Pocket Pasties
 | Author:
Eileen Clarke - Rifles and Recipes
Author: Rifles and Recipes |
Pocket Pasties
Eileen Clarke
Rifles and Recipes
Pocket Pasties
Makes 1 dozen
While pasties are closely associated with the Cornish immigrants who worked in Butte’s mines, they’re very handy for ice fishing on Canyon Ferry. For one thing, both endeavors leave your hands pretty dirty. When miners made these pasties, they made sure there was an all-pie crust ‘handle’ they could grasp the pasty with to eat, then toss the soiled handle. Plus, they’re tasty and easy to make.
The Marinade
24-36 hours ahead
1 pound venison, diced
2 cups puréed honeydew melon pulp
2 teaspoons ground marjoram
4 medium-sized bay leaves, crumpled
2 tablespoons dried onion flakes
2 teaspoons salt
¼ teaspoon white pepper
Combine the puréed honeydew, ground marjoram, bay leaves, onion flakes, salt and white pepper in a re-sealable plastic bag. Add the diced meat and marinate 24 to 36 hours. When you’re ready to cook, pour the marinade off but don’t rinse the meat.
The Rest of the Ingredients
3 tablespoons oil, in all
½ yellow onion, diced
1 cup frozen hash brown potatoes, thawed
Salt & white pepper, to taste
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon cold water
1 13.8 ounce package of Pillsbury Pizza Crust
Cooking
1. In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil over medium heat, until the oil just starts to smoke. Sauté the onion and hash browns together until they start getting nicely browned, then transfer them to a bowl. Add the last tablespoon of oil to the pan and toss the meat in. It will be rather wet at first, so raise the heat to med-high. 2. When almost all the liquid has cooked off, about 7-8 minutes, return the onions and hash browns to the pan. Add salt and white pepper to taste, and continue to cook until everything is hot again, 2-3 minutes. Take the skillet off the heat.
3. Preheat the oven to 425°F. Spray a cookie sheet lightly with oil. Mix the egg and water together in a small bowl.
4. When the meat and potato mixture has cooled enough to handle, break open the Pillsbury Pizza Crust container and roll the crust out on a cutting board. The dough is rather stretchy, but be gentle as you stretch it into a 12x12-inch square, then cut it into 3x4” squares. (Slice it in thirds one way, in fourths the other.) Divide the filling amongst the squares (about 3 tablespoons per) then roll the dough up and pinch the ends closed. Place each pasty on the cookie sheet, seam side down and brush the tops of each with the egg mixture.
5. Bake 12 to 14 minutes until rich golden brown. When cool, wrap in foil and refrigerate, or freeze if not eaten in 1-2 days. Stow your favorite mustard in the cooler for even more flavor!
Eileen Clarke has written the game cooking column for Field & Stream and Successful Hunter magazines, as well as 12 wild game cookbooks covering everything we all hunt. This recipe is from her marinade, brine and rubs cookbook: Tenderize the Wild. With 100 recipes, it’s available at https://www.riflesandrecipes.com/406-521-0273.
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PhotoCredit: Photo Credits: Eileen Clarke
Image 1 Caption: Pocket Pasties
Photo Credits: Eileen Clarke
