Natchitoches Meat Pies

Let's take a trip down south, to northern Louisiana. Why?  Because I decided to try my hand at it's State Meat Pie, the Natchitoches meat pie.  In case you were wondering, it's is pronounced NACK-uh-tush.  Unfortunately, I have been pronouncing it phonetically for awhile now and I think I'm past the point of no return.  

There is an entire festival dedicated to this delectable pie.  And yes, this festival has officially made the "must travel to" list. That, of course, means I need to start pronouncing Natchitoches properly...wish me luck.

When weekend rolled around and I was putting my shopping list together, I decided that since I really had no idea what I was doing, I would (aside from adding a few spices) follow the official recipe.  Except for a few differences in filling, it seemed to be very much in the empanada family.  No complaints there!  I did choose to bake these pies.  My track record with fried foods is horrendous and I figured this recipe could withstand a healthier cooking method.

Natchitoches Meat Pie

Ingredients:

Filling:

1 tsp. shortening 

1 lb. ground beef 

1 lb. ground pork meat 

1 bunch green onions - chopped 

1 pod garlic - minced 

1 orange bell pepper - chopped 

1 medium onion - chopped 

1 Tbsp flour
1 tsp. salt

2 tsp. paprika

1/2 tsp. chili powder

Dough:

4 c. All purpose flour
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder 

1/2 cup shortening + 1 T
2 eggs
1 cup milk

Directions:

Melt the shortening in a large stock pot. Add the meat and cook until it is no longer pink - about 10 minutes.  Add the vegetables and seasoning, cook for another 10 minutes.

I really like the color that the bell pepper adds!

Once everything is cooked through, stir in the flour.  Continue stirring until sauce thickens - about 3 minutes.

Take the filling off the stove and set aside while you make the dough.

Sift the dry ingredients together. Cut in the shortening, creating crumbles.  Beat the eggs and milk together.  Gradually stir then knead into dry ingredients until proper consistency to roll. Break into small pieces and roll very thin. Cut into rounds using a bowl as a guide.

To assemble:

Place about 1 1/2 spoonfuls of filling onto one half of the round.

Wet the edge of the meat half of the round with water and fold the other half over, making edges meet and seal. 

 Form edges with a fork and cut slits into the pie to allow steam to vent during baking.

Preheat your oven to 400F.  Brush the pies with an egg wash and bake for 30 minutes or until brown.

These things were so amazing.  The crust came out nice and crisp.  The smell of the filling was phenomenal, the spices really came through in the smell.  Standing by the oven while they were cooking was sheer torture.  This is comfort food at its finest!