So during my experience as a Utah girl transplanted to Louisiana, my feelings about this place have ranged from complete and utter despair (think August…humidity…mosquitoes…cockroaches…) to the thrill of living in a place so steeped in history and folklore. And the fact that I pretty much never have to wear pantyhose. One of my favorite places to visit and to take visitors is a little town called Natchitoches (pronounced NACK-it-esh; don’t even ask). Check this out:
That is not a prettied-up version–it’s exactly what it looks like. It’s this fabulously charming little town (actually, the oldest settlement in Louisiana) with a historic district where you just stroll around and pop in and out of little shops and restaurants. There’s almost always something going on, the people are friendly (one lady, complete stranger, offered my dad some cracklins when he asked him what they were. Turns out they’re pieces of fried pork fat.), and the food is amazing. Natchitoches is famous for its meat pies and you can pop into pretty much any little restaurant and find “the [supposed] best meat pies in Natchitoches.” During all the fairs, festivals, and shows that always seem to be going on, meat pie vendors will set up carts and you can hold onto a pie while you stroll around at a slower pace, feeling like you’re magically in a simpler time. I know, I sound like I’m totally romanticizing this place, but what can I say? I’m a girl in love.
Louisiana is such a melting pot of cultures; along with the traditional Southern foods like fried chicken, grits, and barbecue, different regions of Louisiana are also heavily influenced by the Europeans who settled there. Natchitoches was settled by the Spanish, so the meat pies you find there aren’t terribly different from empanadas that you find in Spain, Portugual, and South and Central America, they just have some Cajun flair. And oh, my, they are so delicious.
I made a few discoveries while playing around with these over the last few weeks:
–The meat mixture gets better over the course of a few days. This is great because you can make the meat mixture and let it hang out in your fridge for a few days, which cuts way down on the time that you have to spend all at once.
–Both the saltiness and spiciness of the meat will be toned down once it’s baked in the pastry, so don’t stress out if the meat mixture tastes a little too salty or spicy when you’re testing it. Also, unless you absolutely cannot handle ANY spice, these should have a bit of a bite to them, so keep that in mind when you’re seasoning the meat mixture with Tabasco. It’s a good idea to make it a touch spicier than you’d normally want it to be.
—Homemade pie crust makes a world of difference here. I’ve tried it both ways. There are times when I think a refrigerated pie crust is just fine, but the meat pies I made with homemade crust were incredible and homemade pie crust is really not hard. Like…at all.
–The egg wash also makes a huge difference, both for their appearance and for the texture of the pastry. Unless you have egg allergies, I think you should definitely do the egg wash.
–Although these are traditionally fried, I found that frying is not only harder, unhealthier, and messier, but I like them better baked. We’re talking about pie crust here…not exactly health food to start with, you know?
I also love that these are perfect party food. You can make larger pies for a meal or use a round cookie or biscuit cutter to cut small circles of dough and make little appetizers.
They’re festive and fun and a little different from your typical holiday or party fare. They also reheat and freeze beautifully; my husband loves to take them to work for lunch. Have I blabbered on long enough? Yeah, probably. Shut it, Kate…
Natchitoches Meat Pies
Recipe by Our Best Bites, adapted from Chef John Folse
1/2 lb. lean ground beef
1/2 lb. ground pork
1/2 green pepper, chopped
1/2 red pepper, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
5-6 cloves garlic, minced
2+ tsp. Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning (it’s the cheapest, best, and widely available)
Tabasco sauce to taste (start with about 1/4 tsp.)
1 can beef broth
Pie Crust, tripled
1 egg
1/4 c. cold water
In a large skillet, brown ground beef and ground pork, breaking the meat into small pieces. When it’s about halfway cooked, drain excess fat (if necessary) and then add green and red peppers, onion, celery, and garlic. Cook until vegetables are tender and onions are translucent. Add 2 tsp. Tony’s and 1/4 tsp. Tabasco. Add beef broth and bring the mixture to a boil over high heat. Cook for about 20 minutes or until most of the liquid has evaporated. Season with additional Tony’s and Tabasco if necessary, keeping in mind that the seasonings will mellow in the pie. You can refrigerate this mixture for 3-4 days before baking the pies.
Prepare pie crust and roll the entire ball onto a floured surface. For large (meal-sized) pies, I use a bowl that’s about 6″ across the top; I just invert the bowl onto the dough and trace a knife around it to cut the dough.
Place about 1/4 c. of the meat mixture onto one half of the dough circle, keeping about a 1/2″-1″ margin from the edges.
Fold the other side over and gently pinch the edges shut.
For the decorative edge, you could crimp the edge with a fork or use your fingers to flute the edges. You could also use a calzone or empanada mold (used in these pictures).
Preheat oven to 400 and spray a baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray. Place prepared pies onto your baking sheet. In a small bowl, whisk together egg and cold water and brush over the pies.
Bake 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.
Allow to cool a few minutes and then eat as soon as humanly possible. So good. There are…no words.
Makes about 12 6″ pies or lots and lots of small (biscuit cutter) pies.
