A thousand miles south of butte is a little town on the Cane River in western Louisiana where they have been eating meat pies since the late 1700s. Nachitoches is a charming little town of antebellum houses nestled along a beautiful bayou laced with Spanish moss. At Lasyone’s you can buy a classic meat pie just like the ones sold by the street vendors and shops almost 200 years ago. The only difference is now they fry them in canola oil rather than lard. The concept is similar to the Butte pies but the Nachitoches pies are fried instead of baked, and the filling is much spicier. Wrap them well and these fully cooked pies will freeze for months.
Ingredients
- 1 recipe pastry dough for savoru pies
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1½ pounds lean ground beef or game
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped 1 stalk celery, chopped
- 1 medium green bell pepper, chopped
- 3 tbsp blackening spice mix
- ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
- ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 1 tbsp good-quality beef base
- Canola or vegetable oil, as needed for frying
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
How to Make It
- Divide the pastry dough into 12 portions. Roll out each one on a lightly floured surface into a circle about 5 inches in diameter. Cover and set aside.
- In a large skillet, heat the oil over high heat and add all of the meat, onions, celery, peppers, garlic, blackening spice mix, cayenne, and black pepper. Sauté for about 10 minutes, until the vegetables are soft and translucent, then add the flour and stir well. Cook for another 5 minutes, and then stir in the beef base and 1 cup of water. Cook until the mixture is thickened and the liquid has been almost totally absorbed. The filling should not be runny; you will be frying the pies in hot oil and you want to avoid spattering. Cool the mixture to room temperature before filling the pies.
- Heat at least 4 inches of canola oil in a deep pot or electric fryer to 350°F.
- Place about 2 to 3 tablespoons of the filling in the center of each pastry circle. Paint the edges with the beaten egg, then fold over and seal the edges by crimping the edges shut with a fork.
- Fry the pies in batches until golden-brown on both sides, turning once in the oil, about 5 minutes. Drain on a paper towel-lined plate and serve warm with plenty of hot sauce and cold beer.