So I had some leftover pulled pork. Normally I'd do tacos or baked pies but I decided to try fried pies. It sounded like a great idea at the time. LOL! I make a bunch of pie dough and freeze them ready to go. I don't buy ready made pie crust dough. Enjoy the process in pictures..... 3.5 inches rounds About a tablespoon of pulled pork filling... All ready for the frier They came out great except for the crust. Dough was too delicate for frying. But I loved them. Need to tweak the dough. Back to the lab
Scotch: Current favorite- The Arran (anything by them), Glenmorangie 12yr Lasanta, sherry cask finished. The Balvenie Double Wood, also like Oban 18yr, and The Glenlivet Nadurra (Oloroso sherry cask finished) among others. Neat please.
About meReal name: Aaron
Location: Farwell, Michigan- near Clare. (dead center of lower peninsula)
Occupation:
Healthcare- Licensed & Registered Respiratory Therapist (RRT) at MyMichigan Health, a University of Michigan Health System.
In MI, especially the upper peninsula (or "U.P." as we all call it) they make a regional staple called the pasty (pronounced pass-ty). There are billboards everywhere from the top half of Lower MI up through the U.P. advertising shops that sell smoked fish and pasties. Anyway, they are a hand-held meat pie with veggies like carrots, peas and potatoes, etc and usually a small amnt of gravy inside. They were the popular food of the miners back in the days of yore. You have given me an idea to reinvent the pasty with smoked pork or beef. Thanks!
LOL! Huskee is preaching to the choir. I have pasties ready to go at a moment's notice. All kinds of pasties and sausage rolls. I love those things. Sausage rolls Crust made from scratch
Scotch: Current favorite- The Arran (anything by them), Glenmorangie 12yr Lasanta, sherry cask finished. The Balvenie Double Wood, also like Oban 18yr, and The Glenlivet Nadurra (Oloroso sherry cask finished) among others. Neat please.
About meReal name: Aaron
Location: Farwell, Michigan- near Clare. (dead center of lower peninsula)
Occupation:
Healthcare- Licensed & Registered Respiratory Therapist (RRT) at MyMichigan Health, a University of Michigan Health System.
Bep35 or anyone interested My pie crust dough:
236 grams all purpose flour
254 grams butter, cut into cubes. Don't worry about the size.
118 grams all purpose flour
pinch of salt, about a teaspoon
a tablespoon sugar, if making sweet pie. For savory pie omit.
5 tablespoons very cold water. YOU WILL NOT USE ALL OF IT.
Process:
It is important that you use a food processor.
Pulse the 236 grams of flour with the salt. Add all the butter and pulse on and off until you get a paste like consistence.
This goes against all pie dough logic but it works better than anything out there.
Now add the remaining flour, pulse a few times. The paste will break up to form little loose shaggy mess.
What you have done here is covered as much flour as possible with the butter and introduced the new flour to the mess for that flaky crust
Now dump the mess in a bowl, add 3 tablespoons of cold water and try to form a ball using a spatula or cold hands.
If the dough is still too dry add some more water a little at a time.
I find 3 tablespoons works for me most of the time.
Once the dough comes together nicely, divide into two. If making a pie, one piece should be bigger that the other. This one will be your bottom. Refrigerate for at least an hour then roll or freeze for up to 4 months.
Your pie will look like this...
NOTES:
If you start rolling and it is a tad bit hard, leave it on the board for about 5 minutes to take the chill off.
If the spatula is not working, get in there with your hands but work quick to form that ball.
QUICK PUFF PASTRY
Equal parts in weight butter and Flour
Pinch of salt
Cold water
Mix flour and salt in a large bowl
Butter should be soft and still cold
Roll it in the butter to avoid sticky mess and grate it, on the large holes, into the flour.
Then rub the butter into the flour until you get most of the flour. You'll still have some chunks of butter in there.
add water, a little at a time, until a shaggy ball forms. Don't get it too wet. Should be a shaggy but cohesive ball.
Drop it on a flour board and form a rectangle. fold it in thirds and turn it 90 degrees. Try to roll it to form another rectangle. If butter starts melting stick it in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes and try again.
Once you form the second rectangle you can do as I do and just roll it like a jelly and be done, press it done or roll it slightly flat, wrap in plastic. Refrigerate for at least an hour before using. Or you can be all french cheffed and repeat the rectangle, fold and refrigerate process until you are happy with the layers.
It should look like this when rolled.....
You can see the flattened chunks of butter and the layers.
NOTES:
Unlike the pie crust dough, puff pastry will frustrate you on the first few attempts. Practice on a small batch first.
When rolling dough, for both, start from the middle going outward.
For puff pastry, roll towards one direction or else the layers will be messed up.
Don't let anyone fool you, there is no exact amount of water added to any pie dough, It is all by feel.
Flour and butter should be weight and not eye balled. Unlike cooking, baking is an exact science. That's why I hate baking......sober.
Ernest thank you for the great write up on this recipe. I bake a lot and have found that it is not precise and very forgiving of mistakes but, I do measure all my ingredients and keep notes so, maybe I am not as much of a slob that I think I am. It is somewhat of an art form.
Oh yeah, Baking is a different beast.
I weigh every ingredient when baking. Except when baking bread. I've made so many loaves it's just second nature to me.
But these pie/ puff pastry dough my liquid amount changes every time that I make them. I do weigh flour and butter.
Oh yeah, Baking is a different beast.
I weigh every ingredient when baking. Except when baking bread. I've made so many loaves it's just second nature to me.
But these pie/ puff pastry dough my liquid amount changes every time that I make them. I do weigh flour and butter.
Yes, I notice a lot of variables in baking, mostly in the liquids. Depending on humidity, age and type of flour ( I grind my own wheat most of the time), and other ingredients, like eggs and their size and how runny the whites are. I have been baking since early 80's. But, I am a slow learner sometimes.
Ernest, I finally made the pie crust recipe. It was great. My wife said the best. It was a pumpin pie and the rest I used on a turkey pot pie. I can't wait to make a two crust fruit pie. I will probably use an egg wash to give it a bit more color.
I used a deep dish pie plate but just a single recipe for the filling. But, I used extra whipped cream to even it out.
In MI, especially the upper peninsula (or "U.P." as we all call it) they make a regional staple called the pasty (pronounced pass-ty). There are billboards everywhere from the top half of Lower MI up through the U.P. advertising shops that sell smoked fish and pasties. Anyway, they are a hand-held meat pie with veggies like carrots, peas and potatoes, etc and usually a small amnt of gravy inside. They were the popular food of the miners back in the days of yore. You have given me an idea to reinvent the pasty with smoked pork or beef. Thanks!
This type of hand pie is a common treat in South America, called empanadas, with a wide range of fillings, some baked, some fried, some even sweet. There is a site featuring Ecuadorian recipes that I like: http://laylita.com/. She has recipes for the pastry for baked and fried versions (and fillings), so that may help with the frying issue. And here in Houston, you can buy the dough circles pre-made and frozen in the regular grocery. But that's not as much fun!
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