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Santa Muerte Meat Pie

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Fruity Santa Muerte Meat Pie
Fruity Santa Muerte Meat Pie

This one is inspired by a taco I had on a trip to Phoenix, from a little taco shop called La Santisima.  This is a mixture of caramelized fruits, nuts, peppers and a tasty picadillo style meat.  We took all the fun of the little taco and dumped it to another variation of the Tourtière or meat pie.  Fruity, tasty and not at all hot, even though there are some hot peppers in it.  Easy to make too.  And the name is meant to honor the taco shop’s patron saint.

Serves: 16 – 22 (2 pies)

Ingredients

Meat Filling

  • 3/4 lb of Ground Pork
  • 3/4 lb of Ground Beef
  • 2 tsp Olive Oil
  • 4 cloves Garlic, minced
  • 1/2 large White Onion, finely chopped
  • 4 oz Raisins
  • 1 Tbsp ground Black Pepper
  • 1/2 Tbsp Sea Salt

Fruit Filling

  • 4 Roasted Green Chile, cleaned and diced
  • 2 tsp Olive Oil
  • 4 cloves Garlic, minced
  • 1/2 large White Onion, finely chopped
  • 1/4 cup Almonds, chopped
  • 1/4 cup Sunflower Seeds
  • 1 Pear, cubed
  • 1 Apple, cubed
  • 1 medium vine ripened Tomato, cubed
  • 1 Tbsp ground Black Pepper
  • 2 Tbsp Sage
  • 2 tsp Cinnamon

The Rest

  • 2 9 – 1/2 inch Pie Pans
  • 4 Pastry Pie Crusts, 2 for each pie
  • 4 Large Eggs
  • 1/2 cup Mexican Crema or Creme Fraiche
  • 1/2 cup Queso Fresco Cheese, shredded
  • 1/4 cup Pomegranates (if you can get them)

Preparation

Meat Filling

In a large skillet (cast iron if possible), over medium-high heat, add the oil and allow to heat up.  In a large mixing bowl, mix all the ingredients for the meat filling, except the oil.  When the oil in the skillet is hot enough transfer the meat mixture and cook until the meat has some nice brown edges and the onions are starting to brown as well.  Remove the meat filling from the skillet and drain the excess grease off.  Allow to cool and place this meat filling in a container and refrigerate until final assembly.

Fruit Filling

First prepare your roasted Green Chile.  I pick up good Anaheim or NM Big Jim Green Peppers and roast them on the grill until the skin is turning mostly black.  Then allow them to cool until your can handle them.  Clean by removing the skin and stems.  Dice this up into 1/2 inch pieces.  If you want to skip the above step entirely, get a 1/2 cup of El Pinto or Colorado Roasted Green Chile Sauce, instead.

In an oiled large skillet, over medium-high heat, combine the Garlic and Onions and cook until they start to turn translucent.  Then add in the Almonds, Sunflower Seeds and the cubed Pear and Apple.  Saute this for about 5 minutes.  Then add in the Tomato, Green Chile, Pepper, Sage and Cinnamon.  Saute this until it starts to boil.  Then reduce the heat to medium and continue cooking for 15 minutes, uncovered and stirring occasionally, to reduce the liquid.  Remove and strain this filling too.  This liquid you want to use so drain that into a separate container and refrigerate both until ready for final assembly.

Pie Crusts

Again I used store bought crusts as this saves quite a bit of time.  Remember that you need enough for the top and bottom of the pie.

Final Assembly and Cooking

Preheat oven to 420 F.  In a large mixing bowl and add in the Eggs, Crema and the liquid you reserved from cooking the Fruit Filling above.  Mix thoroughly, whisking for at least 4 minutes.  Then mix in the both fillings you prepared above and the Queso Fresco Cheese.  Halve this mixture and place into each of the pie crusts.  Top with a handful of Pomegranate seeds.  Place the top layer of crust on top of the filled pie.  Trim the pastry and make sure to seal the edges.  Cut some steam vents in the top crusts.  You could get creative here by making the slits look like a skull, and use some extra Pomegranates to fill the eye holes.  Wrap the edges with 2 inch strips of aluminum foil.  Put into the oven for 20 minutes.  Remove the foil strips and reduce the heat to 375 F, and bake for another 25 minutes or so.  Remove when the crust is golden.  Either serve or pack them up to take to the to the rink.

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Southwestern Meat Pie

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Southwestern Tortiere
Southwestern Tortiere

Last week we made a traditional Tortière.  This week we’ve added a little Southwestern flair to the meat pie by adding in our favorite fruit, Green Chile!  We had to add a couple of other ingredients to take the heat level down a bit, so the Northern boy’s could still eat this.  We also discovered that topping these with flakes of cheese, doesn’t really work.  That is what those flakes that look like chocolate are on the crust.

