The Pasty, an Upper Michigan tradition
The Pasty, an Upper Michigan tradition
History of the Pasty:
The copper and iron ore seams running trough Michigan's Upper Peninsula soil helped to bring prosperity and diversity to Upper Michigan. More importantly, it brought the PASTY.
As the mines along Lake Superior were coming to life, the mines in Cornwell, England were drying up. So the Cornish miners brought their skills, tools and blasting powder across the ocean to the Michigan mines. And for lunch they brought the Pasty.
A cold sandwich just didn't cut it in the cold Upper Michigan or an underground mine. The meat, potato and rutabaga turnover made a portable yet substantial meal that could be easily wrapped in a clean towel, placed on a shovel and heated over a flame. It could also be picked up and eaten with the hands, no plates or forks needed.
When I first married my husband, he told me of this Pasty. I had never had one, or even heard of them. I never made them the way his mother did. She passed away in 1967 and we married in 1972. I never had the benefit of her counsel. Then my sister-in-law told me that no one made a pasty as good as her mother did, not even she herself.
She used real steak cut into very small cubes. I use ground beef. You can alter the recipe to accommodate different tastes. Chicken, turkey or ground venison can be used. I use both carrots and rutabaga along with onions. For vegetarian pasty, omit meat, use other vegetables and add 2 tablespoon of mushroom soup directly from can, no water.
Pasty
Servings: 5
Preheat oven: 400°
Baking time: 45 minutes
Preparation time: 45 minutes
For crust:
3 cups floor
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup shortening
7-8 tablespoon cold water
For filling:
cup finely chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
5 tablespoon butter or oleo
1 pound steak cut in 1/4 inch cubes or ground meat
2 cups potato, pared and cut in small 1/4 pieces
3/4 cups rutabaga and 3/4 cups carrots cut into 1/4 pieces.
Make crust:
Combine flour and salt, cut in shorting until mixture resembles course meal. Gradually add in the cold water a few drops at a time, mixing with a fork until mixture forms a ball. Divide into 5 equal sized balls. Chill for 1 hour. This is a basic pie crust.
For the fillings:
Divide the meat, onion, potato, rutabaga and carrots into 5 equal portions and place on wax paper.
Making the Pasty:
Roll each dough ball into a 9 " circle on a floured surface. Remove filling from wax paper and place in the center of the circle, sprinkle with salt & pepper, dot with 1 tablespoon of butter. Bring sides of dough up to center, forming a circle, leaving a small opening at the top center. Repeat for other 4 pasties. Place the 5 pasties on ungreased cookie or baking sheet, 1 in center, 1 each in 4 corners making sure they do not touch each other.
Bake for 45 minutes. Serve topped with hot butter, catsup or gravy. Some people like them plain. My brother-in-law likes his with mustard.
I will end this by sharing a short funny story. For many years, my husband worked as a diesel mechanic for a large truck leasing company. One of the truck drivers told him that those UP people were really stupid because there were these signs all over the place with the word pastries spelt wrong. They all spelt it pasties. My husband got a good laugh out of that before he informed the driver that it was a Pasty not donuts.
|
|
Author: kraftykatz
Location: Parchment Michigan USA
Gender: Female
Age: 65
Blog Entries: 296 (archive)
Blog Comments: 1079
i am 65 years old and have been married for 37 years. we have 3 adult children, 2 sons and 1 daughter, who is married. we have no grandchildren. i have 2 cats which keep me company. i enjoy reading, sewing and crafts of all kinds. i do counted cross...
view full biography
i grow up in a small, socially segregated community. we were very poor, living in a house without indoor pluming. that means we had an old fashioned out house and no hot running water indoors, only cold. i accepted christ at the age of 15 in a small country church...
view full testimony
Looking at the imperfect ...
I almost fell for a scam,...
Sweet Life Cafe revisited...
The police in two states ...
Help, My purple Thang is ...
Her, she, maidservant, th...
Keeping my tongue-tied an...
Is Jesus or LORD or Lord ...
OH NO! I can not log into...
The parable of a mis-fit ...
|
Log Into Chatroom 
