Why was the meat pie made?

"There were no metal baking dishes or ways to keep food fresh, so the pastry was used both as cooking container and preserver," Dr Clarkson said. "Called a 'coffin', it was made with very hard rye flour up to seven inches thick and wrapped around the meat and baked. This could preserve meat for up to a year."

The origins of the meat pie have been traced back to the Neolithic period, around 6000 BC. Versions of what are now known as pies were featured on ancient Egyptian tomb walls, and in ancient Greek and Roman texts.

What is meat pie called in USA?

A pot pie , in US and Canadian dialects, is a type of meat pie with a top pie crust that is commonly used throughout the continent, consisting of flaky pastry.

What is the meat in meat pies made of?

Meat: The "meat" in this meat pie is a combination of ground beef and ground pork . Vegetables: You'll need a potato and an onion. Spices and seasonings: This hearty meat pie is flavored with garlic, mustard powder, dried thyme, dried sage, ground cloves, salt, and pepper.

What country eats the most meat pies?

In fact, the meat pie has become so loved in Australia that it has even been called the country's national dish! Paired with tommy sauce, it's hard to find a meal better… it's no wonder why on average Australians eat 270 million pies per year… that's a whole lotta meat and pastry!

What country is famous for meat pies?

In Australia and New Zealand, a meat pie is a hand-sized pie containing diced or minced meat and gravy, sometimes with onion, mushrooms, or cheese and is often consumed as a takeaway food snack. This variant of the standard meat pie is considered iconic.

What is the history of pie?

The history of the pie has its roots in ancient Egypt and Greece . The ancient Greeks ate pie (artocreas), though it was of the savory type with meat in an open pastry shell. The Romans may have been the first to create a pie that included a top and bottom crust.

What is the history of the meat pies in Louisiana?

Like so many Louisiana dishes the meat pie is a blend of various cultures. The recipe has evolved over the last 300+ years. Introduced in Louisiana in the 1700's by Native Americans and later improved (spiced up) by the Spanish . Meat pies are featured at annual events in the Isle Brevelle area and St.

What is the history of chicken pie?

Chicken pot pie is a classic comfort food dish that has been enjoyed for generations. While the exact origin of the dish is unclear, it is believed to have originated in medieval England . The dish was originally called "chicken pie" and consisted of a pastry crust filled with chicken, vegetables, and a thick gravy.

Why was shepherds pie made?

Many people believe that the peasant housewives invented the pie as an easy way to repackage leftovers from their Sunday roast . The Shepherd Pie is thought to originate from Ireland and the northern parts of England.

Lihapiirakka, Finnish Meat Pies Recipe

Home | Appetizers and Snacks | Lihapiirakka, Finnish Meat Pies

5 from 14 votes

By Hank Shaw

September 19, 2022

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Behold the glory that is lihapiirakka, Finnish meat pies made with a yeasted bread dough and fried. You can fill them with anything from beef to grouse, and they are an amazing appetizer, lunch or trail snack.

Lihapiirakka, Finnish Meat Pies Recipe | Hank Shaw (2)

I love cooking Scandinavian food, and I love making various meat pies, from Cornish pasties to Mexican empanadas to sturdier pies filled with venison. So this was a great bit of synergy.

I’d heard of lihapiirakka, which are pronounced something like “LEE-hah-PEE-rah-kuh,” on various food TV shows, and I’d eaten the hybrid pasty-lihapiirakka in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. But a recipe eluded me.

Until I found one in The Finnish Cookbook by Beatrice Ojakangas. She offers a variety of fillings and doughs, but the one that interested me most was her yeasted dough. This sets lihapiirakka apart from, say, pasties or fried empanadas, which are made with a pie dough, and since they are fried, not baked, the end result will be different from bierocks, which are bready and baked.

Lihapiirakka, Finnish Meat Pies Recipe | Hank Shaw (3)

As for the filling, ground beef is traditional, but I am not traditional. But I did want to go with something culturally relevant, so I used willow ptarmigan I’d hunted in Alaska. Ptarmigan are a species of grouse that live in the high latitudes of the world — both here in the US and in Scandinavia.

Generally speaking, lihapiirakka are filled with ground or shredded or diced meat and onions cooked in butter, chopped hard-boiled egg, and cooked rice.

Rice in Lihapiirakka

The funny thing about the rice is that it’s always short- or medium-grained rice, not long. I am not sure why, but a wild guess is that the Finns get their rice from Italy or Spain, where shorter grain rices rule.

This matters with lihapiirakka because if you want to eat them cold, or room temperature, short or medium-grain rice is vital. Long-grain rice gets brittle and chalky when eaten cold. Short rice, which has a different starch structure, stays tender and nice.

So my advice is to get some arborio or Japanese rice from the supermarket and cook it according to the directions. You need the rice to be cooked and cool before assembling the meat pies.

Lihapiirakka, Finnish Meat Pies Recipe | Hank Shaw (5)

The Dough

The dough in these lihapiirakka is bread-like, a yeasted, rich, brioche-like dough that’s very soft. Because it uses yeast to rise, you need to make the dough for the meat pies a couple hours in advance.

Other Meat Pies to Try

I have a wide selection of other fantastic meat pies you might want to try. Some are bready, others use pie crust, some use other doughs. Keep in mind the filling meat can really be whatever you have lying around.

Venison pasties. Cornish meat pies filled with ground or diced beef or venison, carrots and rutabagas in a bready crust.
Venison mincemeat pies. This winter treat is well worth the effort – a little package of sweet, tart, savory, fatty, and crunchy.
British game pie. A game pie is a classic hand pie made with a hot water crust and whatever wild game you have handy.
Fried empanadas. This one’s a pie dough made for frying. You can fill them with anything.
Mexican masa empanadas. This is a corn masa dough, a little more fragile than a wheat dough, but lighter and crispier.
German bierocks. Imagine a nice bread roll stuffed with meat, onions and sauerkraut.
Plantain empanadas. This gluten-free dough mixes masa flour with mashed plantains. Delicious, and it browns nicely.

If you liked this recipe, please leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating and a comment below; I’d love to hear how everything went. If you’re on Instagram, share a picture and tag me athuntgathercook.

5 from 14 votes