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Deer camp special! This is a traditional hand-held, hearty dish common to northern Michigan. The key is in the flaky crust and care should be made to keep crust ingredients as cool as possible before cooking to make it as flaky as possible. Filling can be made from any meat and vegetable, but, traditionally it includes beef, potatoes, rutabaga, onion, and carrots seasoned with salt and pepper. This recipe includes cheese because well, who doesn't love cheese? And I dropped the carrots so feel free to add those if you choose. Also, I added ground pork because I feel it adds a layer of flavor. Don't be afraid to get creative because it will all turn out great with this recipe. It's also great for making plenty in advance, wrap with aluminum foil, and freeze. Simply remove from freezer, keep in foil, and throw in oven at 350° for 1 - 1 1/2 hours for a perfect, complete meal. Can be topped with gravy or ate cold with ketchup while playing Euchre for the quintessential Yooper deer camp experience. Prep time can be upwards of an hour dicing vegetables and ideally 3 hour refrig time so when your planning from start to finish you should allow 6 hours, but can be made as quick as 4 hours. This recipe will make at least 6 pasty's.
View original recipe on cookpad.comDice butter into small pieces and place in freezer.
Measure lard into bowl and place in freezer.
Measure flour and sift. Add salt and place in freezer.
Measure approx 2 c water, add ice, and place in freezer.
While allowing these ingredients to cool, dice vegetables and combine in bowl. Add salt/pepper to taste. Also, combine meat in separate bowl with worcestershire sauce and add rosemary and season all to taste and place both in refrigerator.
After crust ingredients have cooled, first remove butter and flour from freezer and combine with pastry cutter. Place back in freezer and allow to cool.
After a short cooling period, remove flour/butter and cut in lard with pastry cutter. Place back in freezer for short period.
After 15-30 min cooling period remove flour/butter/lard and water from freezer
Slowly begin adding water to flour and mix by hand. Add only enough water to hold flour into a ball. Mix as little as possible to form a cohesive ball. Wrap in clear plastic wrap and place back in fridge. Cool for at least an hour, but, as long as a day before cooking. Can prepare dough in advance and freeze if making greater than a day in advance.
After dough rests, cut into equal pieces and roll into 8"circles. Can use 8" pie plate to keep size consistent. The key here is to get the crust the right thickness. It should be approx 1/4" or slightly less.
Brush inner side of crust with butter. Place thin layer (1 piece thick) of vegetables on half of crust keeping 1/2" from edges and sprinkle with some cheese. Scoop meat by using ice cream scooper and place 1 scoop in the middle of vegetables and push flat. Then surround with more vegetables. Sprinkle vegetables and cheese on top of meat.
Moisten edges with water, fold dough over filling, and seal by pressing fork along edges. Also, place 3 small slits in dough.
Place on trivet/meat rack coated in lard/oil then place in a 10" iron skillet and cook at 350° for about 1 hour - 1 hour 30 mins or until crust is golden.
Let stand in skillet for 10 minutes than top with gravy. For the true yooper experience, eat it warmed up the next day with some ketchup or bbq sauce.
Wrap any additional in foil pre-cooked, freeze, and throw in oven when needing a quick, all-in-one meal. To cook, leave in foil, pre-heat oven to 350°, and cook 1- 1 1/2 hours until golden brown.
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