Spicy Hill Country Meat Pies

By á-161741

Ingredients

• For Pie Dough:
• 4 Tbsp butter
• 4 Tbsp lard
• 2 1/2 cups flour, plus more for kneading
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 4 tsp fresh thyme
• 5 Tbsp whole milk
• 1 large egg
• For Meat Pies:
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 lb ground pork
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
• 1/2 cup diced yellow onion
• 1/3 cup minced red bell pepper
• 1/3 cup minced green bell pepper
• 1/4 cup minced celery
• 1 Tbsp finely minced garlic
• 1/2 Tbsp Creole seasoning
• 1/2 cup diced sweet potato, blanched in salted water 1 minute
• 1/2 cup cooked crowder or field peas
• 1 Tbsp flour
• 1 Tbsp cane syrup
• 2 Tbsp bourbon
• 1/4 cup ham or chicken stock
• 1/4 cup thinly sliced scallions
• Pie Dough
• 1 large egg, beaten
• For Sriracha Mayonnaise:
• 1 cup mayonnaise (preferably Duke’s)
• 2 Tbsp sriracha hot sauce
• 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp sugar

Preparation

Step 1

For Pie Dough: Dice butter and lard; freeze 30 minutes. Combine 2½ cups flour, baking powder, salt, and thyme in a food processor and pulse. Scatter frozen butter and lard over flour. Pulse mixture until it resembles a coarse meal. Whisk together milk and egg. Dump flour mixture into a stainless-steel bowl. With a fork, slowly blend in milk mixture until dough just barely begins to come together. Flour your hands and dough and knead dough lightly in bowl until it just comes together. Turn dough out onto a floured work surface and knead, folding dough over several times, until it just begins to look homogenous. Cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate to let relax, 30 minutes. For Meat Pies: Make filling: Warm olive oil in a large cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Crumble in pork and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Brown pork, stirring constantly, until cooked through, about 5 minutes. Transfer with a slotted spoon to a small bowl. Add onion, red and green bell peppers, celery, and garlic to skillet. Sauté over medium heat until vegetables begin to wilt. Add Creole seasoning, sweet potato, and peas and warm through. Add pork and combine. Stirring, sprinkle flour over mixture and combine well. Stir in cane syrup, bourbon, and stock and bring to a simmer, stirring constantly. As soon as liquid thickens, remove from heat and stir in scallions. Set aside to cool. Assemble: Preheat oven to 350°F. Roll out dough on a floured work surface to just over ⅛ inch thick. Cut into 3½-inch circles. Put about 1½ Tbsp filling on half of each dough circle. Brush edges of dough with beaten egg and fold dough over, crimping with a fork to seal. Brush top of pie with egg. Repeat with all dough circles. Bake pies on a parchment-lined baking sheet until golden, 12 to 15 minutes. Serve with Sriracha Mayonnaise, if desired. For Sriracha Mayonnaise: Combine mayonnaise, sriracha hot sauce, apple cider vinegar, salt, and sugar. Cover and refrigerate.