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!

And don't forget Midwestern Runzas or Bierocks! Also, quick and easy meat pies made with crescent roll dough, canned biscuits, and all-ready pie crust. If the meat pie is smallish, I think of it as a snack - but then, two or three of them can be a hand held lunch.

I have many recipes if you are interested in making your own.
Teresa

Have you ever tried a Saltena? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saltena

Three of these consumed with Llajwa and a beer puts this very Anglo dude in food heaven. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Llajwa

Here's what I wrote about these meaty treats elsewhere in a Roadfood breakfast forum:

"La Paz: maraqueta (a small baguette) with butter and local fresh liverwurst, saltenas (fist-sized sweetish pastries filled with pork, chicken, beef- and their juices - plus finely diced potatos, a black olive, and a quail egg). If every American was given one "sample saltena" a 1,000 unit chain of Saltenarias would spring up almost overnight!"

I have had the meat pies at their point of origin in Natchitoches downtown. Their location is just a few blocks off of the main street. Beautiful town located right on the river and the meat pies are their specialty and what they are famous for.

Also home of Rick F which is one of our more notorious posters

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

One of the great treats travelling in England is the meat pie!!! Pasties..Scottish meat pies...sausage rolls... mince meat pies...are a daily treat whenever I visit>The english know how to make a meat pie...never could quite duplicate them!

UMMM pork pies and steak pies from the UK. Just about every culture seems to have some sort of meat and dough concoction. If you include other cooking methods, like steaming I'd bet it would be universal. My grandmother used to make "Surprizes" which were made by wrapping small link sausage with home made bread dough. These were baked and were particularly delicious when they were warm. Then again, how can you go wrong with home bread and pork products

Having lived in the UK for about 5 years, I got accustomed to eating their pork pies and pasties. If made well, they were a delight! However, some of the pre-packaged stuff was gruesome.

I'm also a devote' of British/Irish bacon. There's nothing that compares IMHO. I found a guy in Lumberton NC that makes great British bacon. He also makes great sausages, if you like British or Irish sausages (many folks here don't) So I have a freezer full of stuff and also have some sausage rolls and meat pies as well

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

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!

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

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

Me, I love both Australian and New Zealand meat pies. The Pasties of the UP are pretty terrific, too.

quote:

Originally posted by Sundancer7

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!

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

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

Mid-Atlantic seaboard, S-Cali, and Hamtramak, MI.

in fall river there is a place called hartley pork pies.they have chourish,pork and their are delicious.

These are my favorites.

Ackroyd's Scotch Bakery & Sausage
25566 5 Mile Rd
Redford, MI 48239

313-532-1181

...Russ

As a child would go camping in UP of MI, I would love a recipe for Pastys, Beef or Chicken.

quote:

Originally posted by Sundancer7

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!

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

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

You'll find them in most Middle Eastern restaurants - Lebanese, Turkish, etc.

quote:

Originally posted by Wabbit

As a child would go camping in UP of MI, I would love a recipe for Pastys, Beef or Chicken.

1 part Ground Beef (Raw)
1 part Diced Potatoes (Raw)
1/2 part Diced Onion
Salt
Cracked Pepper

Seal In pastry crust using 1/2 part Cold Butter 1/2 part Lard. Brush with egg wash. You can also add a little sugar to the pastry dough.
45 minutes 375

Make sure you have equal parts Beef and Potatoes
That is it.
I like to eat them topped with Chili Sauce

This recipe was given to me by my best friends Grandma (Nana) a beautiful Finnish woman who used to send them to us at College and made these regularly since I was 8. She would never give me the recipe. She actually gave it to my wife when she was too old to make them for us. She also grew up in the Upper Peninsula. Don't go adding anything to it. It doesn't need it. And most of all don't over mix because it will get tough. Everything is cooked raw in the pastry. Make sure you put a couple slits in the pastry. Freeze raw not cooked if you like and add 15 minutes to cook time...Russ

Sounds great, Thank you Russ. Will be trying soon Wabbit

Natchitoches Meat Pies are a thing of beauty. That is definately one of the things I miss the most.


