Pronounced "Nack - uh - tish" the city of Natchitoches, named after the indigenous people of the area, is the oldest permanent settlement in the Louisiana purchase, established in 1714, and is the sister city of Nacogdoches, Texas. Natchitoches was the endpoint of the El Camino Real, also called the Old San Antonio Road, which extended 2500 miles to Mexico City. This meat pie is the official meat pie of Louisiana and has been a staple in the region since the 1800s. It is considered to be a Northern Louisiana creation and spread to other areas of the state.
I have had these in the past and they are very good but I have never made them before so this will be a new recipe for me. I ran across a youtube video from Kitchen in the Shire and these look really good so I decided to make this my Team Cook recipe. I cut the recipe in half since the original makes 18 pies (hopefully there are no math errors).
There is a link in the video description to a free recipe card which is a .pdf file.
April is a busy month and the Texas Meat Up is in the middle of the month so I'm setting the reveal dates to be the last week to give everyone who wants to participate time to make this: April 24-30.
Meat Filling
• Oil for the pan
• 3/4 lb (340g) Ground Beef,80/20
• 1/4 lb (113g) Ground Pork
• 1/2 cup (75g) Onion, finely diced
• 1/2 cup (75g) Green Bell Pepper,
finely diced
• 1/4 cup (28g) Celery, finely diced
• 1-2 cloves (4.5g) Garlic, minced
• 3/4 tsp (4.5g) Table Salt
• 1/8 tsp (0.25g) Cayenne
• 1/4 tsp (0.5g) Black Pepper
• 1/2 cup (120ml) Beef Stock, divided
• 1/2 tsp (2.5g) Worcestershire Sauce
• 1 tBsp (8g) All-Purpose Flour
• 1/2 cup (40-50g) Green Onions,
chopped
Dough
• 2 cups (240g) All-Purpose Flour
• 3/4 tsp (4.5g) Table Salt
• 1/2 tsp (2g) Baking Powder
• 1/4 cup (48g) Lard or other fat
• 1 small Egg
• 1/2 cup (120ml) Milk
Fry oil of choice… I used Peanut
Filling
1. Put 1 tsp of cooking oil into a medium sized skillet
over medium high heat. While it is heating up
combine your two meats. Once the oil runs like
snakes, put your meat into the pan and press it flat
so you get a good sear on one side. Like a gigantic
smash burger. Cook for 1.5 to 2 minutes then check
to see if you got some color on the meat. Drain any
excess pooling fats periodically. Once you have
good color on the bottom, break it up and fry it
until the moisture is gone and you have a fond in
the pan.
2. Remove the meat from the pan and then add some
more oil (1-2 tBsp.) Bring it back up to temp then
add in your Onion, Green Bell Pepper, and Celery.
Cook 8 to 10 minutes, scraping and stirring so the
vegetables pick up the browned fond flavor. Add
Garlic and cook 30 seconds. Add the meat back into the skillet.
3. Stir in Salt, Cayenne, and Black Pepper.
4. Stir Worcestershire into the Beef Stock. Pour in
about half the stock and scrape aggressively to
dissolve the fond. Cook until the liquid is almost
gone.
5. Whisk the Flour into the remaining stock. Pour it in
and simmer 3 to 5 minutes, stirring, until the filling
is thick, shiny, and clingy… not wet.
6. Turn off your heat and stir in Green Onions, then
spread the filling on a sheet pan and cool
completely.
FOR THE DOUGH
1. In a food processor, mix Flour, Salt, and Baking Powder. Cut in Lard until it
looks like coarse crumbs by pulsing 2-3 times.
2. Whisk Milk and Egg together and then add slowly to the food processor as you
pulse the mixture 4-5 times. Then remove onto a floured surface and knead 2
3 times to form a ball. Wrap in cling film and place in the refrigerator to chill
and rest.
FORM THE PIES
1. Using a deep cast iron skillet or dutch oven, bring about 4” or 10cm deep of
frying oil of your choice up to 360°F or 180°C.
2. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and divide into 9 equal portions.
Each should be about 3 tBsp or one large cookie scoop in size or 45-50g in
weight. Gently roll into balls and then roll each one out on a floured surface so
it forms a 6” or 15.25 cm circle.
3. Place a heaping tablespoon or small cookie scoop (45-50g) of cold meat filling
into the middle of the dough circle. Using your fingers form the meat into a
oblong shape and then fold one side of the circle up and over the meat,
encasing it within. Keep the filling away from the outside edge. Dab your finger
into some water and wet the mating surfaces of the dough, then press, seal
and crimp the edge with a fork.
