Pastys... great use for leftover (or overcooked) roast!

[GrillingFool]

It is interesting how life works... I am reading my way through the Women's Day Encyclopedia of Cooking, and had read about English PASTYS recently.

Think savory turnover pastry full of meat, veggies and gravy....

I made a roast recently and the taste was great... but the roast itself was as dry as a desert.
So I shredded the meat, made some gravy from the pan drippings and mixed it all up. Then, the meat was good.

So I made pastys:

For 4 pastys:
1 package ready to use pie shells
Leftover roast (I would think you can shred, chunk, slice..)
Gravy
Roasted vegetables (I roasted some separately for the pasties).
Leftover potatoes

Cut pie shells in half, and fold over lightly to make a crease down the center. This helps in placing the filling.

Layer potatoes, vegetable and meat, with about a 1:1 ratio of meat to veggies. Place these on one side of the pastry, leaving a 1/2 inch around the edges.

There should be a good amount of gravy in each, since this will provide moisture to keep things from getting too dry.

Fold over the pie shell and seal on the edges. Brush with butter. Pierce the top of each pasty with a fork to let steam escape when cooking.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until shells are golden brown. I buttered my baking sheet for easy clean up.

Let cool before eating. These are great cold, too!

 

[Andy M.]

Doesn't sound like it could be anything but good. Thanks.

 

[Chef Munky]

Thank you VERY much for posting your recipe
My guys love hearty meals like that.Feeding teenagers is hard work!
It certainly beats the same old left over roast beef sammiches.
Defrosting a roast now.Not only will I make the Pasty.I'll see if I can work additional veggies into it,and make ahead and freeze hot pockets.
That's a jackpot recipe I think you just spoiled every parent in here.

Munky.

 

[Wyogal]

And you put a dollop of your favorite preserves in the corner, save it for the last bite, dessert!

 

[blissful]

I LOVE pastys--we've made them since I was a kid with grandma. I've never made them with gravy or with cooked ingredients. (and I'm not saying there is only one way to make them)
We use onions, carrots, potatoes, rutabagas, venison or beef, in chunks, a slice of butter and S&P, in the pastry crust.
We tried veggie pastys one year--broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, onions (I'm sure there were more veggies) and some chunks of cream cheese and seasonings, those were good too.
Really, what isn't good surrounded in pastry dough?
I'll give your recipe a try next time I have a roast leftovers.

 

[msmofet]

i would think it would be good with any left over meats (beef, lamb, pork, chicken or turkey), veggies and gravy. sounds like a pot pie without the pie plate. it sounds wonderful!! thank you!! i have made individual pots pies with a top and bottom crust which i love but they were a pain so i only made them several times. this sounds so much easier and will have a nice crispy top and bottom crust!!

 

[kadesma]

I've always had them the way my grand mother made them, diced beef,,potatoes, onions, at times carrots.now and then diced turnips..I make them without the carrots. I've never put gravy and it sounds wonderful as well as using the roast in them...One question does anyone know does the bottom crust get soggy or does it stay crisp?
It really doesn't matter to me as they sound wonderful and different. Thanks
kadesma

 

[Adam14]

Wow, that is such a great idea! Thanks for sharing it. I'm sure I'll be making use of it soon. I'm with msmofet - no more messin' with pot pies!

Adam

 

[GrillingFool]

Bottom crust on mine stay crisp.
I put a layer of leftover taters at the bottom, then veggies, then the meat/gravy mixture at the top. That way the juices have to move through everything to get to
the bottom!

Memo: Remember to pike holes in the top or it will look like the Hulk bulking out of
his T Shirt!!!!

 

[bigdaddy3k]

I use a roll of biscuits (American, not English) and roll them out flat. My kids love them. I use any leftovers we have. Chop Suey, spagetti, BBQ pork or beef. The chili ones are especially nice as you add the cheese inside the pie.

 

[msmofet]

i like to use leftover roast beef to make roast beef hash.

 

[chefkathleen]

I had a friend from Germany that made something like this. I think she called them pasties as well. They reminded me of dinosaurs with the finger ridges pressed into them. (I know, but I was a teenager) I have no idea if she used gravy but I do remember the beef and potatoes and onions and perhaps a bit of carrot. WOW were they ever good.

 

[Scotch]

There is no definitive recipe for pasties, anymore than there's one for meatloaf or beef stew or chicken soup. And like those dishes, the whole always turns out to be greater than the sum of the parts.

Here's a recipe I found in an old cookbook, with my modifications of the directions. It simple but very good.

CORNISH PASTIES

Pastry:
3 cups sifted flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup shortening
About ½ cup water

Filling:
1 pound ground beef
1 tablespoon oil
1 cup cubed potatoes (about ½" x ½")
1 cup cubed carrots (about ½" x ½")
½ cup finely chopped onion
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1. Prepare pastry from listed ingredients. Divide into six equal
parts and roll each into a 6-inch circle.

2. Brown meat in hot oil; add potatoes, carrots, and onion, salt
and pepper. Cook 5 minutes.

3. Place equal portions of meat filling on half of each circle of
dough. Moisten edges with water, fold over to form
semicircles, and press edges of each semicircle of filled
dough together with the tines of a fork.

4. Place pasties on a baking sheet and bake in 450 degree oven
for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 and bake another 30
minutes.

5. Serve hot, with ketchup, hot gravy, or mushroom sauce.

Makes six servings.

 

[sparrowgrass]

A friend of mine says his granny used to make them for him--chopped beef, potatoes, rutabega. No gravy, but his granny used to cut a hole in the top crust when the pasties were almost done, and pour some cream in.

 

[Chef Munky]

Thank you Grilling Fool,Your recipe idea was a huge hit here tonight!!!

Knowing I can't make a pie crust to save my life.Too lazy to go to the store.I made up a batch of fresh white bread dough.It's a comfortable middle.

I put a Chuck Roast in the crock pot,added 2 packages of Aujus mix,with 4 cups of water. (I know,cheated all over this recipe)

Let it cook on low all night.It was done by morning. Shredded the meat in the crock,then thickened it up with cornstarch.Set it aside.

Diced up a few potatoes,steamed them until done.Added them to the meat mixture. Used the dough to make the rounds.Added a tablespoon or so of the mix,then folded over into pockets,sealed.
Cooked them 30 min @350

It's definitely going to be made here again and often.
Thank you,

Munky.