Beef Cornish Pasties

This recipe comes largely from my grandmother who was born and raised in Pelkie in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Her parents (and many of her siblings) were Finnish immigrants. Although pasties are from Cornwall, England, they apparently became popularized in the U.S. by Finnish miners who worked alongside Cornish miners in the U.P. You can pretty much put anything in a pasty and the recipe I am going to provide is the traditional way we would have it. Pork, lamb, venison, rabbit, and other game meat work well. I've never used chicken in it though. If you do, you'll have to let me know how it is. My family eats it one of two ways. (1) With ketchup (gross!) and (2) with beef gravy. I actually made a chimichurri aoili that works WONDERFULLY with it and adds complexity and herbaceousness to the dish. Just don't tell my grandma... she'll claw out of the grave and strangle me if she knew. 

Pasty Filling

Ingredients:
About a 1 1/2 pounds of skirt steak, lamb, or pork. (If you use ground beef, lamb, pork, etc.,, I can’t vouch for the results)
1-2 large potatoes
Large onion
Small Rutabega or turnip (1/2 amount of rutabega as potato)
1 carrot
Fresh Parsley (A few tablespoons, finely chopped)
Salt (tablespoon+) and Pepper

Instructions:
Finely dice EVERYTHING. Put meat in separate bowl. Put all veggies in a bowl and salt and pepper both liberally.

Pasty Dough

Ingredients:
1 pound Flour
1 stick butter (Cold)
3 oz of Lard (Cold)
Teaspoon of salt
Ice Cold Water (A cup or so)

Instructions:
Combine all but the water and mix with a pastry blender until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Try not to handle the dough too much. Slowly add water, a tablespoon or so at a time and mix with a knife until the dough starts coming together. You may have to add several tablespoons. Try not to add too much water. Dough is done when the dough pulls all the flour from the bowl and it is not sticky or too dry. If dry, add water. If sticky, add flour.

Take pieces of dough and roll into 8" to 9" circles. Add a few tablespoons of meat and veggies and a dab of butter. Using an egg wash, brush, egg wash on edge of pastry and fold in half. Poke a couple holes in top of pastry and brush with egg wash. Fold in the Cornish style or use a fork to press seam down. Bake on a greased cookie sheet at 400 for 45 minutes.

**You can also bake them for 400 degrees, remove them, let them cool, then wrap in aluminum foil and freeze. Reheat at 350 for 30 minutes.

Beef Gravy

Ingredients and Method:

1/4 C. Butter (1/2 stick)
1/4 C. Flour

Stir constantly and heat in saucepan until it combines together and forms a thick roux. Then add the following:

1 1/2 C. Beef Stock
1/2 small onion or 1 shallot finely minced
Salt and Pepper to Taste

Heat until boiling and thickened. Stirring constantly.

Chimmichurri Aoili

Ingredients:

1/2 cup roughly chopped parsley

6 cloves garlic roughly chopped

6 Tbs red wine vinegar

4 TBS oregano- leaves only

1 tsp crushed red pepper- can increase if you like things spicier

A generous 1/3 cup chopped shallot

1 tsp salt

1 cup olive oil

Mayo

Instructions

Add all the ingredients to your jar except the olive oil. Add about half the oil and begin to blend. Once the mix is coming together, add the rest of the olive oil. This ensures you chop up the herbs well Let the sauce stand for at least 20 minutes before using to let the flavors combine.

Mix 2 parts sauce to 1 part mayo for a creamier aioli. The sauce should keep well in the fridge for around a week