A Passion for Pasties

by Ann Treacy

We love these things … with or without rutabagas

In the Lake Superior region, pasties may surpass casseroles, meatloaf and chicken noodle soup as the ultimate comfort food … and not just because they’re shaped like food pillows.

A pasty rhymes with nasty not hasty - is a tasty meat pie in a pastry pocket that allows you to hold a warm meal in your hand. Pasties, brought to Michigan’s mines in the 1840s by skilled Cornish miners, were quickly adopted by the Finnish workers who later introduced pasties to Michigan and Minnesota’s ore ranges, where they were embraced by many immigrant group

These popular portable pastries could be baked in the morning then carried into the woods by loggers or down into the mines for lunch, where they were eaten cold or placed in a shovel and warmed over the candle in a miner’s hat.

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Marcella Norman’s Pasty
(Newberry, Michigan)
Yields 21 pasties

Crust:
6 c. flour
1 c. Armour lard, at room temp.
1 Tbsp. salt
1 c. cool water
Use standard crust technique. Cut around a 9-inch pie tin for circles. Make this crust recipe twice, but do not double it. Each batch will yield 12-13 pasty crusts.

Filling:
4 lbs. ground pasty meat mix of beef and pork (more beef than pork, coarse grind).
16 c. cubed potatoes
2 c. (heaping) cubed carrots
2 c. chopped celery
1 c. onion, chopped
2 Tbsp. salt
1Tbsp. pepper

Combine and place one heaping cup of mixture on each pie crust. Fold over; crimp edge. Bake six pasties on a large cookie sheet at 350 degrees for one hour, turning pan halfway. This is the exact recipe used for Newberry, Michigan, fund-raisers. Marcella omits rutabagas, which she feels taste too strong.