Red Room Where the Writers Are

There are few things I miss from Michigan:

Halo Burgers, Angelo’s Coney’s with French Fries and Gravy, Vernor’s Soda, and hot Pasty’s!

I discovered a few stores in the Bay Area that sell Vernor’s but the rest of the list has been proven to be a futile search. So when I woke up this morning craving a pasty, I made a determined decision to be satisfied.

What in the h double l hockey sticks is a pasty your may ask? Pasties are a delicious meat pie, wrapped in delicate crispy, flaky crust, that can usually only be found in Michigan. The crust is composed of flour, lard, salt and water. The interior holds  ground beef.  salt, pepper, diced onions, and potatoes. Pasty purists may insist that if it contains ground beef and not diced steak it isn’t a Pasty. However, I like the ground beef kind just fine. Technically they are Welsh in origin; Michiganders have taken the dish and made it their own. The traditional Pasty contains very specific ingredients.

Determined to no longer be denied this delicious treat I began a furtive internet search for a pasty recipe and lo and behold found a plethora of them. While the recipes varied in ingredients at heart they were all essentially the same. As a busy working guy, I chose the version that allowed for the use of refrigerated pie crust. After a quick trip the grocery after work I was soon in my kitchen chopping up veggies, browning ground beef, and pre-heating the oven.

When I finally had the pasty on my plate, I couldn’t believe how delicious it was. While not perfect it will do, and I’ve decided to embark on a mission of making the perfect pasty. These were only my first try.

Below is the Pasty recipe I found and used:

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 pounds of 1/4 inch cubed round steak
• 4 cups of 1/4 inch cubed pealed potatoes
• 1 cup of 1/4 inch (or chopped) onions
• 1/2 cup of chopped carrots
• 2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. pepper
• 2 tb. dried parsley
• Rolled refrigerated pie crust (not frozen)

Mix everything together in the bowl, except the pie crust!

Now for crust! Because of lack of time (and being lazy) I bought ready-made pie crusts and formed pastie crusts out of them. And it worked out fine and tasted as good as I remember the originals.

Buy the pie crusts that come two in a box in the cheese, dairy counter of a grocery store. Not the frozen kind that come with pans.

Divide the pie crusts into by cutting them half.

Fill each with a cup of the filling.

Folded the crusts over the mix and pinch the ends together.

Put three pasties on each on two separate greased cookie pans.

Cook for 1 hour at 400 degrees F.

Bake for 20 minutes at 400 degrees F, then reduce heat to 350 degrees F and bake for forty minutes.

Cool for at least fifteen minutes on the sheet before eating. Serve with ketchup, butter, or Gravy.