Natchitoches Meat Pies
Pastry:
- 2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup firmly packed lard or vegetable shortening
- 3 tablespoons cold milk beaten with 1 large egg
- ¼ pound ground beef chuck
- ¼ pound ground pork
- 2 medium scallions, trimmed and coarsely chopped (include some green tops)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1/8 to ¼ teaspoon ground hot red pepper (cayenne)
- 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1 teaspoon all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup water
Instructions:
Some cooks use an empty coffee can as a cutter and if you have one that’s about 4½ inches in diameter, by all means use it.
- For the pastry: Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a large mixing bowl. Add the lard and using a pastry blender, cut in until the texture of coarse meal. Quickly fork in the milk-egg mixture and as soon as the pastry holds together, shape into a ball. Place on a large sheet of plastic food wrap, flatten, then wrap and refrigerate until ready to proceed.
- For the filling: Cook the beef, pork, scallions, salt, black and red pepper, and allspice in a medium-size heavy skillet over moderate heat, breaking up the clumps of meat, for about 5 minutes or until no traces of pink remain. Sprinkle in the flour, then, stirring all the while, add the water. Cook, stirring now and then, for about 5 minutes or until lightly thickened and no raw floury taste remains. Cool to room temperature.
- Preheat the oven to 375° F. Remove the pastry from the refrigerator and roll as thin as pie crust on a lightly floured pastry cloth. Cut into rounds with a 2¾-to 3-inch biscuit cutter, then drop 1½ to 2 teaspoons of the filling onto the lower half of each round, leaving a margin of at least ¼ inch. Reroll the scraps and cut additional circles. Moisten the edges of the pastry circles all around, fold in half to enclose the filling, and crimp the edges firmly with the tines of a fork to seal. Also prick the top of each round with the fork to allow steam to escape.
- Arrange the rounds about 2 inches apart on an ungreased large baking sheet, slide onto the middle oven shelf, and bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until the edges are brown.
- Serve hot with cocktails.