Natchitoches Meat Pie - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Natchitoches meat pie is a regional dish from northern Louisiana

Louisiana

Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...

, United States. It is one of the official state foods of Louisiana.

Ingredients include ground beef

Beef

Beef is the culinary name for meat from bovines, especially domestic cattle. Beef can be harvested from cows, bulls, heifers or steers. It is one of the principal meats used in the cuisine of the Middle East , Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Europe and the United States, and is also important in...

, ground pork

Pork

Pork is the culinary name for meat from the domestic pig , which is eaten in many countries. It is one of the most commonly consumed meats worldwide, with evidence of pig husbandry dating back to 5000 BC....

, onions, peppers

Capsicum

Capsicum is a genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family, Solanaceae. Its species are native to the Americas where they have been cultivated for thousands of years, but they are now also cultivated worldwide, used as spices, vegetables, and medicines - and have become are a key element in...

, garlic

Garlic

Allium sativum, commonly known as garlic, is a species in the onion genus, Allium. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, and rakkyo. Dating back over 6,000 years, garlic is native to central Asia, and has long been a staple in the Mediterranean region, as well as a frequent...

, oil

Oil

An oil is any substance that is liquid at ambient temperatures and does not mix with water but may mix with other oils and organic solvents. This general definition includes vegetable oils, volatile essential oils, petrochemical oils, and synthetic oils....

, and a pie shell. Natchitoches meat pies are often fried in peanut oil

Peanut oil

Peanut oil is an organic material oil derived from peanuts, noted to have the aroma and taste of its parent legume....

because of that oil's high smoking temperature

Smoke point

The smoke point generally refers to the temperature at which a cooking fat or oil begins to break down to glycerol and free fatty acids, and produce bluish smoke. The glycerol is then further broken down to acrolein which is a component of the smoke. It is the presence of the acrolein that causes...

. A number of restaurants in the historic district in Natchitoches

Natchitoches, Louisiana

Natchitoches is a city in and the parish seat of Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana, United States. Established in 1714 by Louis Juchereau de St. Denis as part of French Louisiana, the community was named after the Natchitoches Indian tribe. The City of Natchitoches was first incorporated on February...

serve meat pies, and frozen pies are available from grocers in northern Louisiana.

It has a savory meat filling in a crescent-shaped, flaky wheat pastry turnover. It is similar to a Spanish picadillo

Picadillo

Picadillo is a traditional dish in many Latin American countries and the Philippines that is similar to hash...

beef empanada

Empanada

An empanada is a stuffed bread or pastry baked or fried in many countries in Latin America, Southern Europe and parts of Southeast Asia. The name comes from the verb empanar, meaning to wrap or coat in bread. Empanada is made by folding a dough or bread patty around the stuffing...

. Varieties are throughout the colonies of the Spanish Empire

Spanish Empire

The Spanish Empire comprised territories and colonies administered directly by Spain in Europe, in America, Africa, Asia and Oceania. It originated during the Age of Exploration and was therefore one of the first global empires. At the time of Habsburgs, Spain reached the peak of its world power....

. The Natchitoches meat pie is nearly identical to the traditional ground beef empanada of Argentina.

In 1717, Spain began a colony at Los Adaes

Los Adaes

Los Adaes was the capital of Tejas on the northeastern frontier of New Spain from 1729 to 1770. It included a mission, San Miguel de Linares de los Adaes, and a presidio, Nuestra Señora del Pilar de Los Adaes . The site is located in the present-day Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana. The Los Adaes...

, 15 miles west of Natchitoches. It was abandoned after a French attack in The Chicken War of June 1719. In 1721, Marqués de San Miguel de Aguayo lead a military expedition to retake eastern Texas for Spain. He built a new presidio
Presidio
A presidio is a fortified base established by the Spanish in North America between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries. The fortresses were built to protect against pirates, hostile native Americans and enemy colonists. Other presidios were held by Spain in the sixteenth and seventeenth...

, Nuestra Señora del Pilar de Los Adaes, a Catholic mission and a pueblo to protect the frontier of New Spain from French intrusion. Among the colonists were two Franciscan padres, 100 cavalry soldiers, 31 families and almost certainly, the skill to make meat pies.Los Adaes

Los Adaes

was the first capital of Texas

Spanish Texas

Spanish Texas was one of the interior provinces of New Spain from 1690 until 1821. Although Spain claimed ownership of the territory, which comprised part of modern-day Texas, including the land north of the Medina and Nueces Rivers, the Spanish did not attempt to colonize the area until after...

, from 1729 until 1770. Los Adaes was largely evacuated in 1773; however, direct descendants of Spanish colonists continue to live in the area today.

