My wife is a film buff. When we travel, she likes to visit locations where movies were filmed. We once camped at Dames Ferry State Park in Juliette, Georgia, so she could see the Whistle Stop Café, the site of Fried Green Tomatoes. While visiting her sister-in-law in Woodstock, we danced to the Pennsylvania Polka in the picturesque city square where Groundhog Day was filmed. We took a boat from Savannah, Georgia, to Daufuskie Island to have Sallie Ann Robinson, a cookbook writer and a former student of author Pat Conroy, bring us to the schoolhouse featured in the movie Conrack. On our last trip to New York, we had lunch at the Central Park Boathouse, just as Meg Ryan and Carrie Fisher did in When Harry Met Sally. And of course, we had to go to Katz’s Delicatessen, where her good upbringing thankfully kept her from being tempted to act out Meg Ryan’s role in the iconic “I’ll have what she’s having!” scene.
Our latest cinematic adventure took us to the north-central Louisiana town of Natchitoches, where Steel Magnolias was filmed. She loved visiting all the filming locations and participating in the city’s six-week “Festival of Lights,” where Dolly Parton served fried shrimp to Julia Roberts. I’m less of a film buff, but we both love exploring the local foodways, most notably the iconic Natchitoches meat pie.
Natchitoches (pronounced NACK-a-tish) is Louisiana’s oldest permanent European settlement in the area acquired by the Louisiana Purchase. It was established in 1714 as a French trading outpost on the Red River. Shortly after the French settled in Natchitoches, the Spanish established an outpost nearby at Los Adaes. The culinary culture of Natchitoches is an amalgam of several cultures: French, Creole, Spanish and Native American.
The Natchitoches meat pie is a savory hand pie that has existed since the late 1700s. It consists of a wheat-based hand pie crust filled with ground beef and pork and Louisiana’s culinary “trinity”: onion, bell pepper and celery. The pies were traditionally fried in peanut oil but can also be baked on a sheet tray. Natchitoches meat pies are similar to Spanish picadillo beef empanadas, which were introduced to the region by the Spanish soldiers stationed at the Los Adaes outpost.
Using wheat flour instead of corn flour was significant because corn was the local crop and a staple of Spanish and Native American foods. Wheat, however, is difficult to grow in the wet, warm climate of the South, and was likely imported from Europe via the French trading post at Natchitoches. In the late 1800s, these meat pies were served at the plantations that lined the Cane River and sold at Natchitoches street corners, making them one of Louisiana’s first street foods.
Modern-day Natchitoches (population 17,000) was named the 2023 Best Small Town in Louisiana by Southern Living Magazine and has one of “The 30 Most Beautiful Main Streets Across America” according to Architectural Digest. Every fall Natchitoches hosts a Meat Pie Festival on its scenic riverfront, which features a meat pie baking contest, a meat pie eating contest, zydeco bands and fireworks.
Natchitoches meat pie
Adapted from the “Official Meat Pie Recipe” of the Natchitoches Meat Pie Festival.
Makes 6-8 pies
It’s best to prepare the components for this recipe a day ahead. The filling and pie dough need to be well-chilled before assembling. A small empty coffee can was traditionally used to cut the dough into circles.
Ingredients:
Meat pie filling
1 teaspoon bacon fat
1 lb. ground beef
1 lb. ground pork
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 stalk of celery, finely chopped
1 bell pepper, finely chopped
2 medium garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
¼ teaspoon cayenne
Salt and black pepper to taste
1 tablespoon AP flour
Meat pie crust:
8 cups AP flour, plus more for dusting
4 teaspoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 sticks unsalted butter, frozen
4 eggs, cold
1 3/4 cup milk, cold
Canola or other neutral, high-heat oil for frying.
Preparation:
For the meat pie filling: In a heavy skillet over medium heat, melt the bacon fat, add the beef and pork and cook until the pink is gone.
Add vegetables, Worcestershire sauce and cayenne. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cook for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and drain excess liquid.
Stir in 1 tablespoon flour to thicken the mixture.
Refrigerate overnight.
For the meat pie crust: In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, and baking powder.
In a small bowl, combine the cold eggs and milk. Beat gently with a fork to combine.
Grate the frozen butter into the flour mixture through the large holes of a box grater. Gently toss the butter with the flour.
Gradually add the egg/milk mixture until the dough has the proper consistency to roll. Form into a ball; cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
To assemble: Sprinkle some flour onto a clean surface; place the dough on the counter and roll it out to about – to ¼-inch thick. Cut out 6-inch dough circles.
Spoon 1 to 2 tablespoons of the filling slightly off-center on each dough circle. Moisten the perimeter with a little water and fold one side of the dough circle over to encase the filling. Press to seal, and crimp with a fork.
To fry: Fill a Dutch oven with 2 inches of cooking oil. Heat over medium-high until the oil reaches 370 degrees. Fry the pies in batches until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. Drain on paper towels and serve hot.
To bake: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly oil a parchment-lined baking sheet. Make an egg wash by lightly beating an egg with a teaspoon of water and brush over the pies. Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown.
Extra meat pies can be frozen either before or after cooking. For uncooked pies, allow pies to come to room temperature before frying or baking. If baking, remember to brush with an egg wash. To reheat cooked pies, bring to room temperature, place on a sheet tray, and bake in a preheated 350-degree oven for 15-25 minutes, or until the center is warm.
This article appears in Healthy, wealthy and wise 2025.
