Frank & I love meat pies – hand pies, shepherd’s pie, pot pie… I’ve personally never met a pie I didn’t like, but I do especially love meat pies. Frank lived in Louisiana for ten years before meeting me & now spends a lot of time there for work, & Cajun hand pies are his favorite. I am more of an English pasty girl myself (thank you Harry Potter). When I saw this ground nilgai at our local butcher (The Flora Butcher in Flora, MS), I knew it would be perfect for my first meat pie attempt!
The nilgai is the largest Asian antelope & is now also found in south Texas. We find it to be similar to venison, which we LOVE. The texture seems somewhat grainier than beef (some say similar to veal) & the flavor is just.. GOOD. We are also sure to get the chops for grilling when they’re around & O M G melt-in-your-mouth. This recipe can be used with any ground or pulled meat, but I highly recommend the nilgai if you find some!
Here is the recipe I used, & I’m sorry but I am terrible about measuring my seasoning! It’s all just to taste anyway, substitute any of the ingredients except the meat & the biscuits.
You will need…
- 1 can of big biscuits (I used Pillsbury Grands buttermilk flaky layers)
- 1 lb. of ground meat (I used nilgai with wagyu fat added)
- 2T melted butter OR make up an egg wash of 1 egg yolk & 2 T water
- Diced potatoes
- Shredded cheese (I used a cheddar blend)
- Chopped onion (I used only half)
- Garlic (I used garlic powder)
- Cajun seasoning (I used Louisiana)
- Black pepper (I used a freshly ground peppercorn medley)
Preheat oven to 400 – I used convection bake. First brown the meat, adding onions & potatoes with seasoning after the first few minutes of cooking.
Then roll out biscuit dough on a floured surface while the meat filling cools for a few minutes. (One Grands biscuit is one pie.) Stir in shredded cheese. Then scoop about 2T of meat filling into the center of the dough.
Using a basting brush or small spoon, smear melted butter or egg wash around the edge of the dough. Fold the dough over & crimp edges with a fork to seal the pie. Then smear more melted butter or egg wash on the top with a sprinkle of Cajun seasoning.
Ready for the oven! Bake 10-12 minutes until the biscuits are golden brown.
Serve with ketchup, hot sauce (Frank’s choice) or gravy (my choice) + any green veggie or alone as you (or your kids) run out the door.
I used about half the meat filling for 8 pies which is one regular sized can of Pillsbury Grands biscuits. I will freeze the rest of the filling to make more pies next week!
Let me know what you think! What ingredients are you subbing? The options are endless!
