Natchitoches Meat Pies Recipe
These tasty turnovers, along with the Festival of Lights, are native to Natchitoches (pronounced NACK-uh-tish), Louisiana and are traditionally served on Christmas Eve. They’re usually made bigger, more of a hand pie, but I like them as an Hors d’oeurve for holiday parties. I served these tonight with a Creole Mustard Aioli for dipping. The recipe:
Natchitoches Meat Pies Recipe
For the Filling
2 Tbsp Butter
1/2 lb Ground Beef
1/2 lb Ground Pork
1/2 Cup Spanish Onion, finely diced
1/2 Cup Red Bell Pepper, finely diced
1/4 Cup Celery, finely diced
3 Garlic Cloves, minced
2 Tbsp Homemade Worcestershire Sauce
1 Tbsp Crystal Hot Sauce
Kosher salt, black pepper, and Cayenne to taste.
1/2 Cup Beef Stock
1/8 Cup All Purpose Flour
Melt the butter in a large cast iron skillet over medium high heat, when hot add the ground meats, cook until browned and cooked through. Add the onions, celery, bell pepper, and green onions, cook until the vegetables are wilted. Add the garlic, Worcestershire, hot sauce, and seasonings, cook for 2 minutes more. Make a slurry of the stock and flour, add to the pot and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and cook for about 5 minutes stirring constantly. Remove from the heat and adjust the seasonings if necessary. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
For the dough:
8 Cups All Purpose Flour
2 tsp Iodized Salt
1 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 Cup Lard
1 Egg
1 Cup Milk
Combine the dry ingredients in the mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, with the speed on low add the lard to the dry ingredients and let the mixer cut it in until the fat is broken up into pea sized pieces. Beat the egg and combine with the milk. Add the wet to the dry with the mixer on low, in a slow steady stream. Mix until the dough just comes together. The key is to not overwork the dough.
Cut the dough in half then roll it out to 1/8 inch thickness on a floured counter. Cut into either the more traditional 5 inch circles or as I did about 3 circles, I used an empty French Market Coffee can.
To assemble and cook:
Place 1 heaping Tablespoon (doubled for the larger size) of the cooled mixture to each circle. With your finger wet the edge with a little water, fold over and crimp with a fork. Set aside on a floured surface until ready to fry.
Heat 4 inches of oil in a dutch oven to 360 degrees. Fry the meat pies in small batches until golden brown on each side.
Be sure and check out my ever growing Index of Creole & Cajun Recipes!
Oh you stole my thunder :), I went to the Christmas Festival this weekend and writing a post about it right now. I will definitely link to this one.
Comment by Chicken Fried Gourmet — December 5, 2006 @ 8:55 pm
We went to the festival every few years when I was a kid. I remember sliding down the grassy slope of the riverbank on large sheets of cardboard. A Cajun toboggan.
Comment by Bill Farrell — December 6, 2006 @ 1:33 am
A number of years ago we took a cross country trip from L.A. to North Carolina. One of our stops was Nachitoches where we did have the opprotunity to sample the infamous meat pie. Great memory.
Comment by homecook1950 — December 10, 2006 @ 11:30 pm
I was living in Cloutierville, very near Natchitoches, when I first learned to make these for the Catholic Church Festival every year from the older women of the community. We spent the two weeks before the festival every year cooking tamales and meat pies in the church kitchen(about 10-12 women; I was the youngest). I now live and teach in Texas and was just searching the web…you presented me with a jump-back in time to those days…thank you for preserving the recipe for all of us…most of the ladies that taught me have passed on. This is great!
Comment by Anne Addison — December 26, 2006 @ 9:24 am
Thank you so much for making available this wonderful recipe. When I was a youth in Plaquemine, LA these where a favorite of mine. Living in Alabama now, true cajun food is harder to find. We recently had several new families, who had to evacuate their homes following Hurricane Katrina, move into our neighborhood. Their recent plight makes me think of many things, especially comforting of which are memories of wonderful comfort foods of my childhood. I hope to enjoy these soon, introducing them to a new generation. Thank you so much.
Comment by Le Traylor — January 7, 2007 @ 7:07 pm
Dear heavens, you’ve just brought me back to my childhood. I haven’t had these since I was a wee one. My aunts live around the Natchitoches area still to this day, even.
Oh the memories. This website was a wonderful find, thank you, and I’ll certainly be watching for updates from now on.
Comment by Christopher — February 27, 2007 @ 12:44 pm
My husband and I go to the festival of lights every new years. It is wonderful. We only wish the shops would stay open later and that the live music would reflect the culture of Natchitoches, like cajun or blues. Every year it is a young band that caters to the young crowd that likes rock music.
Comment by Linda Thomas — April 16, 2007 @ 11:45 am
These meat pies look absolutely scrumptious !!! I do intend to make them and soon. My grandchildren saw these when I was looking at them online and asked me if I was going to make some. What can I say? I “had” to tell them yes, so now I am committed to doing so. Thank you for posting this recipe!
Comment by MICHAEL — October 28, 2007 @ 4:16 pm
When I was taking Commercial Cooking class in high school in North Louisiana, one of the recipes was Nachitoches Meat Pies.Oh my goodness what a treat it was. Now I am grown up I cook them for my kids and they just love them, it is a treat for them at thanksgiving, christmas and superbowl! I got the recipe out of “Oh so good” cookbook..the recipe is a little different but still tastes the same..thanks for selling them in the grocery stores..a little pricey BUT worth it..
Comment by Penny — December 2, 2007 @ 3:28 pm
could you please give the recipe to the creole mustard aioli sauce for the meat pies. Thank you. They look wonderful! I can smell and taste them through the computer screen.
Comment by Stacey — May 28, 2008 @ 3:02 pm
Can I please have the creole mustard aioli sauce receipe - thanks! I can’t wait to make these!!! (But they have to have the sauce)
Comment by Noemi — June 26, 2008 @ 8:41 pm