Pasties II

Pasties actually originate in Cornwall, England. This recipe is pretty close to the pasties my mom and Grandma used to make. It was a mortal sin to use carrots though. They always used Swede (Rutabaga)/ Swedish turnip. For the reviewer who has trouble with pastry, me too! I use frozen pie shells, let them get to room temp or even a litle warmer before filling one side with your ingredients. Also, we always use a peeler to scrape the potatoes and rutabaga, then it is thinner and cooks more thoroughly. We pile the ingredients on top of each other starting with potatoes, rutabaga, onions, beef and salt and pepper. Putting the beef on top allows the juices to soak into the vegetables as they cook. I love pasties!

This is a great recipe. I made it exactly as is. For those who thought it was bland the beauty of pasties - they can be adjusted to your tastes by adding other meats, spices, and herbs. Many people eat them with ketchup. If you have a hard time working with pie crust two pieces of cellophane can solve that problem. Roll the dough out between the two sheets. When the dough is the thickness and shape you need remove the top sheet and proceed to fill. Then use the bottom sheet of cellophane to fold over the pasty. Again great recipe!

My dad hails from Escanaba Michigan and this is exactly how my Mom and I make them, down to the butter on top for extra moisture! Also, thanks for the tip on rubbing the tops with milk we've never tried that!

As a yooper for most of my life, I have to say that the traditional U.P. pasty is made with ground beef, usually hamburger as it adds more flavor. When purchasing a pasty this is the usual form. It adds much needed moisture to the pasty so it won't be too dry. Also, I can't imagine a pasty without carrots as one viewer mentioned that they don't belong. Some people use ground pork along with the traditional ground beef but most don't like the pork either. The U.P. pasty, though similar to the cornish pasty, was made for the miners to take with them to work in the mines because they filled the men up and were very portable. The best toppings for a pasty are catsup and/or mustard of course, but some use gravy which, personally, I don't care for. My uncle used to come up from Green Bay every summer and he used to pour dill pickle juice on them. It actually isn't too bad as long as you don't use too much. Hope this helps.

Very good and looks beautiful. I sprinkled the meat mixture with powdered gravy mix, added 2T of water and a generous dose of Worcestershre Sauce. A hit with the kids so it is a keeper!

Extremely similar to my family's pasty recipe. They are from the "UP" and have passed their recipe down for at least 4 generations, that I know of. Pasties are real comfort food and quite delicious, even if they can be a bit "heavy" of a meal. Will make again , but I like to try different fillings too. (such as chicken and brocolli, turkey & artichoke, etc.) Pasties vary from family to family... but are delicious with or without carrots, with ground meat or cubed, with pre made crust or hand made, with or without rutabaga, etc. Just choose the fillings you like and don't forget to "dot" with butter before you seal them up!

My family went to the UP this summer for the first time. It was fabulous and so were the pasties we enjoyed there. This recipe tasted exactly like the pasties we ate while sitting on the shore of Lake Superior. Thanks

Cornish pasties is our family dish - going down 5 generations. We also add fresh parsley to the mix. We never use carrots in the recipe. They are served with ketchup. My great-grandfather, who was a miner, came from Cornwall - and he loved his pasty - and now my grandchildren enjoy making them. What a wonderful family tradition.

For an easy and lower calorie version I use lean ground beef, diced onion, sliced carrots and diced potatoes add salt and pepper a pat of butter - place the raw ingredients in a pan and cover with pastry then bake - and serve hot with extra butter and ketchup.

A wonderful hearty meal. Our favorite! And the entire house smells wonderful while they bake. Can't have them often enough ! Your recipe is perfect..I wouldn't change a thing!

I added turnips, mushrooms, Beef stock paste (more beef flavor), baking powder for the filling (makes the dough flakier). An official Cornish pasty does not contain carrots but I added them in mine, and are included in many recipes of the times. Traditionally associated with coal and copper miners of Michigan and Minnesota. coal miners would carry them into the mines well wrapped for there lunch. They would have there initials on the pasties (like I have mine on this pasty) so they could tell who they belonged to. It is required that they are shaped like a "D", and they are crimped on the sides. need to add baking powder, turnips, mushrooms, extra beef flavor, and brush the dough with egg yoke to give it a nice brown look. see my picture.

