How to Make Pasties

While the pasty is not exclusively Irish but rather British Isles in origin, Irish farmers are known to take these handy, portable and delicious savory pies with them out into the fields. The wonderful aspect about pasties is the variety of fillings you can enclose in the flaky crust. Almost everything from meat and potatoes to cheese and vegetables work well in pasties.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• Large bowl
• Sheet pan
• Rolling pin
• Above ingredients
• 1 batch pasty dough, see related articles for recipe
• 1 lb beef steak meat of your choice
• 1 medium-sized onion
• 2 medium-sized carrots
• 4 medium-sized red or yellow potatoes
• 2 tbsp fresh thyme
• 2 tbsp fresh Italian parsley
• ¾ cup grated cheddar cheese, optional
• 1½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp fresh ground pepper
• 2 egg yolks, beaten

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and move the oven rack to the bottom slot of the oven.
2. Wash your carrots, potatoes, thyme and parsley well. Peel the onions, carrots and potatoes.
3. Dice the vegetables into ½-inch sized cubes. Set aside.
4. Finely mince the thyme and parsley until you have pieces no larger than 1/8-inch in size. Set aside.
5. Dice the steak into 1 inch cubes. Set aside.
6. Combine the vegetables, meat, herbs and spices into a large bowl and mix well. If you are using cheese, add it into the filling.
7. Divide your pasty dough into six equal balls. Set aside all but one ball.
8. Sprinkle a few tablespoons of flour onto the surface where you will assemble your pasties. Roll the ball into a circle ¼-inch thick and approximately 7 inches in diameter.
9. Place 1 to 1½ cups of the filling into the middle of the dough. Fold the sides of the dough up and pinch in a seam on top of the filling. Make sure the seam is sealed well.
10. Create a fluted edge along the seam by placing your thumb and forefinger of your left hand in a U-shape approximately 1 inch apart over the right side of the seam.
11. Then place your forefinger of your right hand between your left hand’s thumb and forefinger on the opposite side of the seam.
    
12. Pull your hands apart slightly to indent the seam to look like a wave.
13. Move your hands down the seam, repeating the motion until you have the entire seam fluted.
14. Place the filled pasty on a cookie sheet and brush a little bit of the egg onto the top of the pasty with a pastry or basting brush.
15. Continue to make pasties until you have used all six balls of dough.
16. Place the pasties into the oven and cook for approximately 25 to 30 minutes or until the dough is golden brown and the pasties are aromatic.
17. Serve and enjoy.

Tips & Warnings

• When choosing steak meat for your pasties, rib meat is a good combination of flavor and marbling. You want meat with some fat on it so you don’t have to add more fat to the filling.
• If you use a round steak for your meat, make sure to add ¼ cup of shortening and ½ cup of salted butter cut into pea-sized pieces to your filling.
• When eating pasties, be careful for the hot filling inside. Oftentimes the filling is hotter than the dough outside.
• You can use almost any combination of vegetables and meat in pasties. This recipe is a basic pasty which you can use as a base for any different recipes. Try exchanging lamb or pork for the beef for a different flavor.
• You can try using a blue cheese, like stilton or gorgonzola, instead of cheddar for a different taste to your pasty. When choosing a cheese for the pasty, use a strong cheese that can stand up to the flavor of the meat.