The last time I was in England, I had a wonderful "Porky" pork pie, was spiced right the only down side was it was served cold.

When we wanted a nice time for little cash we would go to the NAFI club (the Brittish servicemens club) in Berlin. Aside from 15cent double gin and tonic or pints of guiness stout we weould get scotch eggs(ok when drunk0 and a variety of meat pies. i never planned to eat a kidney pie. I thought it was a guiness steak and mushroom pie. it was great. They were served room temp and were just great. i liked the steak and kidney better than the steak and mushroom afterall. They also had Bangers and mash, bloaters, Hagis and eel pie. The guy at the end ot the table ate an eel pie and the smell was so offensive I almost lost it.

I love meat pies! When I was working in Seattle in the late 90s, there was a lunch truck that came around once a week that sold pastys and they were so good!

Sometimes I'll make Jamaican meat patties as a treat for the kids and I. Brown some ground beef and chopped onions, drain, and add Jamaican jerk seasoning, curry powder, black pepper and salt if it needs it. Thicken it with a little gravy or flour and water and simmer for a bit. It should be moist, but not runny. Then cut out circles of pie crust, fill and fold over and brush with an egg wash and bake. Oh man, they are good!

I saw a recipe for spicy chicken empanadas in a cookbook recently I want to try too.

Last time I was in Washington DC I ran into a small local chain of empanada shops.  Can't remember the name but there were about a half dozen or so of these shops.  The pies were excellent as well.

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.  

This thread has made me REAL hungry. I would love to try some of all  mentioned above. Thanks for all the meat pie info everyone!
Joe

Here is a good Tamale Pie recipe and some others.



I found them at this site:
http://cookbooks.tjrecipes.com/mom/Entrees/index_ent.html
He must have spent alot of time making copies of these old newspaper, hand written and magazine recipes. Great site you could spend alot of time going through these...Russ

NYNM observed that he had a problem trying to find an appropriate heading for this thread and I agree.  I suppose a new heading, "Main Dish Casseroles" or "One Dish Meals is needed.  Be that as it may, I wonder how or if the Natchitoches Meat Pie he reported is related to the French Canadian Meat Pie, the tourtiere, though in my limited experierience the latter is baked and not fried.
 
Big treats at two different  Christmas meals  in offices where I worked  were homemade tourtieres brought by frends with a French Canadian heiritage.
 
The old French Canadian foods were one of the distinctive cuisines that arose in North America, simple and tasty, well adapted to available resources.
 
http://winter-recipes.suite101.com/article.cfm/french_canadian_meat_pie
 
 

French Canadian Meat Pie

Also Called a Tortiere, a Traditional Christmas Meat Pie

 
A hot, savory meat pie may not sound like traditional Christmas food to everyone, but it is a requirement at the holiday table for many in Canada, not only those with a French heritage.
Basic French Canadian Meat Pie Recipe An easy variation of the tortiere that you can try this Christmas. Recipe makes 1 meat pie.

• 1 lb ground beef
• ½ lb ground pork
• 1 medium onion, chopped coarsely
• 2 tsp salt
• ½ tsp pepper
• ½ tsp celery salt
• ½ tsp savory
• ½ cup hot water
• 1 cup mashed potatoes
• Crust for 1 9-inch pie, with top

Method:

1. In a large pan, cook beef, pork and chopped onion until cooked through and all browned.
2. Add water, salt, celery salt and savory seasonings to the meat and let simmer for about 45 minutes, with a lid on the pan.
3. Then stir in the mashed potatoes, and let cool partially. Spoon the mixture into your pie crust and add top crust. Puncture the top to let steam escape.
4. Bake at 400F for about 15 minutes, then reduce the oven heat down to 350F and bake for another half an hour.

Second Tortiere Recipe If you prefer the flavour of pork, this variation of the meat pie is sure to please. Recipe makes 2 pies.