This is a great recipe, and follows very closely the one brought over from Corwall by my great-great grandmother Rule. My ancestors were Cornish miners hired by a company to come mine gold during the California gold rush. It is interesting to me the debate over the traditional ingredients in the recipe, but the truth is each family had their own variation. My great grandmother used onions, potatoes, carrots, and turnips. My grandmother and great aunt preferred only onions and potatoes. It can actually be customized to how you like it. I recommend brushing to tops of the pasties with milk about fifteen or twenty minutes before they are done to give them a golden brown color. Some people like ground beef or pork for the meat, but for me the round steak or sirloin has always been the best. Customize it however you wish, but enjoy a great Cornish tradition!

PUT AN ICE CUBE IN BEFORE SEALING DOUGH. This recipe is almost like my mothers. She always took a whole day and made pasties for the freezer. She always put a single ice cube into the mix before sealing it up. They were never dry.

For those have trouble with the pastry, stick the shortening in the fridge for about half an hour before making the crust. This makes the dough just a tad firmer while you work with it

Pretty close to my grandmothers recipe. We also peeled the vegtables too, then cut them into small cubes. I do not use carrots. I have tweeked it over the years. I roast 2 cloves a garlic, then chop them in with the onion. Put all your vegtables on the bottom of the pasty first. then the meat, and then a thin slice of butter or margarine. when it cooks the juices cook the vegtables. We have always served them with a white sauce over them. Basic butter, flour,milk,salt,pepper.

I haven't had pasties since I was a kid. Found a rutabaga and thought I would give it a try. The crust is nice and flakey. Just delicious!!! I didn't change anything. Made the recipe just as it was- (I did double it so I can freeze some and have them for work.) Coming from Michigan, this is something I just haven't found anywhere else in the country. I feel like I just ate a memory! Ummm...Delish!

Excellent! This recipe was great and easy. I followed it exactly. The crust was flaky and perfect. I live in the U.P. and have tried many variations. Thanks for sharing! I find many 'Yoopers' think they have a "secret" family recipe and won't give it out. Ha! this one beat all of theirs!

My mom asked me to print off this recipe for her, so that we could have these for dinner. She made the recipe exactly as stated and we LOVED them (and being from MI we know what we are doing when it comes to pastie consumption, lol). Her first batch came out a little dry, so she did glaze some milk over the dough for her 2nd and it came out much softer. The only complaint is that the amount of filling was WAY TOO MUCH compared to the amount of dough (almost double the filling needed). However, that just meant she had to make more pasties for us to eat, so it is not all that bad, haha. Thanks for sharing!!! :)

This recipe is almost identical to the one that my great-grandmother from Calumet, MI used to make. I always make a triple recipe so that I can freeze a bunch. You just reheat them in the oven at 350 for 45 minutes... or my husband, also a U.P. native, says that microwaving them for three minutes works as well.

I used to eat these all the time while visiting my family in Michigan and was missing them. I was amazed at how well my first shot at making them turned out, the crust was perfect! I made a vegetarian variation by replacing the meat with an extra potato, celery and a parsnip, and added some curry powder. This version goes perfectly with mint chutney, definitely a new favorite!

This is a fantastic recipe, and what's more, if you decide you don't like this particular filling, you can fill it with just about anything you can imagine. I filled some with leftover beef stew and they were heavenly. I even filled them with some leftover pecan pie filling and they were MARVELOUS (though one of them did rupture...) So much fun to make.

Easy dough to use...great flavors. I substituted turnips for the rutabaga. Turned out wonderfully.

Excellent!! Just like the ones my husband and I have each time wn visit Michigan. Flakey crust, fabulous way to use up left over roast.

I was born and raised in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, and these were a family staple! When I was 13, my parents moved us down here to Illinois, where the term "Pastie" illicits very strange looks from others. lol Since we moved, my family still can not live without these. Granted, you can buy them frozen and boxed now at Gordons Food Center, but they are SOOO much better homemade. Twice a year all the women in our family here get together to make pasties for our families. It is usually an all day event! Because these freeze so incredibly well, we make enough to stock all of our deep freezers for the next several months. Wrapped and stored individually, these meat pies are a great quick meal, whether reheated in the oven (preferred) or the microwave. Great served with extra melted butter on top and ketchup, though others in my family prefer a brown gravy instead.

