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Brisket Pasty Recipe

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Michigan looked great through three weeks, but came back down to earth with an uninspiring 20-13 win over Rutgers on Saturday. The Wolverines looked good in the first half, but couldn’t overcome Rutgers adjustments in the second and nearly let the game slip away. Thankfully, they’re still 4-0 as they hit the road this weekend for the first time in 2021.

Madison, Wisc. is the destination — a place Michigan hasn’t won since 2001. I was just starting college at the time. It was just a couple months after the Sept. 11 attacks. They’ve lost the last five trips to the Badger state, but this year seems as good as any to end that streak. Wisconsin is just 1-2. They’ve lost to Penn State and Notre Dame, and Michigan has a chance to knock them out of Big Ten title contention.

As I thought about what to make for this game, a few obvious things came to mind. Butter burgers (like you find at Culver’s). Cheese curds (love ’em). Bratwurst (eh). White fish (did that last time Michigan played Wisconsin).

I hit up a good friend who is from Wisconsin and asked her what she thought about pasties. She and her husband and daughter are currently living the bus life, traveling in a 1984 Bluebird Wanderlodge — aka the Mothership. Give them a follow. They share a lot about local food and culture in the cities they visit.

Her feedback on pasties was that they can either be really good or really bland. If you can make them not dry, then they can be great. So I had to give them a try.

Brisket Pasty

A Brief History of Pasties

Pasties came from Europe and miners from Cornwall, England brought them to Wisconsin (and Michigan’s upper peninsula) in the 1840s.

“They settled in places like Mineral Point and Miner’s Grove as more lead was needed for things like paint, pipes, and lead shot. Cornish miners brought their mining expertise for extracting galena, which is a mineral used to make lead. They also brought a piece of their European culture — the pasty.”

What is a pasty?

It’s basically an empanada, meat pie, or hand pie. Dough filled with meat and vegetables with a crimped edge to hold onto. In fact, apparently that crimped edge is the key to a pasty. Since miners’ hands were so dirty, they could hold onto the crimped part while they ate the rest. Then, they tossed the crust to appease the spirits in the mines — the “tommyknockers”.

Brisket Pasties

A Few Notes

The traditional pasty is filled with chipped beef, potatoes, rutabagas, and onions, but there are plenty of variations. I had some leftover brisket, so that’s what I used for this brisket pasty recipe.

In my opinion, the pasty is a perfect way to use leftover barbecue. It’s comfort food at its finest, and they’re easy to make ahead of time and take to the tailgate.

Feel free to get creative with whatever you have on hand, or whatever sounds good.

One additional note: it’s pronounced like the word “nasty”, not like the word “tasty.”

Brisket pasties with chimichurri sauce

The Brisket Pasty Recipe

Since this is a way to use leftover brisket, I’m not going to tell you how to smoke a brisket in this recipe. If you want, you can see our gameday brisket recipe for that. This recipe assumes you already have brisket to use.

Start by making your dough. I based my dough on this recipe.

In a large bowl, mix together four cups of bread flour and two teaspoons of Kosher salt. Now, using a cheese grater, grate a stick of cold butter and mix in until it’s crumbly. In a small bowl, stir together a cup of water and an egg yolk, and then add that to the flour mixture. Mix until it all comes together to form a dough. Chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Preheat your oven to 450. After your dough has chilled, divide it into 8-10 equal portions. Roll out each portion into a circle. Add chopped brisket, pickled red onions, cotija cheese, and sliced jalapeños. Fold one half of the circle over the other and press together. Use your thumb to crimp around the whole thing. I’m not good at this, but here’s a video tutorial on how to do it.

Place your pasty onto a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Repeat with the rest of them. Mix together an egg yolk and a tablespoon of water, then brush that over top of your pasties.

Put into the oven and cook for 20 minutes. Now, reduce the heat to 350 and bake for 15-20 more minutes until the dough is crispy and golden brown.

While it’s baking, make your chimichurri sauce. In a bowl, mix together a handful of chopped parsley, a handful of chopped cilantro, 1/4 cup of fresh oregano, 1/2 of a diced red onion, 3/4 cup of olive oil, 4 garlic cloves, 3 tablespoons of red wine vinegar, juice from a lemon, a pinch of salt, and red pepper flakes to taste. Mix well.

When your pasties are done, slice in half, top with your chimichurri sauce, and serve.

Have you tried this brisket pasty recipe? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

Briskety Pasty

A great way to use leftover barbecue (in this case, brisket), the European-inspired pasty is an easy-to-make comfort food that's also easy to eat.

  • Leftover brisket (or any BBQ you have on hand)
  • Pickled red onions
  • Cotija cheese
  • Sliced jalapeños
  • 4 cups Bread flour
  • 2 tsp Kosher salt
  • 1 stick Cold butter
  • 1 cup Water
  • 2 Egg yolks (divided)
  • 1 handful Chopped parsley
  • 1 handful Chopped cilantro
  • ¼ cup Fresh oregano, chopped
  • ½ Diced onion
  • ¾ cup Olive oil
  • 4 cloves Garlic, chopped
  • 3 TBSP Red wine vinegar
  • 1 Lemon (juice only)
  • 1 pinch Kosher salt
  • Red pepper flakes to taste
Main Course
American
brisket, brisket pasty, cornish pasty, leftover barbecue, leftover bbq, leftover brisket, pasty

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