Yooper Pasties

A Recipe for Yooper Pasties

From What in the World is a Yooper? By Aine MacDermot Thu Aug 10, 2006 6:30 PM

 Da Crust :

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup Crisco
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons ice cold water (or enough to make a good pie crust dough; varies due to humidity and other factors)

Cut shortening into flour and salt, slowly add water a little at a time.
Mix with fork until well blended.
Form into 4 balls and chill in the refrigerator for about an hour.
Roll each ball out, just as you would do for pie crust. Use plenty of flour while rolling out.
Use a plate as a template and cut around it to make about an 8 inch circle of dough.

Da Filling : 

• 1 pound of ground chuck or ground round (1 & 1/2 pounds if you like more meat in it)
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup of grated rutabaga (optional only if you can't find rutabagas locally)
• 1/4 cup very finely cubed carrots
• 4-5 cups of diced potatoes
• salt & pepper to taste (guesstimate)
Mix the filling together in a large bowl, making sure the meat is thoroughly mixed in.
Roll out the dough, and brush the edges with ice water.
Put about 3/4 cup of filling onto one side of each crust and fold over.
Seal the edge by folding over and fluting, or by pressing with a fork.
Put on an ungreased cookie sheet, poke a fork into each for steam to escape.
Bake at 375F oven on middle shelf for 45-50 minutes. Crust should be lightly golden brown.
Serve hot (or even cold). Most Yoopers like to put catsup on them, too.
Makes 4-6 pasties, depending on how thin your dough is and how much filling you actually put in each one.
***Cheat : If you can't make good pie crust, or are in a hurry, get Jiffy™ brand boxed Pie Crust (one box for every two pasties). It's cheap, quick, and easy, and it tastes really good. Besides, the company that makes Jiffy comes from the same town that Jeff Daniels grew up in, and he was smart enough to make the independent film "Escanaba in Da Moonlight" which is a satirical look at what a Yooper's Deer Camp is all about... much exaggerated, of course.
Variation : Some people take all the Filling ingredients and grind them up together, then they make mini pasties about three inches wide with this. Also good, but time consuming.
Variation 2 : Some people also make this like an actual 2-crust pie in a pie pan, but individual pasties are more portable.