Recipes · American · Pies

Natchitoches Meat Pies (Louisiana Fried Beef and Pork Hand Pies)

One serving has 843 kcal and 33 g protein, and at least a fifth of a woman's daily need of thiamin (85%), selenium (78%), cobalamin (69%), manganese (67%), phosphorus (66%) and niacin (64%). Ready in 105 minutes.

• Preparation: 60 min
• Cooking: 45 min
• Makes: 1 serving (474 g)
• Difficulty: Medium
• Diets: High protein
• Contains: beef, celery, dairy, egg, gluten, pork

Ingredients

• 60 g Minced beef
• 30 g Minced pork
• 20 g Onion, finely chopped, for the filling
• 8 g Green onions, sliced
• 15 g Green bell pepper, finely chopped, for the filling
• 2 g Garlic, crushed, for the filling
• 0.25 g Cayenne pepper
• 0.2 g Black pepper
• 2 g Plain flour, for the filling
• 45 g Plain flour, for the dough
• 0.6 g Baking powder
• 10 g Vegetable shortening
• 6 g Egg
• 22 g Whole milk
• 8 g Vegetable oil, for frying (the amount absorbed)
• 3 g Vegetable oil, for the beans
• 15 g Onion, chopped, for the beans
• 10 g Celery, chopped
• 10 g Green bell pepper, chopped, for the beans
• 1 g Garlic, crushed, for the beans
• 80 g Red kidney beans, canned, drained
• 0.1 g Dried thyme
• 0.05 g Bay leaf
• 35 g Long-grain white rice
• 90 g Water
• 1 g Salt

Method

1. Makes 16 pies, 8 servings of two pies with red beans and rice; the amounts are for one serving, so multiply every ingredient by 8. For the filling, brown the beef and pork in a large frying pan over a medium-high heat for about 8 minutes, breaking them up, then pour off most of the fat.
2. Add the onion, green pepper, green onions and garlic for the filling and cook for 6-8 minutes until soft. Season with the cayenne, black pepper and half the salt, sprinkle over the flour for the filling and stir for 1 minute until the juices thicken, then spread the filling on a plate to cool completely.
3. For the dough, mix the flour for the dough with the baking powder and a pinch of the salt, rub in the shortening until it looks like breadcrumbs, then stir in the egg beaten with the milk to make a soft dough. Cover and rest it for 30 minutes.
4. Roll the dough out thinly, about 3 mm, and cut 14 cm rounds, rerolling the trimmings to make 16. Put a heaped spoonful of filling on one half of each round, wet the edge, fold it over into a half-moon and press the edge firmly with a fork to seal.
5. Meanwhile, for the beans, soften the onion, celery, green pepper and garlic for the beans in the oil for the beans for 5 minutes. Add the kidney beans, thyme, bay leaf and a third of the water and simmer for 20 minutes, mashing some of the beans against the pan so the sauce turns creamy; season with a pinch of the salt.
6. Bring the rest of the water to the boil with the rice and the rest of the salt, cover and cook on the lowest heat for 15 minutes, then leave it to stand, covered, for 5 minutes.
7. Heat the oil for frying, about 4 cm deep, to 175 °C (350 °F) and fry the pies a few at a time for 3-4 minutes, turning once, until deep golden and crisp. Drain on kitchen paper and serve two pies per plate with the rice and the red beans spooned over.

Nutrition per serving

Shares of a day's need are for a woman of 30, 165 cm, 60 kg, lightly active, by the US and Canadian Dietary Reference Intakes. SustainBite works out each person's own needs, by the standard where they live: the Nordic Nutrition Recommendations in Norway, the UK's, EFSA's in the EU.

Climate footprint

2.7 kg CO2e a serving: higher than most main dishes on SustainBite. Source: ADEME, Agribalyse 3.2.

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