Louisiana Meat Pies

I meant to make these last night in honor of "Fat Tuesday", but time got away from me. Yes, these meat pies are fried, and yes, they take a while to put together, but they taste so good that they are worth every minute and every calorie.

The recipe makes about two dozen pies. I like to flash-freeze them before I fry them, then just take out as many as I need for a meal. They can be baked, but they don't taste nearly as good as they do fried.


Louisiana Meat Pies

Filling:

1 pound ground beef
1 pound ground pork (can use ground turkey or chicken or another pound of ground beef)
1 bunch of green onions or one medium yellow onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 medium green pepper, diced
black pepper to taste
1 to 4 teaspoon Cajun or Creole seasoning blend, to taste
1 teaspoon dry oregano leaves
1 teaspoon dry thyme leaves
1 tablespoon flour

Pastry:

4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup cold butter (can use shortening or lard; lard makes the flakiest crust)
1 egg, beaten
2 cup milk

Oil for deep frying (I prefer peanut oil)

Cook meats, onion, garlic and bell pepper in a large skillet. Drain; rinse away fat if desired. Return meat to pan. Add seasonings and flour; mix well and set aside.

In a food processor, blend flour, baking powder and salt. Add butter and process until incorporated. Pour four mixture into a bowl. Combine egg and milk, then gradually add liquid to the flour until dough forms, adding additional milk or water a tablespoon at a time if needed.

Break off pieces of dough and roll very thin. Use a saucer to cut dough into circles. Place a 1/4 cup (or slightly less) meat filling on half of a dough circle. Fold dough over filling and crimp with a fork to seal. Place on cookie sheets to freeze at this point.

To fry, heat oil to 400°F. Fry pies, one or two at at time, until golden brown. Drain on paper towels before serving.

Makes approximately 24 pies.