Upper Peninsula Pasties -- The Crockpot Season and the Comfort of Root Vegetables

The kitchen is in full fall mode. The oven at 375 (always 375), the crockpot on the counter, the pantry stocked with jars from last August's canning — the evidence of a woman who preserves summer against winter and loss against forgetting and food against everything.

The recipe this week: caramel apples. Standing at the stove, Marlene's wooden spoon in my hand (the cracked one, the one that will outlast us all), the recipe either from the card box or from my own expanding collection, both equally real, both equally mine. The kitchen holds all of it — the old recipes and the new ones, the teacher's food and the student's food, the grief and the joy and the cinnamon. All of it. Always.

The trees along the highway are turning — maples red, oaks gold, the Bradford pears doing their useless purple thing. Iowa falls are short and violent and beautiful. The kitchen shifts to slow mode: crockpots, Dutch ovens, the oven at 375 from September through April. The fall cooking is the cooking of a woman settling in for the long season.

The crockpot was already going and the oven was already at 375, and I needed something that matched the season — something dense and root-vegetable-heavy and wrapped up tight against the cold. Upper Peninsula Pasties are exactly that kind of food: beef and carrots and potatoes sealed into pastry, the sort of thing you make when the Bradford pears have gone purple and you’re settling in for the long months. I leaned into the carrots the way the category hint suggested, because in a kitchen that preserves everything worth saving, more carrots is never the wrong call.

Upper Peninsula Pasties

Prep Time: 30 min | Cook Time: 55 min | Total Time: 1 hr 25 min | Servings: 6

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp salt (for pastry)
• 1 cup shortening or cold butter, cubed
• 7–8 tbsp cold water
• 1 lb beef round steak or sirloin, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 2 cups carrots, peeled and diced small (about 4 medium carrots)
• 2 cups russet potatoes, peeled and diced small
• 1/2 cup rutabaga or turnip, peeled and diced small
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 1 tsp salt (for filling)
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 tsp dried thyme
• 2 tbsp butter, cut into small pieces
• 1 egg, beaten (for egg wash)

Instructions

1. Make the pastry. Combine flour and salt in a large bowl. Cut in shortening or butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add cold water one tablespoon at a time, mixing just until the dough comes together. Divide into 6 equal portions, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for 15 minutes.
2. Preheat the oven. Heat oven to 375°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
3. Prepare the filling. In a large bowl, combine the beef, carrots, potatoes, rutabaga, onion, salt, pepper, and thyme. Toss until evenly mixed.
4. Assemble the pasties. On a lightly floured surface, roll each dough portion into a roughly 8-inch circle. Mound about 3/4 cup of filling onto one half of each circle, leaving a 1-inch border. Dot filling with a few small pieces of butter. Fold the dough over the filling to form a half-moon shape.
5. Seal and vent. Crimp the edges firmly with a fork or fold and press to seal tightly. Place pasties on the prepared baking sheets. Brush tops with beaten egg and cut two small slits in the top of each for steam to escape.
6. Bake. Bake at 375°F for 50–55 minutes, until the crust is deep golden and the filling is cooked through. Let rest 10 minutes before serving.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 610 | Protein: 24g | Fat: 32g | Carbs: 58g | Fiber: 4g | Sodium: 520mg