We introduced to these when I lived in Butte, MT. A huge part of the local culture, pasties are an art form there. I really enjoyed how easy the dough is to form. I had a lot of extra filling but that wasn't a problem. Just froze it until the pastie making. I have made these three times since finding this recipe.

Used to work in Iron Mountain and had these at least every other day. These were just as good as I remember. Thanks for sharing

Wow! These are perfect and exactly what I was looking for. My husband's grandmother (from the U.P.) made these twice a year for the family. My husband said these were "spot on"! I thought the crust was VERY easy to work with, and tasted perfect. I cut my meat smaller than stated though, I made sure to dice all of the ingredients to be about the same size. I omitted the carrots as well. I also had to roll out the dough a little larger than 6" (closer to an 8" circle) in order to fit the 1 cup of filling. Make sure you season these generously and they will be perfect. These were definitely a hit!

Say yah to da UP, eh? Great recipe for pasties, only better with fresh venison!

Disappointing over all. The dough was very easy to mix up and rolled out beautifully. I put the butter on top of the meat/veggies as instructed but they were dry and kind of bland. The meat was tender, veggies cooked perfect, crust a light brown so everything turned out except that they were dry. It's been ages since I've had a pastie from the UP but don't they have a little bit of some kind of gravy inside?

I've made these a bunch of times, the only regular changes the addition of carrot for a bit of color, butter for margarine, and an egg wash to make the crust pretty. Just like with steaks, if I've got a really good cut of meat, the simple seasoning here is fine. It's just when I've got an ordinary bit of meat that I need to up the seasoning.

PERFECT!!!! I grew up on these and it was such a treat to have the taste recreated EXACTLY as I remembered it. I omit the rutabaga, as I am generally a fan but do not care for it in pasties. Thank you so much for this recipe!!

Very good. Tastes like home! Easy too. Made a bunch to freeze for a quick meal on a busy night. Leftover filling. Will use more filling per pastie next time.

Hate to rain on the parade, but I thought this was very bland. I also ended up with a lot of leftover filling because I could only fit 1/2 to 3/4 cup of filling in each pastie.

The best thing on earth! I used butter flavored crisco. The crust was AMAZING. I did add a little bit of gravy powder to the filling for flavor. Definatly will make again. Alot easier than I was expecting too!!

I'm originally from England and never knew that these were popular in Michigan. The way my parents always made these was to use leftover beef stew for the filling..cuts down on prep time and is a nice way to use up leftover stew!

very good classic pasty.... i even made mine using lard crust.... you can really put what ever you want inside ground meat or cubed meat and different veggies.... two things to be sure you do though is make sure they seal up good and be sure to add the slab of butter... if you don't they will dry out...

This is how my UP family also makes Pasties, but I made a slight change to mine that I personally prefer. I "flash fry" my steak pieces first in a pan with about 1 TB of oil and a teaspoon or so of crushed garlic. Then I add it to my rutabaga/potato/onion mixture and bake. :) yum!

I just took them out of the oven and the juices all leaked out making the bottoms soggy. When I went to flip them over to try and cook the bottoms I found that they were stuck to the wax paper and all fell apart. Next time I will spray pam on the paper which the directions didn't say to do. I would love some advise on what else I maybe did wrong.

Yum! I didn't have rutabega-but it was delish with steak, potato and carrots (garlic and parsley). I was worried about everything cooking by putting it in raw-it turned out amazing! I had left over filling too. Served with brown gravy! Will definitely make again!

Very good and very hearty, but also very bland....even when I tried to spice it up.

This recipe is wonderful! Be careful to watch the amount of shortening. I've found Crisco to be the best. I also have to cook them longer than the recipe calls for, but just keep checking them every 5 minutes past the time if your oven isn't a real hotty. I'm a yooper chick and I grew up with having a choice between carrots and beggies. I always choose carrots. It's just a person's preference. Also, don't be afraid to use more potatoes and carrots...Long live U.P. pasties!!

Good as is, but will likely make adjustments next time

We used to have Pasties when visiting my relatives in Upper Michigan, 40 years ago. This recipe I got from a friend in Michigan, they are wonderful! The pie crust is no problem whatsoever rolling out. I divided mine into 12 sections and used 1/2 cup of filling for each pastie circle. My husband thinks I should add a can of cream soup to the recipe for moisture, I might just do that next time. DELICIOUS! I am freezing the leftover pasties and can take them to work. YUMMO!

