the pasty is a time-honoured staple in butte, montana, brought by the irish and other groups that settled there to work the hard rock mines that were ripping minerals from the earth and propelling america to the top of the industrial pyramid.

you can read some history of butte and the pasty here:

http://foodsoftheworld.activeb...pasty_topic1247.html

if you scroll further down, you can see a step-by-step tutorial on how to turn this:



into this:



by doing this:

quote:

per pasty:

dough:

1 cup flour
3 tbsp shortening
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup cold water

filling (in this order, bottom-to-top):

1 handful of diced potatoes
1 handful diced (or coarsley-ground) round steak, or other cheap beef
salt and pepper to taste
1 handful diced onons
half a pat of butter, cut into two small cubes

preheat oven to 425 degrees. prepare dough, roll out into a flat circle at least 6 inches across add fillings and fold over. seal and crimp edges, then cut slits in the top. bake on a lightly-greased surface for 45 minutes, adding a tablespoon or so of water through the slits during the last 15 minutes of baking.

enjoy!

Pasties are a big deal in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, where Welsh miners brought the concept in the 1800s. The pasties at the eastern end (above the Mackinac Bridge) are not as good (too touristy) as those in the mid-to western end of the U.P. I enjoyed those at the Kaleva Cafe in Hancock, and especially at Doug Kopenen's hillside restaurant in Houghton (it may be gone by now).

Real pasty's have rutabaga in them.
And this is coming from a Yooper.
BTW pasty's are of Cornish origin. They were brought form cornwall to Upper Mi, then on to Butte when the copper mines of Upper MI played out.

well, they're all a little different, depending on geography and what's available. i know that meat, potatoes and onions were basic - but depending on what's available, i am sure that rutabagas, turnips, carrots and all other kinds of goodies could be added. the ones in butte seemed to keep it pretty basic, due to the financial situation of the miners, i guess.

going way back, i am sure that they were cornish in origin, although they seem to have been made in ireland, too. butte, being very centered around irish-american and catholic culture, certainly made them famous around here, so i presented it from that point of view, even though they were certainly influenced by the cornish miners coming from michigan.

if anyone tries these, let me know how you like them!