• 1 lb ground beef
• 2 lbs ground pork
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 2 tsp poultry seasoning
• 2 tbsp salt
• 1 tsp celery salt
• ½ tsp sage
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1 cup water
• A medium sized onion, chopped
• 6 potatoes
• 2 9-inch pie crusts, with tops

Method:
 
Before starting to make your meat pie, cook the potatoes and mash them until smooth.

1. Then to make the meat pie, combine ground pork, ground beef, chopped onion and garlic in a large pan or skillet. Cook on high, stirring often until the meat is cooked through (showing no pink).
2. Add the spices and seasonings, and the water. Simmer on medium heat for about 20 minutes with a cover to keep the steam in. Remove the lid and simmer for another 10 minutes.
3. Remove the cooked meat from heat and mix in the mashed potatoes. Let the mixture cool down.
4. Spoon meat and potato mixture into your pie shells and cover each with their crusts. Slash each top crust, making a small hole.
5. Bake at 425F for 15 minutes, then reduce the heat to 300 and bake for a remaining 25 minutes.

You can prepare either pie ahead of time, and freeze it before you do the final baking. A very handy step if you are trying to cook a huge Christmas feast this year. Just remember to thaw them before baking, or increase the baking time to accommodate being frozen
 
 

French Canadian Meat Pie
I tried to make my Grandmothers for years and had almost given up until I found this one which is very similar to the one my Grandma made when I was young. I tried many others prior but this is my favorite and I use the crust recipe for just about any pie. Make sure you brown the pork pretty well. We would visit every Sunday after church and many times she would have one prepared. I would top it with Heinz Chili Sauce and alot of black pepper.

You can find the recipe at this site
http://www.cyberbilly.com/meathenge/archives/000292.html

