Recipe: Meat Pies Similar to Loven Oven, Swedish Meat Pies, Swedish Meat Pie Recipe

INDIVIDUAL MEAT PIES (SIMILAR TO LOVIN' OVEN)
Source: McKenzie Cook House Blog, 11/4/10

"Lovin' Oven Meat Pies had a booth at the Lane County Fair for years. It was always one of our favorite places to eat at the fair. Today they still have a booth each year at the Scandinavian Festival in Junction City but that's the only place we have found them. My sister and I took it upon ourselves years ago to dissect the little meat pies and see if we could figure out how to make them. This, then, is the result of our investigation - LOL This is another option for using up the cooking oil left from frying donuts."

FOR THE PASTRY DOUGH:
4 cups flour
2 egg yolks
4 Tablespoons butter, melted
2/3 cup water
2 teaspoons salt added to the water
dollop of sour cream (optional)

FOR THE FILLING:
1 pound hamburger, browned
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1 small onion, chopped fine
2 carrots, shredded
2 potatoes, shredded
celery, chopped fine
1 cup cheddar cheese, grated

TO MAKE THE PASTRY DOUGH:
Mix flour, egg yolks and butter. Add salted water and knead until pastry is elastic to the touch. Let stand for 1 hour.

TO MAKE THE FILLING:
In the meantime, brown hamburger, seasonings and vegetables. Add about 1/2 cup water to the meat/vegetable mixture as it simmers. Cook about 10 minutes. Set aside.

After the dough has rested for the hour, roll out very thin. Cut in 4 inch circles or rectangles. Place small amount of filling in each. Fold over and press shut with tines of a fork. Fry in hot oil until golden brown and drain on paper towels.

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SWEDISH MEAT PIES
Source: SWEETPOISON343 / allrecipes.com
Servings: 4

"Ground beef, potatoes and special seasonings are sealed into a rich pastry and baked. This is a very close knock-off of the Swedish meat pies served at the Scandinavian Festival in Junction City, Oregon. It is not exact, but we like this version better than the Loven Oven pies!"

1 tablespoon butter
1 pound ground beef
1/4 cup chopped onion
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon dried dill weed
1 pinch ground nutmeg
2 large red potatoes, grated
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup shortening
6 tablespoons sour cream

Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Crumble in the ground beef and add onion, parsley, allspice, dill, nutmeg and grated potatoes. Cook and stir until the meat is browned. Drain any excess grease. Turn off the heat and stir in the cheese until melted. Set aside to cool.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).

In a medium bowl, mix together the flour and salt. Mix in the shortening with a fork or pastry cutter until only pea sized lumps remain. Stir in sour cream a little bit at a time until the dough holds together. Knead briefly on a lightly floured surface. Divide into four equal portions, and pat into balls.

Roll out each ball of dough to about 1/8 inch thickness. Place a heaping 1/2 cup of filling onto each one. Fold over into half circles, and seal by moistening the edges with warm water and pressing together. Place on a baking sheet.

Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden brown.

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SWEDISH MEAT PIE RECIPE
Source: Just keeping the Ends Tied Blog, 2/2/2009

"OK, a little background on this one: My husband has always loved going to the Scandinavian Festival and getting a few Swedish Meat Pies. After we got married I looked everywhere for a recipe for them. No luck. Then shortly after the Scandinavian Festival there was an article in the food section of the paper where the author had gone on a similar search. She had managed to get the lady who makes them at the festival give her enough info to create a recipe. Which she published and I, thankfully, found. My husband doesn't think they are perfect, but thinks that they are a pretty good representation, lol."

Swedish Meat Pie:
1/2 lb ground beef
1 small onion, finely diced
2 stalks celery, finely diced
1 medium partially cooked red potato, finely shredded
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
salt and pepper to taste
1 egg yolk
1 tsp cold water
1 batch Sour Cream Pastry Dough (recipe follows)

(Note: I use a very small onion or only use half. I've found that it is very easy for the onion to overpower the other flavors in this. Also, I tend to use a medium to large potato. Be careful not to cook the potato too long or it is hard to shred.)

Cook beef, onion and celery in a skillet until brown; drain. Stir in potato, seasonings and cheese. Divide pastry into 4-6 pieces (I usually do 6). Roll out each piece into a circle. Divide meat mixture evenly and place on center of each circle. Fold one side of pastry over filling making a half moon. Moisten edges with water and press with fork to seal. Mix egg yolk and water (I use the whole egg, what can I say, I'm lazy, lol!) brush pastries with mixture. Bake at 350 until golden brown, 20-25 minutes.

SOUR CREAM PASTRY DOUGH:
2 cups flour
1/8 tsp salt
8 oz unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small cubes
1/2 cup sour cream

Place flour and salt in a large bowl. Add butter cubes and cut in evenly until mixture is the size of small peas. Stir in sour cream with fork. The pastry will appear dry. Divide as recipe indicates. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate overnight or until cold and firm (I usually make the dough in the morning and refrigerate till I'm ready for it that evening). The dough can be frozen for up to one month (I have not tried this).