April Team Cook - Natchitoches Meat Pies

[bbqLuv]

Mine will be crustless. May not count, but that's okay with me and SWMBO

[gcdmd]

It would probably be good over rice, classic Cajun accompaniment to just about everything.

[Carolyn]

I am thinking it would be a good stuffed red bell pepper filling.

[58limited]

Yeah, "crustless" doesn't really count as the team cook recipe but I bet it will be good. Enjoy!

[gcdmd]

I get the idea that this lady (Renee) is from Canada, which is deliciously ironic, since the Acadians came from there.

[WI Bubba]

I'm not going to give anything away, but I'm 100% sure that if you fry them in oil, they are not the least bit greasy. Even when they cool they don't get soggy/greasy.

[58limited]

Ha! I'll be making them tomorrow.

[58limited]

"I'm not going to give anything away, but I'm 100% sure that if you fry them in oil, they are not the least bit greasy. Even when they cool they don't get soggy/greasy. "

+1

[58limited]

I went ahead and made these today. I'll post pics and tasting notes at the proper time. I made one edit to the recipe: it said to add 45-50g of meat to the pies, I couldn't fit more than 30g into them.

Helpful hint: use a tortilla press to form the dough balls.

[WI Bubba]

I would add to make sure how ever you roll or press them, get them thin. The baking powder gave them more lift than I was expecting.

[58limited]

I saw that too, I couldn't fit 45g of filling in them but once they cooked they had room to spare. Maybe I didn't roll them thin enough.

[fzxdoc]

Thanks for the tips. Putting them into my Paprika file for the pies.

[58limited]

I updated the recipe. I noticed that the printed recipe never said to add the meat back into the skillet with the veggie mix. See end of step 2 under "Filling".

I made these again and I made the dough wetter than last time. The tortilla press got them pretty thin and the dough is resilient and doesn't tear easily so I was able to fit 50g of filling into each pie as the recipe calls for.

[SmokinDon]

The video was a blast to watch… she has fun cooking up these ‘heavenly’ finger pies! And attempting to pronounce the name!!!
So if those of you who say you will bake them instead of deep fry, what temperature will or did you use for how long? Did you flip them part way through baking? Time/temp to finish?
Just askin’ …

[SheilaAnn]

Bumpy bump so we do not forget! I’m making mine right now.

[SheilaAnn]

Ok, so here is my submission! Verdict: epic fail and smart money says it’s all operator error!!!

The filling was amazing!! I did make one adjustment to the recipe and I feel our Team Cook leader will approve: I added a couple shakes of TD’s Fiery! I put that $hit on everything!

Here is the fail part: the dough. I believe I left it out for too long and it got too warm. My fry oil temped out correctly.



It was all I could do to scoop out of the oil.

Lesson learned, keep the dough cold!

The remaining filling was snacked on with chips and salsa.

Thank you 58limited for a fun recipe and story!

[WI Bubba]

If you're not making mistakes, you're not learning anything. But it's not really a fail until you order a pizza instead.

[58limited]

Here's mine. I made this twice, changing the veggies and seasoning the second time since the first batch was a little bland. Overall this was very good. I think i can still tweak it but the modified version is a keeper.

Pictured is the first batch:














Here is the modified recipe:

Remake:

I made the full recipe, not the half listed above, but with these changes:

2/3lb pork

1 1/2C onion

1 1/4c bell pepper

3/4c celery

1/2c carrot

5 cloves garlic - minced from jar

2t table salt

1/2t cayenne

1t black pepper

1 T Cajun blackened seasoning

2t Worcestershire sauce

1 1/4c beef stock

1 1/2c green onion

don't cook the meat until dry as the video says to do.



Leftovers became stuffed bell peppers, also very good.

[58limited]

WI Bubba The bell pepper idea was Carolyn 's idea, see above. She suggested a red bell, I had green ones so that is what I used, no complaints. Might be good as a chile relleno too with a little cheese added - need to try that; I have a bunch of Hatch frozen just for rellenos. JCBBQ Thanks!

[fzxdoc]

Thanks for this!

K.

[Carolyn]

I have never been called a "borderline genius" before. 😁
Everything looks really good. 👍 I think any bell pepper works. I just thought a red bell pepper would be a nice compliment to the filling. My grandmother used green bell peppers.

I have been dealing with my husband and his injured back, and forgot about the cook this month. Oops.
I tried early on and made a batch of failed dough. I'll see how the next couple days go. I might give it another try.

[WI Bubba]

My take on this is that it is a pretty good base recipe that with some tweaks to suit your flavor preferences could be amazing. The base recipe is, as mentioned, a little bland. But it's easy to see where you can amp up the flavor and make it your own.



The recipe looked a little tedious at first with a lot of steps and ingredients, but it comes together quickly and while it's probably not an after work kind of dish, it's an easy weekend meal.
All in all, I give it a C+.

[58limited]

I agree, the recipe as written was a bit of a let down, C+ is fair. The changes I made in the second batch brought it to B+ or maybe A- Still some work to go.

[WI Bubba]

58limited I'm going to try your changes. They look like they will be a big help.

[58limited]

I would bump up the green onion to 1 3/4 cup. Next time I make this I'm going to add medium-hot Hatch chilies (Big Jim or Charger).

[Alan Brice]

I took everyone’s advice. I used hot gr pork n 80/20 gr beef 50/50. Doubled the scallions.
I got really good results using the tortilla press.
I did not have a food processor and will have one next time.
Began working on this yesterday (Wednesday and ran out of time. I did the green pepper deal so Kim would have dinner at a decent time.
I finished up today. Lotsa steps. With an extra set of hands the production line would come easier.
I will go B+. Thanks David, great Team Cook!
Edit: David, fried mine in P-nut oil @ 350* 1-2 min per side, not oily at all.
What is the consensus on the air fryers?

[WI Bubba]

Looks pretty good!

[klflowers]

I just realized it’s May 1st and I forgot all about this. I added it to paprika though and I’ll get to it eventually. The pics of your efforts look great!

[Alan Brice]

It is not difficult. Do not leave out the scallions.
If you trim off the top of the green pepper to get seeds n web out, you can use some filling to stuff the base and top w/cheese.