Makes 6 pasties
IN THE UPPER PENINSULA OF MICHIGAN, PASTIES ARE ESSENTIAL. AND WHEN YOU’RE taking in the stunning landscape, so beautiful you’ll feel as if you’re in trapped in a Monet, the handheld savory pies just feel right. Cornish pasties have British roots, first arriving in the Midwest in the late 1700s. But it was the mining boom in the Upper Midwest that made the grab-and-go, satiating pies a mainstay, providing hearty, portable sustenance during a day of hard labor.
In my highly scientific polling of Michiganders, there are a few must-haves when it comes to a proper Cornish pasty. There must be beef, which can be ground or, as here, sirloin chopped finely. You might get away with some pork for its flavor, but don’t talk about it too much. Onion is a must, as is rutabaga and potato. There are two camps, one that believes in serving the pasty with gravy, the other with ketchup. Pretty much every Yooper would give me the side-eye for making mine with this Cheddar-and-smoked-paprika crust, but that’s a delicious risk I’m willing to take.
Ingredients for 1 double batch My Favorite Pie Crust (here)
6 ounces/170 g extra-sharp Cheddar cheese, coarsely grated
1 teaspoon smoked Spanish paprika
½ pound/225 g sirloin, cut into ½-inch cubes
½ pound/225 g ground pork
½ cup/75 g diced rutabaga (¼-inch/6 mm pieces)
½ cup/75 g diced potato (¼-inch/6 mm pieces)
⅓ cup/50 g diced carrot (¼-inch/6 mm pieces)
⅓ cup/25 g finely sliced scallions, white and light green parts
1 heaping teaspoon tomato paste*
1 large garlic clove
¾ teaspoon fine sea salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 large egg
1 tablespoon water
Pinch of fine sea salt
All-purpose flour for dusting
Prepare the crust: Add the cheese and paprika to the unprocessed dry ingredients for the pie crust in the bowl of a food processor and process until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. Make the rest of the pie crust recipe as directed here. Gently knead the dough several times to bring it together into a claylike ball, working it a little longer than you normally would, to develop a touch of gluten that will help hold the pasties together. Divide the dough into 6 equal portions. Shape each into a disk, and wrap each tightly in plastic wrap. Chill the dough for at least 2 hours.
Prepare the filling: Combine all the filling ingredients in a medium bowl.
Assemble the pasties: Position a rack to the center of the oven and preheat it to 400°F/200°C.
In a small cup, beat together the egg, water, and salt.
On a lightly floured surface, roll each piece of dough into an 8-inch/20 cm circle. Divide the filling equally among the circles, placing the filling on half (1 semicircle) of each piece. Brush the perimeter of the circle with egg wash. Fold the other side over the filling, and crimp the edges together with a fork. Place the pasties on an unlined, rimmed baking sheet. Slice a few vents in the top of each pasty. Brush lightly all over with egg wash. Bake for 15 minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 350°F/180°C and continue to bake until golden all over and browned and crisp on the bottoms, 35 to 40 minutes more. Let the pasties cool briefly on a wire rack before serving.
*Buy the kind in the tube so small amounts like these aren’t annoying.