I'm visiting my daughter who recently had her first child. I tried this recipe twice with ground turkey because she does not eat red meat. They turned out terrific both times. I'd like to make some up and put in the freezer for her. We have lived in the UP of Michigan for many years so have eaten many pasties.

My family LOVES this recipe! The only change I make is to double the pastry ingredients because I put in some green beans and carrots for extra nutriton! Tastes just like the great pasties you can find here in Northern Michigan! YUM!

These were fantastic! I was born and raised in the UP and have not had a pastie in 15 years. These tasted just as I remember my grandmother's tasting. Thanks Cheryl! I will be making these often.

I made the recipe exactly as it appears and I didn't care for it. I am very good with dough so that turned out fine but the inside was bad. I would try this again using the other suggestions from other reviews. I think ground hamburger with some added seasoning might be the trick for me! I will give this another try.

DO NOT USE PRE-MADE PIE DOUGH. If you want the real thing you must make your own. Also, all ingredients are a must: carrot, rutabaga and the rest. When I was a kid spending my summers in Bootjack and Houghton/Hancock I ate these doused in ketchup, which is still great, but to spice it up a bit try mixing in some chili sauce and/or horseradish and lemon juice. Yum :)

Followed the original recipe except used hamburger instead of chuck. That's how I remember it in Northern Wisconsin. I always have more filling than dough so make a larger batch of dough.

I'm not rating this recipe because I have the kiss of death with pie crust. We enjoyed pasties so much while visiting Michigan that I decided to give it a go. Had trouble rolling the dough thin enough and getting the filling to stay inside without the pastie splitting open. Any future reviewers have suggestions? (besides adding more flour)

My family is from Cornwall. This recipe goes back several generations for me. Excellent in every way!

Good recipe, I used lard for the crust, no rutabaga but did add carrot, like my Polish Grandmother did. I baked mine for 90 minutes to get good color. I doubled the recipe, next time I will add more meat as I made them larger than suggested. Delicious!

I am from Menominee, MI and this is truly an Upper Peninsula meal. I used this recipe more as a guideline because it was very similar to the way my mother and grandmother make them, however I used what I had on hand. I used a ground beef and ground pork mixture and omitted the rutabaga. Everything else was the same and they turned out great.

These are wonderful! My late husband used to make pasties and we have missed them since he died. Wasn't sure if I could make them as good, but I followed the recipe exactly and we loved them. The crust was a breeze to work with (and I always struggle with pie crust), did not fall apart our stick at all. We will be having pasties alot this winter! I plan to make a bunch and freeze them for days when we just don't feel like cooking.

Plenty of filling. Couldn't fit it all in the amount of dough I had. Next time I'll make more pastry. Very delicious. Served with gravy.

Hooray! I am so happy to have found this, Turned out amazing and took me back to childhood. My Grandma was from Hancock in the UP and we always went every year to visit her childhood home and the best part was of course eating PASTIES!

Like other users, I used ground beef (which is what I've typically encountered in the UP) or ground venison with 10% beef fat. The key with pasties is definitely the rutabaga. I have added mushrooms (canned or fresh) with success. At the suggestion of other reviewers, I brushed the tops with milk and a little butter to get them to brown. If you've never had pasties - they are supposed to be a little dry inside (even a good pasty is a wee bit "dry"). This was the biggest surprise for me when I first tried pasties (I'm not a native Michigander). A lot of people like to serve them with brown or cream gravy on the side to dip bites in.

I put venison steak instead of beef and bring them up for deer hunt. From Wisconsin

LOL, I'd have to agree with Michelle, back in 02/25/2006...it is a mortal sin to add carrots to the pastie. My MIL used to make, Welsh, Cornwall family...and no carrots! And yes, they used Swede, but we have rutabaga access here for ease. Also when I was a kid, my mom would even have me bike up to a Welsh bakery near us in Detroit, to get the same style that my MIL taught me to do. And in honor of her this week...since she'd been gone for 4 years now...and it's also her birthday week...I've made my own off her recipe. Otherwise, this one is very close(leave out the carrots people!). She'd make, wrap in foil, and give hubby and myself them to take for our lunch while out skiing(Michigan). I will say that I used a King Arthur Flour recipe today for the dough..and it was very easy to work with for all the folding and crimping. :)

I grew up with pasties in Kimberly, WI. It is a five stare dish.

