Natchitoches Meat Pies

These little half-moon pies put Natchitoches on the map. The town sits on the Cane River in northwest Louisiana, and folks have been making these meat pies there since the 1700s. My grandmother Evangeline learned the recipe from her mother, who got it from hers. Four generations of Boudreaux hands rolling dough and crimping edges.

The secret is in the filling. You cook your meat with the holy trinity until everything melds together into something greater than its parts. Season the beef. Season the pork. Season the vegetables. Taste as you go. The filling should be so flavorful you want to eat it straight from the skillet with a spoon. That's how you know it's ready for the dough.

At Lagniappe, we serve these as appetizers, but in Natchitoches they're a meal. Grab two or three, add some potato salad on the side, and you've got yourself a feast. The crust should be tender enough to yield easily but sturdy enough to hold all that seasoned meat without splitting. When the last bite is as good as the first, you've done it right.