Mexican Meat Pie

This is based on the Russian pirozhki recipe posted earlier this year. When I wrote up that recipe, I noted it might be good with other mixtures. This is an attempt to see if I am right or if I put together a culinary horror.

I have never taken a deep dive into Mexican food, so it is possible that it is already a thing.

This will be a little different in that it is not wrapped in a tortilla. Instead, a yeast dough is used. It is the same dough as the pirozhki, slightly modified and is half the recipe from the beef and cheese pirozhki recipe.

After way too much thought, instead of a taco, burrito or fajita type of filling, I settled on carne asada. This recipe also uses Mexican rice.

Make sure you start the carne asada the night before. The Mexican rice could also be made the day before.

Mexican Meat Pie

Dough Recipe

3/4 cups lukewarm milk
1/2 tbsp active dry yeast
1/2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 cup melted butter
1 large egg
1/2 finely chopped jalapeños pepper - optional
2 cups all-purpose flour
  1. Dissolve the sugar into the milk with a whisk. Sprinkle in the yeast and let sit for about 5 minutes.
  2. Add the salt, butter, jalapeños, and egg and beat well for a minute or two.
  3. Slowly add the flour, and knead until the dough is a solid, smooth ball.
  4. Cover and let it is raise until doubled, about an hour.
  5. Cut the dough in 6 equal size pieces

Filling

Carne Asada made from one flank steak
Mexican Rice - half of the recipe
2 chopped jalapenos - optional
1 chopped habeneros - optional
4 diced tomatoes
1 cup canned black or pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup shredded Asadero or Oaxaca cheese
1 tbsp dried cilantro
Salsa of your choice

  1. Heat a neutral oil with a high smoke point, like grapeseed oil, to 350-375 F, over medium heat.
  2. It should be 2-3 inches deep. A deep cast iron frying pan or dutch oven works great for this.
  3. Slice the meat across the grain
  4. Cut each slice in bite-sized pieces
  5. In a large frying pan, heat two tablespoons of olive oil
  6. Add the peppers and stir until they are softened
  7. Add the rice, tomatoes, beans, and cilantro, and stir until hot.
  8. Roll out each dough piece out to about 5 to 6 inch circle
  9. In the center of the dough, place a scoop of the rice mixture
  10. Add a few pieces of the carne asada on top and some shredded cheese
  11. Fold the dough over the top on opposite sides and pinch it together.
  12. It must be tightly pinched, very important!
  13. It should look oval-ish, sort of like an American football.
  14. Place one to two pies in the heated oil and cook for about 2 minutes, until golden brown
  15. Turn over and cook an additional 2-3 minutes, until golden brown
  16. Remove from the oil and place it on paper towels to drain
  17. Let the oil heat back to 350 F before cooking more.

Optional step

1 cup of corn meal
1 tbsp cumin
2 tsp ground cayenne pepper

  1. Mix these ingredients in a bowl large enough to hold the pies
  2. Coat each side of the cooked pies in the mixture
Serve with salsa and a salad.

Make sure that there is no excess liquid in the mixture, it will soak through the dough.

I think it cooks much nicer at 375 F.

Sadly, I could not find Asadero or Oaxaca cheese, so I made due with cheddar, which is an okay substitute, provided that it is decent quality. I think Chihuahua cheese would be good also.

I should add some salsa recipes. Ideally, all of my recipes should be made without anything that comes in a can or jar, but that is not always practical or feasible.

Instead of salsa, I used a nice habanero hot sauce.

Is this worth the effort? It is not hard to make, so in that sense, yes. Perhaps it is because I made that pirozhki recipe last January and having something similar in the same year is a bit much. Is it better than a nice flour tortilla? I think that depends on my mood.

It tastes good but a bit too much on the carbs side of things. So, I was right in my assessment that the Russian recipe can be adjusted to fit other things. I don’t think I will add any more recipes based on this dough, but I would bet that a Mediterranean-based filling, perhaps something like the stuffed peppers recipe would be awesome. I am now very sure that Indian, Thai, Chinese, etc wouldn’t be very good. Even something basic and very plain like Philly cheesesteak would be good.