Meat Pies for Sale

Finnish Meat Pies are sold at the train stations in Finland. I remember buying them at the "kioski" to eat. Apparently so does another woman whose Mother is also Finnish. I ran into her at the grocery store and she said she most remembers the meat pies at the "asema" but has never made them since she doesn't have a recipe for them.

Well my Mother has the meat pie recipe and I grew up eating them -- especially at my brothers' teenage parties and other fun events. I guess since they could be considered a Finnish hamburger, my Mother would serve them to teenagers. I've never made them myself though as I remember them being time intensive -- at least in ratio to how quickly they are consumed. 

Recently our daughter has been asking me to make them, so I guess it's time to make them for my kids and to share the recipe.  (Now I make them once a year on her birthday or when requested.  Like anything different to you, they get much easier to make the more you make them.)

Finnish Meat Pies (Lihapiirakat)

from Finlandia Ranch

Dough:

2 cups milk, heated

1 Tbsp. dry yeast, dissolved in a little warm water

2 tsp. salt

4.5 - 5 cups flour

1/2 cup shortening

Mix as you would any bread dough, working in the shortening last with your fist, kneading well.( I have sweet memories of watching my Mother with you strong hands kneading dough, but I use a Bosch with a dough hook instead.) Cover and let rise 1 hour.

Meanwhile prepare the filling as follows:

In a quart size kettle, boil 1/2 cup Quick Pearl Barley in 2 cups water for about 20 minutes or until all the water is absorbed. Stir now and then during cooking.

In another kettle, prepare the following:

1 1/2 cups chopped onions

1 beef bouillon cube

1 cup water

Boil these together until onions have wilted; approximately 10 minutes.

Then add to onions, 1 lb. hamburger, stirring until hamburger is cooked. Take off heat and now add the cooked barley and the following spices:

1 tsp. onion powder

1 tsp. white pepper

2 tsp. dill weed

and salt to taste.

Now your dough should be ready, so roll it out real thin, using 1/4 of the dough at a time. Use an empty Crisco can as your cutter. Place a tablespoonful of meat filling in the center of each round, moistening edges with a little bit of cold water. This helps seal it. Fold it in two and pinch it to seal it. Place on counter top to raise. By the time you have all of them filled, the first ones are raised and you can star t deep fat frying them. Drop as many pies into heated oil as you can. Let cook on one side, then turn over and cook the other side. Keep turning over a few times until brown. Take out with a slotted spoon and place on a paper towel to drain. Place another paper towel on top and a heavy bath towel, to soften the pies. Then cool and heat before serving. And of course eat some as soon as they are cooked. That is when they are best. Make a slit in the pie and squirt mustard or ketchup in.

Handy and quick snack to have on hand. Goes well in a lunch box or take along on a picnic. They freeze well. You may reheat them individually in the microwave or put a batch in the steamer to reheat them.

Hope you enjoy them as we do.