Venison and Cheese Pasties

I love making food from around the world, and this one is based on a dish from England. However, the basic premise behind this dish is common in many cultures, so once you iron out the kinks and master the basics, you can really match it to any flavor profile you want. Try using it to make Indian Samosas or South American Empanadas! You won’t be disappointed.

I paired this with Roasted Carrots, but it would go very well with a succotash, mashed cauliflower, roasted root vegetables, and peas (which in this particular case I’ve included inside the pasties).

Lastly, my apologies…I got in the zone and forgot to take a picture between the “roll the dough out” and “stuff, fold, and crimp” steps, so it may require a bit of imagination on your part.

Time: 2 hrs, but a lot of that is due to the dough wait time…If you make the dough ahead of time, this is a very simple dish to make, requiring really only cook time of about 40 minutes.

Ingredients:

• Dough
  • 1/2 cup of all purpose flour (makes two pasties…enjoy your math adventure if you’re making a different quantity)
  • 1-2 tablespoons of butter depending on how rich you want your dough
  • Undisclosed amount of cold water (because all doughs need a different amount)
  • 1 Egg (used in the “combine” step)
• Filling
  • Ground Venison (beef, pork, turkey, and chicken all work though, so if venison isn’t in your freezer, just swap it out for something that is)
  • Vegetables you’d like to include. I went with some diced mushroom, onion, frozen peas, and frozen corn
  • Cheese of your choice. I’m went with shredded cheddar tonight, but it was a game-time decision between that and crumbled gorgonzola
  • Seasoning to taste. I kept this one simple with a little salt and pepper. Worcestershire sauce never hurts either.

Method:

• Dough:
  • Pour your flour into the bowl of your food processor. (Once you do this once, you’ll probably throw your dough cutter/fat masher thing away)
  • Cut your butter into small cubes, and toss in with the flour.
  • Pulse until the butter and flour are well mixed. You should see that the fine powder of the flour has turned into very small clumps
  • Add a little bit of the cold water, and pulse. Continue doing this little by little until the dough clumps together and is tacky but not too sticky.
    • IF your dough is too liquidy and sticks to your hands, just put it back in the food processor, and add a little more flour, and pulse.
    • I know this works…because I had to do it tonight. It’s all trial and error learning, so no big deal.
  • Form your dough into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap, and stash in the fridge for an hour or so to give the dough time to find itself.
• Filling (any extra filling would be tremendous in an omelet):
  • I like to precook my meat just to be completely safe, but from what I’ve read, that’s not necessary since it will cook as the entire pie does. SO,
  • Sautee your onions in a little butter or oil, and then add your meat, salt, pepper, and Worcestershire, and finally, add your mushrooms.
  • Move to a bowl, and let cool until you can touch it comfortably.
  • Then add your other veggies and cheese…mix/hand-mash/stir/fold to combine.
• Combine:
  • Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F
  • Pull your dough out of the fridge, and roll it out on a lightly floured surface
  • Use a round cutter or a bowl to cut your dough into a round shape of your desired size. OR you could just go by hand, and make it close by dividing the dough into two and rolling it into a rough circle. I’m using method 2 because it means less to clean, and I frankly don’t care if it’s perfect.
  • In the middle of each dough “circle, place the filling
  • Brush some egg on half of the arc of the dough circle
  • Fold the dough like an omelet, and seal the edges, using the egg to bind them together.
  • Either fold your edges like a rope (pressing down and folding over) or use the back edge of a fork to press the tines down into the “hem” of the pasties to make a nice pattern.
  • Move the pasties to an oiled baking sheet (foil lined would be my suggestion), and brush more egg on top of each.
  • Roast for 40 or so minutes until the dough is a nice golden brown color.
  • Remove from oven, plate, devour, and enjoy!