I made these Pasties yesterday; using butter instead of margerine; they turned out just like my dad taught my mother how to make. He was from the U.P. (Trap Rock); mom was from Panama. I made them for my son/siblings; they all said they were delicious! As kids we use to sit around the table on a Saturday morning and make Pasties with mom. Dad was in heaven...he was a Finn and he was happy mom would make them for him "us". Thank you so much for sharing this recipe, nice to carry on the tradition of my Finnish hereitage! :)

I mostly followed the recipe, although I used a 75/25 mixture of ground beef and pork. I really worked the meat into the filling so it was distributed well. The pasties were a hit! Reheating them in the oven works well too.

Very easy to make & delish-tasted pretty much like a beef pot pie without the gravy. I DID add the rutabaga & carrots & all 6 of us liked it, including my not-so-adventurous boys. I had the perfect ratio of dough to filling too! Thank you-we'll be having these again!

Do not make with venison. Maybe it was just my taste buds. Other than the meat it was great!

Delicious. I am so glad I decided to make my own dough! I followed the recommendations of others and added a few shakes of worcestershire sauce to the veggies and beef. I also placed the veggies first, then the beef on top, so the juices from the beef went into the veggies. Finally the best suggestion was to use the wax paper you are rolling out the dough with to help fold the top of the pasty over.

I tried to add many 'extras' for flavor but have yet to use rutabegas. Easy to put together with a pie crust dough and the fact that the ground beef is pocketed raw. Make sure to bake on a rimmed sheet otherwise the juices will spill out onto oven floor!

I loved this recipe! I make it every few weeks. I had no problem with the crust, but I tried it in my food processor and it was the most beautiful dough that I have ever worked with. It is so easy to change up with different veggies and spices. We use gravy with ours.

Delicious!! Used a chuck steak, but I think it would be better with ground beef.

I've made this several times now and everyone loves it! I'm from the UP also and it's the real thing. Thanks so much for sharing this recipe.

We really like these and make them a couple times per year. We have found that it is best to double the dough as there is a lot of filling. Also, we like to add seasoning salt to the inside mixture, but it is not necessary.

Got rutabaga in CSA box and was stumped. Followed recipe as noted minus carrot and they came out great. Can't wait until next batch and start experimenting with fillings. Great find.

I have never been to the UP and never tried a pasty, but I have seen Escanaba In Da Moonlight many times and decided to make these for deer camp. This recipe was good, but a little bland. Next time I will add some more salt to the crust and more spices to the mixture also, but they were still very good and were all eaten by the 2nd day.

This is ok,but Butte pasties seem so much better than those I've had in Michigan. Maybe, it is the Montana water, but in Butte, pasties are the staple and actually much better than this..

I made these for my grandmother who lives in Michigan and even she was inpressed!

These were okay. I was expecting more flavor, based on what I've eaten in restaurants... I might try it with ground beef next time.

My GirlFriend got me hooked on these. I think they are pretty good and not too hard to make.

These are great! I use 1/3 cup less flour, 1/2 tsp less salt for the dough. I usually throw in whatever is on hand: potatoes, carrots, onion, garlic cloves, and hamburger. I liked the suggestion that used gravy mix. My mom grew up in Upper Michigan and brought this recipe with her to our Norwegian family. My husband really loves these! I like to dip mine in ketchup.

thank you! No one for the longest time ever heard of them here in Maine, and roadside pasties are an unforgettable treat for anyone who ventures into the UP. This recipe has already been saved in my favorites (and I haven't tried it yet) just reading the recipe brought me right back. This is what I am doing our first chilly day here. (it's coming... )

Just like the pasties we made at church for fundraisers as a kid. I always use ground beef, and I like to season the meat as it cooks...I throw in some salt/garlic/pepper/and whatever else sounds good. Sometimes I use Famous Daves Steak and Hamburger seasoning mix. I also like to make sure the crust is super thin (a little healthier I suppose. So I doubled the crust recipe and made a triple filling recipe and there was just a little leftover crust! You can't mix the filling wrong, so just add veggies until you feel the ratios are right! After they've cooled, wrap them in tinfoil and put them in your freezer...they're great to heat up when you don't want to cook!

