Main Ingredients:

See below ingredients and instructions of the recipe

Cooking Preparation of the Recipe:

------------------------INGREDIENTS-----------------------------
4 c Flour - all-purpose 2 ea Eggs
2 t Baking powder 2 c Milk - whole milk
1/2 c Crisco shortening

------------------------MEAT MIXTURE-----------------------------
2 T Crisco oil -chopped
2 T Flour - all-purpose 1/2 c Celery - finely chopped
1/2 lb Ground pork - lean 2 T Parsley - finely chopped
1 1/2 lb Ground beef - lean 1 1/2 t Salt
2 c Onions - extra-finely 2 T Pepper mixture (see below)
-chopped 1/8 c Sweet basil, finely chopped
1/2 c Shallots - finely chopped 1/4 c Green onions, finely chopped
1/4 c Bell peppers - finely

-------------------------DIRECTIONS------------------------------

Start off by sifting the flour and the baking powder together at least
twice, and preferably three times. Then, using your hands, blend in
the Crisco thoroughly (you know you got it right when the flour turns
crumbly). Next, add the eggs and whip them into the flour, then pour
in just enough milk to make a stiff dough. When it's at the proper
consistency, put it on a lightly floured surface and roll it out very
thin (actually as thin as you can get it). To make the crust of the
meatpie, put a saucer atop the rolled-out flour, and, with a paring
knife, cut out circles the same size as the saucer. This recipe, if
rolled thin enough, will give you 16 pies. THE MEAT PIES: Now take a
skillet and make a light brown roux with the flour and oil. Then add
the vegetables (excluding the basil and green onions), meat and
seasonings all at once and stir everything together well, making sure
the roux coats all the ingredients. When you're ready to prepare your
pies, lay out the crust and stir everything together well. At this
point, reduce the heat and GENTLY SIMMER the mixture until all the
additives are cooked thoroughly. You will need to "taste" several
times during the simmering process to be sure the seasoning is
correct. I start with only 1 Tbsp of the pepper mixture, and add a
bit at a time until you get the level of "warmth" you are comfortable
with. When the meat is cooked (I like to cook it covered except for
the last ten minutes), throw in the basil and green onions and mix
well into the mixture. HALF-FILL the crust with the meat mix. Then
fold the crust over evenly onto itself, dampen the edges slightly
with water, and crimp it with a fork until well-sealed. (And don't
forget to pierce the pie once in the center with the point of a
paring knife. This allows excess steam to escape and keeps the crust
crispy.) Now deep-fry the pies (uncrowded) at 325 degrees until
golden brown. Then place them on paper towels to drain (with the
pierced side down). Serve hot with Dijon mustard sauce. NOTE FROM
FRED: Do not substitute oil for shortening in the pastry mix,
otherwise the crust will crumble and fall apart. If you prefer not
to fry the pies, you can bake them in the oven at 325F until golden
brown, but you will have to turn them over once for uniformity.
Incidentally, if you want to make shrimp, crawfish, or crabmeat
pies... use this same recipe and merely make the substitutions. It's
that easy! *** PEPPER MIXTURE *** I make up a standard pepper mixture
that I use in many Cajun dishes. It is comprised of 2 parts cayenne
pepper, 1 part black pepper and 1 part white pepper. Mix the peppers
well. The mixture can be saved in a well covered glass jar
indefinitely. By the way, Natchitoches is pronounced "Nack-a-tish".
The original recipe for these delicious meat pies came from "Frank
Davis Cooks Naturally N'Awlins" by Frank Davis. However, as I have
made a number of changes to the original recipe, of which Frank may
not agree with, I thought it best to remove his name from the title
and to give him full credit for the inspiration here. Frank's book is
one of my prized possessions. It's loaded with darn fine recipes,
presented in a way that is entertaining and instructive, all at the
same time. I recommend it most highly.

Submitted By FRED TOWNER On 01-13-95

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