Pasty - Gogebic County GenWeb

Many ethnic groups brought their food traditions to the U.P. In the early 1850s, people from Cornwall, England, came to the U.P. to work in the copper and iron mines. With them came the pasty (pronounced PASS-tee). Pasties were hearty, all-in-one meals that the miners could carry down into the mines in their lunch pails. The pasty fit into a pie pan in the top of the pail. Hot tea in the bottom of the pail kept the pasty warm. The miners could also heat pasties on a shovel over a flame.

Early pasties had three sections of filling; the first was meat, the middle was a mixture of vegetables and the last part was fruit. This way the miner could work his way through a complete meal in one package. The basic pasty today has a filling of meat, potatoes, onions, rutabagas and/or carrots or turnips. The meat might be beef, pork or venison.

PASTY RECIPE

Crust
8 cups flour
2 tablespoons sugar
4 tablespoons salt
3-1/2 cups vegetable shortening
Mix the above ingredients together until crumbly and set aside.

2 tablespoons vinegar
2 large eggs
1 cup water
Mix these ingredients together with a fork and combine with the flour mixture. Chill for at least 1/2 hour.

Filling
6 cups diced potatoes
1-1/2 pounds diced roast beef (may substitute ground beef or port roast
1 cup diced onion
1 cup diced carrot
1 cup diced rutabaga
dash of salt and pepper

Mix ingredients together.

Roll a 2-inch ball of dough onto a floured surface with a rolling pin until it is flat (about 1/4-inch thick). Place 1 cup of filling mixture on one-half of the dough and add a pat of butter (butter prevents the inside from drying out while baking). Fold the pastry over the filling to make half-moon shaped pies and pinch the edges together. You can use a little milk to help seal the edge closed. Make a couple of slashes on the top of the pasty to allow steam to escape. Place on a greased baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees for about 1 hour. Serve with ketchup or gravy. This recipe makes 12-14 pasties.