Great recipe. Just as I remember on trips to the U.P. I didn't use the carrots and I pressure cooked the meat (chuck tends to be chewy) with some onion and garlic salt and pepper. after it was done I boiled away all the water until there was a brown glaze to the pan added 3 cups of water and added a half pound of ground chuck, 1/2 tsp. salt and made a great gravy to go with them. Beautiful. Its in my recipe book.

I made my version of UP pasties with the leftover pepper steak I had made with sirloin steak, peppers, onions, celery, mushrooms, and potatoes. I added carrots when I decided to make the pasties. That is probably why it grew. I used Pampered Chef's new 4" biscuit cutter to form the circles but instead of folding them over I used a bottom and top crust filling the middle with stew mixture using Pampered Chef's medium scoop. Sounds like a great receipe for my next Pampered Chef party as my husband was not too keen on my latest creation!!!!

Simple recipe template with a lot of room to improvise! I actually omitted the butter and used some left-over cheese broccoli soup I had made a couple of days previous instead of the butter. Because I was short on time I used Trader Joe's crescent rolls found in the refrigerator section instead of the homemade pastry. Obviously homemade is better, but mine turned out great. Thanks!

This was my first time working and tasting rutabaga. I have to say the thing was HORRIBLE to cut up. I nearly asked my husband to take an axe to it! After cooking the rutabaga were very tough and unsatisfying. Other than that this recipe was very yummy! I used beef tips and they cooked up very tender along with the potatoes, carrots and onions. I did have a lot of filling left over, but I just cooked it along with the pasties in a casserole dish.

Easy! Very good but can be a little dry. Someone recommend that you put the meat on top of the veggies to let the meat juices help keep it moist. It helped a little but I think having brown gravy with them might be what I try next time. A little milk brushed on the crust is good. Egg works too. Will make these again.

Love this! Added chopped onion and dill. Also used carrots. brushed the top with whisked egg. My Michigan husband grew up on pasties and he really liked these.

Excellent and so filling! They reheated beautifully, and are really good with ketchup!

I love the dough for this, it comes out perfect every time! I never even knew what pasties were until my husband and I took a drive up the MN northshore and I saw a sign and was rather confused, he of course insisted we stop on the way back to try it (he grew up in northern MN). So the love started. This was very close to what we had then, I make a gravy to dunk it in, as is done in the Minnesota world of pasties. (blasphemous to some, I know)

Excellent, didn't change a thing! Big hit as a hot lunch for our three teens!

To cut carbs I used rutabaga and no potatoe. Absolutely fabulous. Definitely chill the dough for best results. I got 8 from the dough vs. 6 as it says.

my husband and I loved these, first time ever having pasties...I will make these again!!

Never heard of a pastie before stumbling across your recipe. They were very good, although hubby didn't like the rutabega. Next time we'll make it without.

I hadn't had a pasty in YEARS and these tasted just how I remembered them, only BETTER!!! They are a bit of work, but definitely worth it!

Great treat from Michigan. Excellent recipe. Reminds me of Summers on Lake Superior.

Loved this recipe. I used butter flavored shortening and put powdered gravy mix into the filling. I also believed they tasted better after I reheated them at work.

I made the filling almost as written, I added Worcestershire sauce and red pepper flakes, based on other reviews. I used pre made pie crust, rolling it out thin. Overall I found it a little bland, but I am used to eating spicy foods. I would definitely make again, they were darn good dipped in baby rays secret sauce. (It has a horseradish tang that complimented these very well). Next Time I will add more spice, but it is a very versatile recipe, that is customizable enough for every one. Thank you for sharing.

These were so tasty. My best friend's family always made these so I have had my fair share of pasties. The one thing that I changed, the second time that I made them, was that instead of salt and pepper I used season salt. It sounds like a small thing, but it makes a big difference in the flavoring. (My friend's family always used season salt.)This reminded of my childhood.

Excellent recipe.. so easy too. Only changes I made were to the pastry. I added a few tablespoons of garlic & pepper to the dough. It made the outside blend with the inside flavor much better. Also, I used another users idea & sprinkled gravy mix onto the filling.. MMmmm!!! I will be doing this again, thanks so much!

just like the yuppers its great

Very good.