FREEZER INSTRUCTIONS: You could do this one of two ways; you can freeze them unbaked and just add the egg wash and bake them for an extra 15-20 minutes, or you can bake them and heat them up in the oven or microwave, whatever suits your needs better.
Natchitoches Meat Pies
Recipe by Our Best Bites, adapted from Chef John Folse
Ingredients:
1/2 lb. lean ground beef
1/2 lb. ground pork
1/2 green pepper, chopped
1/2 red pepper, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
5-6 cloves garlic, minced
2+ tsp. Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning (it’s the cheapest, best, and widely available)
Tabasco sauce to taste (start with about 1/4 tsp.)
1 can beef broth
Pie Crust, tripled
1 egg
1/4 c. cold water
Instructions:
In a large skillet, brown ground beef and ground pork, breaking the meat into small pieces. When it’s about halfway cooked, drain excess fat (if necessary) and then add green and red peppers, onion, celery, and garlic. Cook until vegetables are tender and onions are translucent. Add 2 tsp. Tony’s and 1/4 tsp. Tabasco. Add beef broth and bring the mixture to a boil over high heat. Cook for about 20 minutes or until most of the liquid has evaporated. Season with additional Tony’s and Tabasco if necessary, keeping in mind that the seasonings will mellow in the pie. You can refrigerate this mixture for 3-4 days before baking the pies.
Prepare pie crust and roll the entire ball onto a floured surface. For large (meal-sized) pies, I use a bowl that’s about 6″ across the top; I just invert the bowl onto the dough and trace a knife around it to cut the dough.
Place about 1/4 c. of the meat mixture onto one half of the dough circle, keeping about a 1/2″-1″ margin from the edges.
Fold the other side over and gently pinch the edges shut.
For the decorative edge, you could crimp the edge with a fork or use your fingers to flute the edges. You could also use a calzone or empanada mold (used in these pictures).
Preheat oven to 400 and spray a baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray. Place prepared pies onto your baking sheet. In a small bowl, whisk together egg and cold water and brush over the pies.
Bake 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.
Allow to cool a few minutes and then eat as soon as humanly possible. So good. There are…no words.
FREEZER INSTRUCTIONS: You could do this one of two ways; you can freeze them unbaked and just add the egg wash and bake them for an extra 15-20 minutes, or you can bake them and heat them up in the oven or microwave, whatever suits your needs better.
Questions & Reviews
You site is awesome, and I have tried lots of your great recipes! Thanks for your inspiration!
i am so glad you posted this! I married a Louisiana boy and now we live down here! We are only 3 hours from Natchitoches but I still haven't been there. Last year he introduced me to meat pies and I admit I was nervous to try them but they were SO GOOD! (he also introduced me to Tony chachere's while we were dating, yum!) I told him about your recipe and now I'm pretty sure he added it to our meal plan this week! haha! Again, thanks so much!
Now that I am drooling:p
Tupperware sure has come a long way baby!!
Thank you for the opprotunity!
That looks so yummy! I will definatly be making these during the holiday break! 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
This looks pretty cool!
yum, i can almost smell those meat pies–another great giveaway!
I love tupperware! The pies look great too! Thanks for the post.
Nak-a-tesh…. huh. I never would have thought it was pronounced that way, and I have definitely wondered. Thanks for clearing that up!
(also – I would love to win that chopper!)
I can't wait try this…it looks so good. Thank you for sharing.
Katie
Oh how fun! I could really use this to make homemade salsa so much easier!
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Looks super yummy, I will have to try these. We just moved to Shreveport, maybe we will make a trip and try these pies out in Natchitoches.
Wow! What a neat gadget!
Love it! Love the recipe too: meat + pie = fabulousness
I'd love a chopper. abfoster2001 at yahoo dot com
Meat pies — Yummy! I would love to win one of these!
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Awesome chopper! Ooo please pick me, my kitchen is so barren and sad!
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Ooo…this would be fun to add to my kitchen gadgets!
MMMMM wish we were neighbors. These look so good. This chopper would sure come in handy with all the new years resolutions I am going to make this year!
i would LOVE
love
LOVE
this handy little chopper!!
yummy. 🙂
These sound a lot like pasties the locals eat in the upper peninsula of Michigan. 🙂 Yum-o!
That little contraption is very, very cool! And, I love tupperware, so its gotta be good!
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Oh my these look absolutely tasty i cant wait to try them!! I would love this kitchen gadget!! I hope i win!!
Oooooooo I'd love to win.
I'm gonna have to see if I can find that empanada maker too
Christine
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I can not wait to try the meat pies. Your recipes have not let me down so far and think that one looks delicious!
Tupperware has come a long way since I last checked it out.
We are going to have to try these pies out…they look so good!
khorraxe(at)gmail(dot)com
Yummy!! We love empanadas so we'll have to give these a try!
my mom was from around there… reminds me of her!
love your site, the meat pies i know are fantastic. haven't done them in ages, so i will try yours.
The meat pies look awesome!!! And I love Tupperware!
Cant wait to try this! I have LOVED all your recipes I have tried which is almost all of them! Thanks guys for being so awesome and making my husband VERY happy! 🙂
Oooh FANCY!
I want one!
Thanks for the giveaway