4. Fry 2 to 3 pies at a time for about 2 minutes per side until puffed and golden.
Then remove and place on a wire rack to cool.
Serve hot or cold. They freeze well and can be reheated in a convection oven or
air fryer in just a few minutes.
Recipe Card Link:
Video:
I have had these in the past and they are very good but I have never made them before so this will be a new recipe for me. I ran across a youtube video from Kitchen in the Shire and these look really good so I decided to make this my Team Cook recipe. I cut the recipe in half since the original makes 18 pies (hopefully there are no math errors).
There is a link in the video description to a free recipe card which is a .pdf file.
April is a busy month and the Texas Meat Up is in the middle of the month so I'm setting the reveal dates to be the last week to give everyone who wants to participate time to make this: April 24-30.
Meat Filling
• Oil for the pan
• 3/4 lb (340g) Ground Beef,80/20
• 1/4 lb (113g) Ground Pork
• 1/2 cup (75g) Onion, finely diced
• 1/2 cup (75g) Green Bell Pepper,
finely diced
• 1/4 cup (28g) Celery, finely diced
• 1-2 cloves (4.5g) Garlic, minced
• 3/4 tsp (4.5g) Table Salt
• 1/8 tsp (0.25g) Cayenne
• 1/4 tsp (0.5g) Black Pepper
• 1/2 cup (120ml) Beef Stock, divided
• 1/2 tsp (2.5g) Worcestershire Sauce
• 1 tBsp (8g) All-Purpose Flour
• 1/2 cup (40-50g) Green Onions,
chopped
Dough
• 2 cups (240g) All-Purpose Flour
• 3/4 tsp (4.5g) Table Salt
• 1/2 tsp (2g) Baking Powder
• 1/4 cup (48g) Lard or other fat
• 1 small Egg
• 1/2 cup (120ml) Milk
Fry oil of choice… I used Peanut
Filling
1. Put 1 tsp of cooking oil into a medium sized skillet
over medium high heat. While it is heating up
combine your two meats. Once the oil runs like
snakes, put your meat into the pan and press it flat
so you get a good sear on one side. Like a gigantic
smash burger. Cook for 1.5 to 2 minutes then check
to see if you got some color on the meat. Drain any
excess pooling fats periodically. Once you have
good color on the bottom, break it up and fry it
until the moisture is gone and you have a fond in
the pan.
2. Remove the meat from the pan and then add some
more oil (1-2 tBsp.) Bring it back up to temp then
add in your Onion, Green Bell Pepper, and Celery.
Cook 8 to 10 minutes, scraping and stirring so the
vegetables pick up the browned fond flavor. Add
Garlic and cook 30 seconds. Add the meat back into the skillet.
3. Stir in Salt, Cayenne, and Black Pepper.
4. Stir Worcestershire into the Beef Stock. Pour in
about half the stock and scrape aggressively to
dissolve the fond. Cook until the liquid is almost
gone.
5. Whisk the Flour into the remaining stock. Pour it in
and simmer 3 to 5 minutes, stirring, until the filling
is thick, shiny, and clingy… not wet.
6. Turn off your heat and stir in Green Onions, then
spread the filling on a sheet pan and cool
completely.
FOR THE DOUGH
1. In a food processor, mix Flour, Salt, and Baking Powder. Cut in Lard until it
looks like coarse crumbs by pulsing 2-3 times.
2. Whisk Milk and Egg together and then add slowly to the food processor as you
pulse the mixture 4-5 times. Then remove onto a floured surface and knead 2
3 times to form a ball. Wrap in cling film and place in the refrigerator to chill
and rest.
FORM THE PIES
1. Using a deep cast iron skillet or dutch oven, bring about 4” or 10cm deep of
frying oil of your choice up to 360°F or 180°C.
2. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and divide into 9 equal portions.
Each should be about 3 tBsp or one large cookie scoop in size or 45-50g in
weight. Gently roll into balls and then roll each one out on a floured surface so
it forms a 6” or 15.25 cm circle.
3. Place a heaping tablespoon or small cookie scoop (45-50g) of cold meat filling
into the middle of the dough circle. Using your fingers form the meat into a
oblong shape and then fold one side of the circle up and over the meat,
encasing it within. Keep the filling away from the outside edge. Dab your finger
into some water and wet the mating surfaces of the dough, then press, seal
and crimp the edge with a fork.
4. Fry 2 to 3 pies at a time for about 2 minutes per side until puffed and golden.
Then remove and place on a wire rack to cool.
Serve hot or cold. They freeze well and can be reheated in a convection oven or
air fryer in just a few minutes.
Recipe Card Link:
Video:
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