Serves: 16 – 22 (2 pies)

Ingredients

Filling

  • 1 lb of Ground Pork
  • 1 lb of Ground Beef
  • 1 cups Water
  • 1 large White Onion, finely chopped
  • 2 Russet Potatoes, cubed to 1/2 inch size
  • 6 Roasted Green Chile, cleaned and diced
  • 4 cloves Garlic, minced
  • 1 Tbsp ground Black Pepper
  • 1 Tbsp All Spice
  • 2 Tbsp Sage
  • 1 tsp Rosemary
  • 1 tsp Nutmeg
  • Salt to taste

The Rest

  • 2 9 – 1/2 inch Pie Pans
  • 4 Pastry Pie Crusts, 2 for each pie (this time we tried Gluten Free)
  • 4 Large Eggs
  • 1/2 cup Mexican Crema or Creme Fraiche
  • 1/2 cup Asadero Cheese, shredded
  • 1/2 tsp Cinnamon

Preparation

Filling

First prepare your roasted Green Chile.  I pick up good Anaheim or NM Big Jim Green Peppers and roast them on the grill until the skin is turning mostly black.  Then allow them to cool until your can handle them.  Clean by removing the skin and stems.  Dice this up into 1/2 inch pieces.

In a large skillet (cast iron if possible), over medium-high heat, add the meat and water and bring to a boil.  Add everything else except for the Salt.  Reduce the heat to low, cover and continue cooking for one and a half hours.  Stir this about every 15 – 20 minutes.  Add a little more water if the mixture dries out.  Near the end add the Salt.  When done this mixture should contain just a thin layer of liquid in the bottom of the skillet.  Remove from heat and place in a container and refrigerate until final assembly.

If you really want to get tricky, de-glaze the skillet with 1/4 cup of red wine, and save that separate to add in during final assembly.

Pie Crusts

Again I used store bought crusts, these were from Trader Joe’s and were gluten free and even tastier than the others.  Just remember that you need enough for the top and bottom of the pie.

Final Assembly and Cooking

Preheat oven to 420 F.  In a large mixing bowl and add in the Eggs, Crema and Cinnamon and mix thoroughly, whisking for at least 4 minutes.  Then mix in the filling you prepared above and the Asadero Cheese.  Halve this mixture and place into each of the pie crusts.  Place the top layer of crust on top of the filled pie.  Trim the pastry and make sure to seal the edges.  Cut some steam vents in the top crusts.  This is where I went wrong with the sprinkling of some Cheese on the top of the meat pies.  Just don’t do it.  It doesn’t ruin the flavors, it just raises questions.  Wrap the edges with 2 inch strips of aluminum foil.  Put into the oven for 20 minutes.  Remove the foil strips and reduce the heat to 375 F, and bake for another 25 minutes or so.  Remove when the crust is golden.  Either serve or pack them up to take to the to the rink.

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Tourtiere (French for Meat Pie)

Tourtiere (French Meat Pie)
Tourtiere (French Meat Pie)

Tourtière is a French-Canadian name for a meat pie traditionally eaten at Christmas in Eastern Canada.  I had never heard of this until a few days ago when searching for a new dish for the weekend game.  I literally stumbled across these at the bottom of a search for meat pies.  It looked good, so what the heck.  The fellas all liked this and some even said they preferred this to the regular quiche.  Although this is not quite the traditional recipe, I added a few more eggs to hold it together better, it seems to taste exactly like the traditional tourtière.

Serves: 16 – 22 (2 pies)

Ingredients

Filling

  • 1 lb of Ground Pork
  • 1 lb of Ground Beef
  • 2 cups Water
  • 1 large White Onion, finely chopped
  • 2 Russet Potatoes, cubed to 1/2 inch size
  • 1 Tbsp ground Black Pepper
  • 1 Tbsp All Spice
  • 1 Tbsp Savory
  • 1 tsp Rosemary
  • 1 tsp Nutmeg
  • 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
  • Salt to taste

The Rest

  • 2 9 – 1/2 inch Pie Pans
  • 4 Pastry Pie Crusts, 2 for each pie
  • 4 Large Eggs
  • 1/2 cup Half and Half
  • 1/2 tsp Cinnamon

Preparation

Filling

In a large skillet (cast iron if possible), over medium-high heat, add the meat and water and bring to a boil.  Add everything else except for the Salt.  Continue cooking, reduce the heat to low, and cover for one and a half hours.  Stir this about every 15 – 20 minutes and add more water if the mixture dries out.  Near the end add the Salt.  When done this mixture should contain just a thin layer of liquid in the bottom of the skillet.  Remove from heat and place in a container and refrigerate until final assembly.

Pie Crusts

I’ve used store bought crusts and strangely they were pretty good.  If you make your own crusts, start early.  Just remember that you need enough for the top and bottom of the pie.

Final Assembly and Cooking

Preheat oven to 420 F.  In a large mixing bowl and add in the Eggs, Half and Half and extra Cinnamon and mix thoroughly, whisking for at least 4 minutes.  Then mix in the filling you prepared above.  Half this mixture and place into each of the pie crusts.  Place the top layer of crust on top of the filled pie.  Trim the pastry and make sure to seal the edges.  Cut some steam vents in the top crusts.  Wrap the edges with 2 inch strips of aluminum foil.  Put into the oven for 20 minutes.  Remove the foil strips and reduce the heat to 375 F, and bake for another 25 minutes or so.  Remove when the crust is golden.  Either serve or pack them up to take to the to the rink.