence or origin.

dexmat referenced the WIKI, which seems to show that the Natchitoches Meat Pie is more related to the Iberian or Meso American practice than to any French custom.
 
OKAY!  THANK YOU!  I have learned something here and appreciate it.

I love Jamaican meat patties (the hotter the better, but of course there's always habanero sauce...) & I am gonna have to get to Natchitoches SOON; I can't believe I have never been there for the famous meat pies. This is the THIRD reference I've seen to them here on RF in the past coupla days. Sooo many great recipes, so little time! Thanks allyall for posting them.
CiaoMeOwwww!

HOLY MEAT PIE BATMAN!!!! EVERY FREAKIN' CULTURE, NATIONALITY, GROUP, SUB-GROUP, SUB SUB GROUP, SUB-SUB-SUB GROUP ON THE PLANET HAS SOME KIND OF MEAT PIE. THE ALIENS WHO CAME OFF THEIR SPACE SHIP IN NEW MEXICO HELD MEAT PIES IN THEIR APPENDAGES!!
LET IT GO AT THAT! GEEEZZ!

I always had heard that the aliens who landed in NM were vegans and that their ration - pies were made from fungus, but if you have a recipe I'll try those also.  But maybe NYNM can help us there...

Born in OKC


I always had heard that the aliens who landed in NM were vegans and that their ration - pies were made from fungus, but if you have a recipe I'll try those also.  But maybe NYNM can help us there...

The Only Alien I know is Michael hoffman. Let's ask him!

LOL.  Good idea!

When I was a kid, my parents spent a Sunday making runzas.  Dad was from Nebraska.  They ended up making a ton of those damned things, each one a different size.  And talk about bland!  If I recall, they were a bit on the dry side, too.  We ate those things for a week and still froze half the batch. 

Here you go, Big Ted.
Bierocks on the make:
 http://ksborn.blogspot.com/2010/02/bierock-bake-fundraiser-2010.html

Last April I got "travelin-manned" at Lasyone's in Natchitoches LA, but I still got to sample one of their meat pies that weekend at the big Roadfood event in New Orleans. I'm sorry to say that I was unimpressed; I didn't care for the texture or flavor of the crust, and the filling didn't do much for me either.

at least it was a clean sweep. :)

Sundancer7

[id="quote"]quote: Originally posted by RubyRose

And don't forget those Middle Eastern meat pies with ground lamb and sometimes pine nuts and cinnamon in the filling. I love those!

[id="quote"]

I have never had those and where do you get them. Such treats are not available in east, TN.

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

In St. Louis, you can get them at St. Raymond's Maronite Rite Catholic Church every Wednesday.  The buffet line is great.

http://straymonds.net/lunch.aspx

Sadly, I'm not aware of any meat pies in Knoxville.  I go to Chattanooga.

Carolina Bob


Last April I got "travelin-manned" at Lasyone's in Natchitoches LA, but I still got to sample one of their meat pies that weekend at the big Roadfood event in New Orleans. I'm sorry to say that I was unimpressed; I didn't care for the texture or flavor of the crust, and the filling didn't do much for me either.

No disrespect to RickF but I was there also and I found the meat pies very mild with very little taste.  Sorry Rick.
 
Beautiful town though.
 
Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

ken8038


On the Lower East Side of Manhattan there's a small storefront Hispanic takeout place on the west side of Clinton Street just north of Delancey  They sell a "Meat Pie" which may be the single best Greasy Food item I've ever eaten.

There's a Puerto Rican name for these, but I keep forgetting to write it down. It's not an empanada or Jamaican Beef Patty, it's a torpedo shaped ball of some kind of breading (cornmeal?) stuffed with spicy ground beef and deep fried . At work we just call them Puerto Rican meat pies, and every few months one of us will take a run up there and bring home a couple of bags full, followed by appointments with our cardiologists.  

That sounds like a variety of croqueta.

MiamiDon

ken8038


On the Lower East Side of Manhattan there's a small storefront Hispanic takeout place on the west side of Clinton Street just north of Delancey  They sell a "Meat Pie" which may be the single best Greasy Food item I've ever eaten.

There's a Puerto Rican name for these, but I keep forgetting to write it down. It's not an empanada or Jamaican Beef Patty, it's a torpedo shaped ball of some kind of breading (cornmeal?) stuffed with spicy ground beef and deep fried . At work we just call them Puerto Rican meat pies, and every few months one of us will take a run up there and bring home a couple of bags full, followed by appointments with our cardiologists.  

That sounds like a variety of croqueta.

Or a carimanola

I am sorry to have missed most of these places.
English pies have become very trendy with most large train stations having more than one chain franchise. Many only a shadow of what they had once been.
 
However on St John, VI, in downtown Cruz Bay there is an old bread truck, now  immobile, with some plastic tables outside: "Hercules Pate Delight" that is surely a delight for the hungry. My family has enjoyed these on our occasional visits over the last twenty years. Nice wall paintings of various Rasta battles as well.
Great to buy and eat while waiting for the ferry or returning a rental vehicle.

John W


I am sorry to have missed most of these places.
English pies have become very trendy with most large train stations having more than one chain franchise. Many only a shadow of what they had once been.
 
However on St John, VI, in downtown Cruz Bay there is an old bread truck, now  immobile, with some plastic tables outside: "Hercules Pate Delight" that is surely a delight for the hungry. My family has enjoyed these on our occasional visits over the last twenty years. Nice wall paintings of various Rasta battles as well.
Great to buy and eat while waiting for the ferry or returning a rental vehicle.

What Country are you talking About??

I found a great source for meat pies close to my house at a seafood store in Powell.  The guy who runs the store has family in the Gulf region who keep him stocked with all things Cajun and seafood and he has a wide variety of meat pies with various fillings.  They're really good.  You have to take home and bake in the oven.

I believe that John W is referring to the Virgin Islands.

I agree with Paul - we were last in Natchitoches 2 years ago, and were very disappointed by the meat pies. But the dirty rice and the fried fish, did sort of make up for that....and as I remember, there was a pie for dessert that was quite good.

When I travel, I stop at local bakeries just to sample a meat pie. You can say, I am a meat pie addict.
Must be a beef pie, none of that poultry stuff.
I like my meat pie cold as a snack, with lots of salt sprinkled on, and preferably a cold beer to wash it down(but that would be a real treat, which is rare).
I really like Jamaican Beef Patties also, but them I want heated.
One of life's little quirks.

NYNM


I just learned about a specialty of Louisiana: Natchitoches Meat Pie, which they sell in local restaurants and is made with beef, pork, spices and fried in local peanut oil.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natchitoches_meat_pie.

So I thought of other variations: Empanadas (meat, fruit), Jamaica Beef Patties, Cornish Pasties, Calzone, etc. Pretty universal. In fact I struggled about where to put this topic: Snacks? International food? Desserts? Chicken? Could go everywhere!

When I write it, the name of my next book will be,  "Every Culture Has A Burrito"