Let's start with the dough.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
"This pastry is as flaky as the all-lard recipe, but it has more flavor because of the addition of butter.� The dough is very easy to handle and can be used for any sweet or savory pie.
Quantity: One 2-crust 9-inch pie.
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup lard, cut up
1/3 cup unsalted butter, cut up
5 to 6 tablespoons ice water
Read Basice Preparation Technique (page 36).� Sift the flour and salt into a bowl.� Add the lard and butter and work them into the dry ingredients until the mixture is crumbly, with bits the size of rice.� Sprinkle on 5 tablespoons water and mix lightly, just until the dough holds together in clumps.� Add extra water only if the dough looks too dry.� Turn out onto wax paper, form a ball, wrap, and chill at least 30 minutes, or until needed."
How I do it:
I don't sift the flour, 'cause it isn't really necessary for pie dough.� Cakes and
cookies, yes; but pie dough, get serious!!!
I only use chilled lard and chilled butter. I cut the lard and butter into the flour
using a pastry blender.
The dough should be kinda lumpy.� Sure... some bits should be the size of rice,
but most of the bits should be the size of a petit garden pea. After sprinkling on the water, I lightly pinch the dough together.�
If the dough does not hold together in one mass, I sprinkle on another tablespoon of ice water and lightly pinch the dough together again.� I keep adding water and pinching the dough until I get a solid, yet lumpy (like a brain) ball of dough.� This dough should notlook uniform and smooth.
I usually have to add 1-2 tablespoons of water more than what the recipe suggests. Before I roll out the dough for my pie, I usually give the dough 4 turns.� That is, I flatten out the chilled dough and then fold it over in half four times.� Flatten, fold, flatten, fold, flatten, fold, flatten, fold, flatten fold; then I'm ready to roll!
Lard is your friend.
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What a kind way to end a thought. And here is the recipe for the Canadian Pork Pie.
This recipe is from As Easy As Pie by Susan G. Purdy (good book, buy it if you can find it):
"In France, the traditional Christmas Eve after-mas supper known as Le R�veillon features tourti�re, a savory, spice-scented pork pie as versatile as it is delicious.� Wherever in the world are French cooks, there are personal interpretations of this recipe.� In the predominantly French Canadian province of Qu�bec, the tourti�re is practically the national dish, and though featured at Christmas, it is served year-round, either as an entr�e or baked into individual tartlets as an hors d'oeuvre.
The dish takes its name from the earthenware or metal tourti�re, or pie dish, used in France to make tourtes.� Purists declare a true tourti�re must contain only pork, or perhaps pork and veal; but in my research, and that of my friend Frances Sheper, a professional cook and a resident of Montreal, proves otherwise.�
Tourti�re always contains some pork but, orthodox or not, it is often combined with beef, veal, poultry, or even game.� This is essentiall a peasant pie, and thus you can be fairly creative about the contents, using leftover cooked meat if you have it, or cooking the meat specially if you don't.� In addition to the meat, a tourti�rewil always contain onions, cubed or chopped potatoes or bread crumbs to absorb the pork fat and mellow the flavor, and a touch of clove and/or cinnamon and allspice, to give its characteristic flavor.� In Qu�bec, the most common pastry is one shortened with lard or lard-butter, though in France a basice p�te bris�e is usually used.� The pastry shell is moisture-proofed with egg glaze before the filling is added, to keep the lower crust crisp.� For convenient serving at holiday time, you can prepare the unbaked tourti�re and freeze it ahead, then when needed bake it unthawed.
Advanced preparation:� The pastry can be prepared ahead and frozen; the prepared pie can be frozen and baked unthawed.
Special equipment:� 10-inch pie plate; pastry brush; 12-inch frying pan with lid; slotted spoon; paring knife and/or food processor fitted with a steel blade; aluminum foil strips or frame (page 25). Baking time:� 425� for 15 minutes; 375� for 45 to 55 minutes.
Quantity: One 10-inch pie; serves 4 to 5.
Unbaked pastry for a 10-inch 2-crust pie made with Lard Pastry (page 62) or Butter-Lard Pastry (page63) or Hot Water Pastry (page 61) or Potato Pastry (page 68) Egg glaze:� 1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water
Filling
1 large yellow onion, chopped
2 or 3 tablespoons oil or margarine
1 clove garlic, minced
1 1/2 pounds raw pork, trimmed of fat and minced or ground, or use 1 pound pork plus 1/2 pound veal
1 cup pork gravy or stock or rich boullion (chicken or beef)
1 pound (3 medium) potatoes, boiled, peeled, and chopped coarse
Optional:� 1 tablespoon chopped celery leaves.
2 tablespoons parsley, chopped
1/4 teaspoon each thyme, and either rosemary or savory
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1/8 teaspoon each ground allspice and pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
A dash of cinnamon
��� 1.� Prepare the pastry according to the recipe directions.� Chill as directed, thendivide the dough in half.� Chill one part, and roll the other out (page 38) on a lightly floured surface to 1/8-inch thickness.� Fold in quarters, lift, and position in the pie plate.� Trim a 1/2-inch overhang, brush with egg glaze, then refrigerate the pastry-lined pan while you prepare the filling.
��� 2.� In a frying pan, saut� the onion in the oil until transparent.�Add garlic,
saut� 1 minute, then add the minced pork.� Saut� about 3 minutes, then add the
veal if you are using it and saut� until the meats are browned.� Break up any
clumps with a wooden spoon.� Add about 1/2 cup stock, cover the pan, and simmer about 15 minutes to cook the meat through.� Preheat the oven to 425�F.
��� 3.� Uncover the frying pan and check the liquid.� Remove all but 2 or 3 tablespoons of meat juice and stock.� Add the potatoes, celery leaves, parsley, herbs and spices, and stir to blend.� Add salt, taste and adjust the seasoning.�
Add, if necessary, just enough additional gravy or stock to moisten mixture well
without making it watery.
��� 4.� Spoon the mixture into the prepared pastry shell.� Brush egg glaze on the overhang of the lower crust.� Roll out the top crust on a lightly floured surface, fold in quarters, lift and position it over the pie.� Trim a 3/4-inch overhang, then fold the top edge under the bottom crust overhang and pinch the two together to seal, making a raised rim all around.� Flute the edge as desired (page 44).
At this point, you can foil-wrap and freeze the pie. Or bake it immediately.� To bake, cut vent holes in the top crust.� Brush on milk or egg glaze, and if you wish, sprinkle the top with a little coarse salt.
��� 5.� Bake in the lower third of the preheated oven for 15 minutes.�Reduce the heat to 350�F, raise the pie to the center of the oven, and continue baking about 45 to 55 minutes longer, until golden brown.� Check halfway through the baking time and add a foil edging to protect the crust from overbrowning if necessary.�
Cool slightly on a wire rack, then serve hot or warm. Leftovers are also good cold."
Liberties I've taken with this recipe:
I cook the onions only until they are translucent 'cause they finish cooking just fine in the oven. I only use pork!!! I always add mushrooms 'cause they deepen the flavor.� Also, pigs like truffles... so, why not mushrooms, too?� I use jarred (in a jar; not upset) gravy 'cause I'm laaaaazy... and I don't usually have pork gravy on hand.� Mushroom gravy is my favorite, but when in a pinch, I'll use chicken gravy. After steaming the pork meat, I drain off the juices, reduce them and use that to replace part of the gravy. I only fill my pies when the filling has cooled to at least room temperature 'cause I like my pies to cook from the outside to the inside; not the other way around. I never trim the excess off my crust!!!� I just incorporate it all into the rest of rim of the pie.� Why cut off perflectly yummy crust? I don't brush the bottom shell with egg glaze 'cause I always forget about it and, more importantly, good pie NEVER lasts more than two days. I bake the pie until golden and the center is bubbly.� Make sure you cut a vent hole in the center of the pie so you can check out what is going on in the center of pie. I never use foil thingies on my crust 'cause I'm of the belief that the crust only overbrowns when the oven temperature is too high. My pies usually take 20 minutes longer than the suggested baking time.
Enjoy!
 
