Pasties!

I went to a regional potluck the other day, where each person brought a food popular in their state. This seemed like the perfect opportunity to finally learn how to make a pasty. (Pronounced pass-tee not pay-stee.) 

 

After reading pages and pages of recipes, I managed to combine a couple that seemed closest to what I remember eating in Marquette.

I thought the process would be pretty quick--just chop up some things and shove them in the dough. A couple hours later, I had actually broken a sweat cutting up those stubborn rutabaga into small enough pieces and rolling out enough dough for 30 small pasties.

But as they cooked in the oven, Joe and I realized our apartment was filling with that familiar smell.

 

And they tasted like pasties too, Michigan's upper peninsula on a plate. All we were missing was a pint of Widowmaker from Keweenaw Brewing Company. 

The Recipes

Pastry

For the pastry I used what Mandie's Diner says is the original recipe used by Letho's, home of one of the best pasties I've ever had. I ended up having to add in about half a cup more flour because my dough seemed really wet at first. To read it, click here. 

Filling

For the filling, I reviewed several different recipes, tried to remember what I liked about my favorite pasties, and decided on this:

4 medium potatoes (julienned)
1 large onion (diced)
1 large rutabaga (juliened)
1-2 pounds stew steak (diced)
salt and pepper

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. Combine ingredients in large bowl. 
3. Roll out your pastry dough into any size ovals you'd like. 
4. In the center of each oval, place equal portions of meat filling (just enough so it's almost difficult to close). 
5. Fold it over, and roll and crimp the edges (you can use your fingers or a fork). 
6. Cut a couple holes in the top for steam. 
7. Brush the top with milk.
8. Place pasties on an ungreased pan and bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes, then lower the temperature to 350 and bake for 30 minutes. I cooked both large and small pasties for the same amount of time. I've read that you should avoid putting them on both the top and bottom racks, so be prepared to bake in shifts. 

Enjoy!