Natchitoches meat pies on the Lump Disco....................

[1buckie]

Saw Dale Benson's wok & some of what Dazzo & others had to say & thought to put up my 1st "Lump Disco" cookup............

Ok....

This was interesting.....

I don't bake...one day at a time....

The wife interrupted reading her novel to come & help, so I was able to limp thru the process...

1st, mixed up the innards ~~>



We decided that neither of us like cayenne enough, so I used the mushroom / cajun spice
in it's place & some California chili powder for red flakes ground...



Used a bit more coal that what you see here to  cook the filling...





I have a question about this point here,
the recipe says cook meat, sift flour in
It seems the flour just soaked the oils up but didn't quite make a thick gravy like I thought it might...
There was really nothing to drain out as it cooled
Should I maybe sift the flour right at the start ?
Didn't taste bad or anything, just didn't seem to do much ??

You can see here as I made sort of a Grand Coulee Dam of meat that it wasn't loose enough to slide  back in...



Onto the larger kettle with lump ~~>



The wife made up the dough, they were a bit varied in size & shape as I think she's really enjoying her book...
Didn't have any trouble at all getting the right amount of coal & up to 350� lickety split....
AND PIE NUMBER ONE !!!



Browning, browning....



#1 on the right & #2 left...



As success & sugary soda drinks clouded my vision, I became emboldened & went for the flaming double backwards !!!



And then, The Flaming Triple Backwards !!!   



Got to use my highly specialized Northern California
Natchitoches meat pie tweezers...



I'm thinkin' this is the golden brown...



Pies....



^^^^^^
Wife made off with 3/4's of one... claims she doesn't like all this fried / smoked stuff....

Creole mustard & mayo/ sour cream dipping sauce...
Plated...


These were great flaky with some chew to the crust & a smooth, even taste to the filling, real good !!
Thanks, Manana for the recipe & George for testing the waters !!!



But wait....


   ....there's more !!!

For dessert,

Jarhead's fried cherry pies,
except with blueberry.....
here's the exploded view ~~~>





Kinda just went willy-nilly while cooking....



Itsa drawing board thing..... :oops 

[jcnaz]

Fried blueberries. I'M IN!!

[dazzo]

OK, sign me up.

The fried "fruit pie" - pre-made store bought, broken up and fried? Or home made ingredients dumped in?  OOOHH, dump pie!

What oil are you using?

I have a question about this point here,
the recipe says cook meat, sift flour in
It seems the flour just soaked the oils up but didn't quite make a thick gravy like I thought it might...

The flour may be intended as a binding agent for the meat?

If you want a little gravy, maybe use a roux? (look at me talkin' all fancy like)
The way I do it is cold water and flour, mixed to the consistency I want - just a thought for the drawing board. Oil and flour is another way to make roux.

I will be trying this, but with ground turkey for my wife.

[1buckie]

The dessert was handmade, but with pre-made pie crust....


Just didn't fly.....

The flour in the meat pies is to soak up the liquid, tradition says they're not supposed to be too gooey & liquid inside.....

Here's the way the recipe read from a woman whose from there......

Filling:
1 1/2 lbs ground beef
1 1/2 lbs ground pork
1 cup chopped green onions tops and bottoms
1 T salt
1 t. black pepper
1 t. ground red pepper
1/2 t. cayenne
1/2 cup all purpose flour

Combine beef, pork, onions and seasonings in large pot and cook until meat is done.. Sift in flour, stirring until well combined. Remove from heat and put in colander to drain off excess grease and liquid and cool to room temp.

Crust:
2 Cups self rising flour
1/3 heaping cup of crisco Not melted!
1 egg beaten
3/4 Cup milk

Sift Flour and cut shortening into flour. Add beaten egg and milk. Form dough into a ball. Roll out about a 1/3 of the dough at a time on a floured board. Using something that's about 5 to 5 1/2 inches round cut dough into circles. Place a couple of tablespoons of meat on one side of dough. Dampen edges with your fingertips, fold over and crimp with a fork.

Fry in a deep fryer at 350 until golden brown.

The dough is a weird kind of soft texture and you'll use a lot of flour to get them rolled out but this dough is WAY better than pre-made.

[dazzo]

Fried shortening.

No wonder my chest was hurting while looking at the pictures.

OK, duh. I'm catching up - fried empanadas.

Time to go play.

[1buckie]

On the meat pies, it comes out a little different than empanadas......in between several kinds of dough, not quite like anything else..........

[dazzo]

meat...dough...fried

Yes?

[1buckie]

  Yes................

....might want to fire up the second wok if you do up a bunch....to keep 'em warm & all........

[eccj]

Very nice cook! Where do you guys find woks this big?

[1buckie]

The ones Rick (dazzo) & i and several others are using are original Weber woks from the 1960's

http://weberkettleclub.com/forums/food-pr0n/wok-throwdown/msg111095/#msg111095

This shows them well.....

http://weberkettleclub.com/forums/weber-kettles-accessories/old-style-wok/msg117127/#msg117127


You can get a standard hammered steel wok & make some clips to set it on the edge of a kettle....several people have done that......or a WSM charcoal ring down in the kettle & the bottom of the wok sits right on that........

I can't find the good pictures of the clips, but people have bent them up out of strip aluminum to hang over the edge of the kettle, then the wok sits against a flat area of the metal strip....pretty simple....

Brian (Zavod44) knows of a good place to find steel woks for reasonable $................

[Eastex]

Natchitoches is only about a hour and a half away, wish I could take you over there Buckie. You'd love Lasyones' meat pies and their chicken and sausage gumbo is the best I've had that wasn't made in a somebody's kitchen.


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[1buckie]

  Eastex !!!!! 


Glad ta see ya !!!!!

Yes, Lasyones' meat pies are the ones I've heard tales of......I believe this recipe is a generic model of theirs.....

[Eastex]

Natchitoches meat pies always draw me out of my cave! Lasyones is a really cool spot, just a little diner type of spot, old, old, old. The meat pies are incredible, there's a little kick to them but it's really more about the flavor than the heat. You're right to focus on the crust too, its a big player in theirs. Its hard to describe but its "breadier" than your usual fried pie dough.

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[1buckie]

the lady i got this from was adamant that the crust be home made and be made just so.....

It's in between any other type of crust or shell I've had and really good....also fairly simple to fix......
.....the heat I add in with the dippin' sauce.......