Ingredients
Directions
-
Dad’s meat pies where made using unusable cuts of beef and pork. Meaning that any cut that was not sellable out of the meat shop or served in the restaurant where used.
-
(do not but you can use ground beef and ground pork but it will not be the same.
-
The main body was made up of the lower leg portions of the front and hind quarters along with the ribs, blade roast sections and the brisket; the pork he used was what is called to day as pork hocks. The formula for the beef and poke was 50% beef and 50% pork. {If he had it available at the time he would also use some moose and deer meat}
-
The key to making Dads meat pies are in the techniques he used to prepare the meat filling. So break out your biggest pots and let’s get to cooking.
-
In separate pots; cook your beef and pork in salted water until the meat falls off the bones. {It is important to use beef and pork with bones in it for the flavor also the beef bones should have bone marrow as well}
-
Remove the beef and pork save the broth from the beef ONLY. Set aside to cool and than remove the fat that forms on the top.
-
Pick the beef and pork removing all the bones and marrow along with the fat. You can leave some of the fat in it. Pass the beef and pork through a meat grinder and return to a pot. Add 50% of the beef broth some finely chopped onions, salt and pepper to taste. Reheat this mixture stirring to prevent it from burning on the bottom of you pot. Add as much of the beef broth as you need to use to make the filling wet and moist, there should be visible signs of moisture setting on the top of the filling. If you need more fluid mix some water with beef gravy base or bullion cubes and add until there is moisture setting on the top.
-
Roll out you bottom pie shells and fill, roll out you top shell and fold this in ½ than remove a ½ inch of pastry from the center to allow pie to vent as it cooks. Place top pie shell on pie and seal the edge all the way around the pie (you can use a fork to do this with like dad did). Just before placing the pies in a per heated 350 deg oven baste with milk.
-
One more thing you can use this filling for. Place it in a pan and refrigerate it to harden it up. This is a form of Head Cheese and is great to eat as is or on toast.
-
Good Luck and let me know how this turns out for you. If you have any questions about this call me.