This meat pie is not generally available from other ethnic regions of Louisiana (Anglo to the east and Franco et al to the south). The Picayune's Creole Cook Book, published in 1901 by The Times Picayune of New Orleans, contains nothing comparable to Natchitoches meat pies in its list of over a thousand recipes. Recently, Natchitoches meat pies sold at food booths have become popular at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival

New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival

The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, often known as Jazz Fest, is an annual celebration of the music and culture of New Orleans and Louisiana...

.

The use of wheat flour as an ingredient is significant. Corn is grown locally. It is a staple of both Spanish and Native American food. Wheat is difficult to grow in this wet, warm climate. It would have been imported initially by annual supply convoy over El Camino Real de los Tejas (a portion later became The Old San Antonio Road

Old San Antonio Road

The Old San Antonio Road was a historic roadway located in the U.S. states of Texas and Louisiana. Parts of it were based on traditional Native American trails. Its Texas terminus was about southeast of Eagle Pass at the Rio Grande in Maverick County, and its northern terminus was at...

) or from the French port on the Red River

Red River (Mississippi watershed)

The Red River, or sometimes the Red River of the South, is a major tributary of the Mississippi and Atchafalaya Rivers in the southern United States of America. The river gains its name from the red-bed country of its watershed. It is one of several rivers with that name...

at Natchitoches

Natchitoches, Louisiana

. Historically, wheat flour would have been very expensive and reserved for high status and celebratory foods. Catholic Church Festivals continue to provide an opportunity for older women to pass on the meat pie legacy.

The recipe has evolved over the last 300 years. Ground pork or pork sausage is now blended into the ground beef for additional flavor. Onions, bell pepper

Bell pepper

Bell pepper, also known as sweet pepper or a pepper and capsicum , is a cultivar group of the species Capsicum annuum . Cultivars of the plant produce fruits in different colors, including red, yellow, orange and green. Bell peppers are sometimes grouped with less pungent pepper varieties as...

and when used garlic

Garlic

and parsley

Parsley

Parsley is a species of Petroselinum in the family Apiaceae, native to the central Mediterranean region , naturalized elsewhere in Europe, and widely cultivated as an herb, a spice and a vegetable.- Description :Garden parsley is a bright green hairless biennial herbaceous plant in temperate...

provide aromatics. Ground black pepper

Black pepper

Black pepper is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit, known as a peppercorn when dried, is approximately in diameter, dark red when fully mature, and, like all drupes, contains a single seed...

and cayenne pepper

Cayenne pepper

The cayenne pepper—also known as the Guinea spice,cow-horn pepper, aleva, bird pepper,or, especially in its powdered form, red pepper—is a red, hot chili pepper used to flavor dishes and for medicinal purposes. Named for the city of Cayenne in French Guiana, it is a cultivar of Capsicum annuum...

are added to get attention without being uncomfortable. Flour is added to the browned meat and vegetable mixture to dry, thicken and loosely bind the filling. The meat filling can be used in other foods (e.g. tacos, tamales, enchiladas, stuffed bell pepper et al) but the wheat turnover crust is a defining element. The traditional size is approximately 4 ounces (by weight) on a 5"-6" diameter pastry dough. The filling should be made the day before to allow the flavors of the ingredients to meld. Filling, dough and tools should be chilled before assembly. Warm filling will cause the dough to disintegrate.

In the first part of the 20th century, meat pies were sold from home kitchens or from carts by street vendors. By 1967, Natchitoches meat pies were produced in commercial kitchens. Now, they may be ordered online. This progression has allowed more people to experience the memorable meat pies and their fame continues to grow.

Louisiana Public Broadcasting

Louisiana Public Broadcasting

Louisiana Public Broadcasting is a state-run, viewer-supported state network of Public Broadcasting Service non-commercial educational Public television member stations serving the state of Louisiana outside Greater New Orleans. The stations are operated by the Louisiana Educational Television...

aired a program January 20, 2007, describing how to make Natchitoches meat pies. It is available on DVD entitled "A Taste of Louisiana with Chef John Folse

John Folse

John Folse is a noted Louisiana chef and restaurant owner, and a leading authority on Cajun and Creole cuisine and culture. His philosophy of life is summed up in the quote, “Risk is the tariff paid to leave the shores of predictable misery...

& Company: Our Food Heritage - The Spanish Shows". An annual Meat Pie Festival, held in September, celebrates the Natchitoches meat pie. It includes pie making demonstrations, a meat pie cook-off, live music and more. The festival draws visitors from around the globe to sample the tasty pies.

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