re: Curious: Are Natchitoches Meat Pies Made The Same In Southern LA?

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Stadium rat, I am all for trying an easy recipe, care to share?

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Even though this was published by a yankee, this is the one I like. Notice there's no baking powder or sugar in the dough. This may not be 100% "authentic', but this is the way I like them.

ETA:: Notice the recipe below never says to drain the grease. It calIs for lean beef and pork, but I think keeping the grease is key for flavor, as well as having parsley in it. I usually toss a little flour into the mixture, just to ensure you don't have runny grease in the final product.

Natchitoches Meat Pies

"One of the most interesting of all turnovers is a pastry-filled fried food that I dined on in a town in Louisiana called Natchitoches. These spicy turnovers were once referred to as hot-ta-meat pies, but now they're simply called Natchitoches Meat Pies."

pastry for meat pies (recipe below)
3 Tbs bacon fat or corn oil
3/4 cup finely chopped onions
1 1/2 tsp finely minced garlic
1/2 lb lean ground beef
3/4 lb lean ground pork
1 cup finely chopped scallions
1/3 cup finely chopped parsley
salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper to taste
cayenne or hot sauce to taste
oil for frying

Pastry for Meat Pies
4 cups flour
salt to taste
1/4 cup lard
1/4 cup olive oil
1 1/2 cups water

1. Prepare the pastry, and let stand, covered, while preparing the filling.

2. Heat the oil in a skillet or saucepan and add the onion and garlic. Cook, stirring until wilted. Add the beef and pork and cook, stirring and chopping down to break up any lumps. Cook until the meat loses it's raw look. Add the scallions, parsley, salt pepper and cayenne or hot sauce. Let cool.

3. Roll out 1/4 of the dough at a time on a lightly-floured board to the thickness of about 1/8 inch or less.

4. With a cutter 6 inches in diameter, cut out circles.

5. Gather the scraps of dough and form a ball quickly. Roll out this dough the same thickness and cut it into 6 inch circles.

6. Continue rolling and cutting circles until all the dough has been used.

7. Fill one half of each circle of dough with about 3 tablespoons of filling, leaving a margin for sealing when the dough is folded. Moisten all around the edges of the circle of dough. Fold the unfilled half of dough over to enclose the filling. Press around the edges with the tines of a fork to seal well.

8. Heat the oil to 360 degrees. Add the meat pies, but do not crowd them. Cook, turning the pies in the hot fat until nicely browned and cooked through. Drain well on absorbent toweling. Serve hot.

Pastry Instructions

1. Put the flour and salt into the container of a food processor.

2. Heat the lard, oil and water in a saucepan until the lard is melted. Start processing while gradually adding the lard mixture.

3. Remove the dough and shape it into a ball. Set it on a lightly--floured board and cover with a cloth. Let stand about15 minutes.

Tips
If you want to freeze the meat pies, it is best if you deep fry them as indicated in the recipe. Drain and let stand at room temperature until cool. Wrap each individually in foil and freeze. To reheat, bake in an oven pre-heated to 350 degrees for about 25 minutes.

Source: Craig Claiborne, New York Times

As i said above, I usually just buy unsweetened pie dough from the grocery. 2 boxes of dough probably won't use all the meat the recipe makes.

One time, I froze the extra and later made a Cajun pizza - meat pie filling, sliced Bailey's andouille, sliced smoked sausage, pepperoni and a basic pizza sauce. I don't remember exactly what cheese I topped it with, but it was one of the best pizzas I've ever eaten, not just of the ones I made.

ETA:: Notice the above recipe never says to drain the grease. It calIs for lean beef and pork, but I think keeping the grease is key for flavor, as well as having parsley in it. I usually toss a little flour into the mixture, just to ensure you don't have runny grease in the final product.