 
...Russ 

Born in OKC
"I wonder how or if the Natchitoches Meat Pie he reported is related to the French Canadian Meat Pie, the tourtiere, though in my limited experierience the latter is baked and not fried. "

I'm sure they are. French Canadians traveled up and down the Mississippi River in Colonial times long before the English Settlers arrived in the area. 
 

Foodbme
 
I'm sure they are. French Canadians traveled up and down the Mississippi River in Colonial times long before the English Settlers arrived in the area. 
French Canadians, Acadians, Cajuns.   Evangeline used to be part of the curriculum, fiction though it is.  French Canadians were on the wrong side of the Seven Years War /aka/ French and Indian War  and were moved from parts of present day Canada in a bit of ethnic cleansing, especially from the Maritimes, after about 1755.  Before that, French North America included vast stretches of the Ohio basin to Canada and the Atlantic along the St. Lauwrence.  Of course the French owned the Mississippi, or at least the outlet until 1803.
 
I suspect that the Natchitoches Meat Pie has Canadian antecedents but hope that someone knows of scholarship that traces its roots.  And if that supposition is correct, how/when  did it morph to a fried pie from a baked dish?

A relationship sounds plausible sine the Cajuns are descended from the Acadians from Canada. French is a strong presence in Cajun speech, so why not in the food?

Let me try to illustrate the article I would like to see about tourtieres and Natchitoches Meat Pies using chili as an example.  Two of the most sought after old books about chili are With or Without Beans by Joe Cooper and Bowl of Red by Frank X. Tolbert.  Both of them have some interesting, perhaps fanciful stories about the origin of chili.  However, in The Tex-Mex Cookbook, Rob Walsh pursures the subject further, although  I am not sure I agree with all of his conclusions.
 
I certainly see the connection between Acadians and Cajuns and accept the likely (certain?) presence of the latter in Natchitoches.  I am hoping, now or later, to see an article with dates and first mentions and history similar to what Walsh did.  It may have been written already and published, or it may be a term paper in HS next fall that eventually comes to this message board.
 
Anyway, I have enjoyed the home made tourtieres I mentioned and hope to try the Natchitoches Meat Pie someday.  Certainly I have also like several other kinds of meat pie mentioned in the thread above.