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
I made these today. My sons want to grow up and marry them. They were delicious, and I was smart enough to make a double batch for school lunches next week.
??❤️
These are so delicious. I made it for my little family of 3 on a cold rainy day & our toddler loved it. Thanks for the great addition.
Do you think I could use chicken broth in place of the beef broth? If so, much much? 1 cup or so? Please answer 🙂 Thank you!
You can, but the flavor will be a bit different. Just use the same amount.
just a suggestion for halloween ref; Sweeny Todd…. Try the Priest
Really, really good!! I was stationed in Louisanna (first duty assignment) and fell in love with the food there. When I made these I served them with red beans and rice. Thanks
I’m trying to find creole spice in Canada! So hard! These look so yummy!
I was born and raised in Natchitoches. I have never had a BAKED meat pie – we always FRIED them, but then we FRIED everything! I know yours would be much healthier, and I will try them. I live in Austin now, but still go back a couple times of year to visit kinfolk:-)
How funny! Yeah, every time I eat one in Natchitoches, it’s fried. I love ’em both ways, but the baked ones are surprisingly awesome–in fact, I think I may prefer them that way (is that blasphemous?) I’ve found when they’re baked, you taste less of the fried flavor and more of the meat. Also, I think the crust is flakier when it’s baked.
I just came across this post and had to laugh about Nack-it-esh. We moved a few years ago to East Texas and one of the girls in the ward was from Natchitoches and I was quite surprised at the difference between her pronunciation and the spelling I saw on the map!
I’m cooking the meat mixture up today with some deer meat from this season and WOW!! does it smell heavenly! Can’t wait to eat the finished product.
So, this recipe amused me… apparently the South spices things up and calls them meat pies, while the North stays away from the spice and calls them pasties (Pass-tee). They’re basically made in exactly the same way and are even shaped the same. The only difference is that pasties don’t include tobasco or Creole seasoning. 🙂 They do look delicious no matter which way you look at them and now that you’ve given me this, it’s a perfect jumping board to recreate pasties for my husband.
I know it’s been a while since you posted this recipe…have you ever tried adding cheese in these? Maybe something like manchego? I’d love to hear your thoughts on how it would effect the pies.
I’ve never tried it, just because I’m pretty sure it would be an abomination against Natchitoches meat pies. 🙂 But it could be very tasty–you could always give it a shot and let us know how it goes! 🙂
I made them for dinner tonight!! …with cheese! What a delicious abomination 🙂
this has become a re-ocurring meal at my house. Although with 3 little kids I tend to use less of the veggies. I still use some. I try to chop them small. Hubby and I both like ours with brown gravy. The kids usually just pick them up and eat. Although, sadly it’s hit and miss on how well they eat them. but that is just kids being kids at the end of the day. They always eat the best at breakfast then it’s down hill from there.
These were so good I doubled it and froze the rest for later. My hubby likes to slather them in ketchup, I think they taste good dipped in warm cheez whiz.
OK…my sister (in Provo Utah, where I’m originally from) just told me about your blog today! I currently live in Lafayette, LA! Can’t wait to make these pies. Yummm. I laughed when you said “A complete stranger” gave your dad a taste. I’m sure you have learned that in Louisiana “you’ll never meet a stranger”! I would never live anywhere else but the South! Hospitality and random acts of kindness rule! You would love a book called “What Southern Women Know About Faith”. It’s the best read! Thank you ladies!
Those are amazing!!! I could not believe how good they are. Wow!
It sounds really good. What do you suggest I serve with it?
I would serve it with some kind of rice pilaf (or dirty rice if you’re really feeling southern) and a green salad.
Anybody think these could be cooked on the grill? Maybe wrapped in foil and then peel back the foil to eat? I’m trying to come up with things that I could make ahead of time, freeze and then bring camping. These look like they would be great as long as they wouldn’t fall apart on the grill/ in the foil.
Born and raise in Louisiana. Natchitoches is beautiful. It was where the movie “Steel Magnolias” was set and filmed. The Christmas Festival in the movie happens each year. My hubby and I attended when we were dating. My mom did make something like this. It also reminds me a bit of the pasties you get in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
These were DE <3 LISH <3 OUS!!!!!!!!!!! I made them up and they were so easy! And turned out SUPER yummy!!!!! Thank you for always coming up with such great recipes!!!! Our whole family LOVES your site and whenever we need to bring something for a church thing or a friends dinner party, your the first place we turn. You never fail to have yummy recipes that ALWAYS impress!!!!! Plus I <3 your crafts! I have made a lot of the kid friendly ones with my son and he LOVES em!!! You ladies ROCK! Thanks for the NUMS haha :o)
I'm a Natchitoches girl, born and bred, and we really do LOVE our meat pies! I always keep a stash in the freezer. Anytime I get homesick, I fix a big plate of meatpies and turn on Steel Magnolias (it was filmed in Natchitoches, written by a Natchitoches man, about a Natchitoches family, and I have tons of friends and family in the movie!).
I LOVE your blog! Thanks so much for sharing!
~J
P.S. Cracklins are fried pork fat and skin. They're yummy!
Chitlins (chitterlings) are cooked pig's intestines. They're gross!
Just made, they are a winner, thank you!
I made these today. The filling has unique, amazing flavor with a zip. I was only able to find Konriko Creole Seasoning. I followed the directions exactly for the meat filling. Next time I would add a little more seasoning as the flavor did mellow when baked. I found that I did not add enough water to the dough. It definitely needs to be feel moist but not be sticky in order to roll it out. I enjoyed them with a little sour cream for dipping. Everyone loved them…even my fussiest eater.
I am making these right now, they are baking. Just the flavor of the meat filling alone is incredible!
I'm new here, found you through Baking Like Betty. This meat pie looks yummy, thanks for sharing and I would love to win this prize. Thanks for the chance.