Welcome to JayPo’s Penalty Boxed Lunch, where we explore food from around the country! This week’s 32nd official entry is for those folks who feel a little disconnected from the mainland and prefer an upper (peninsula) class “sandwich” hailing from Michigan. Is the pasty a sandwich? Does it matter anymore?
Food History!
The history of the pasty doesn’t even originate in The Land of the Free, but rather our original oppressors across the pond, England. There isn’t an official date, but mentions of the pasty date back to as early as the 1300’s. In England the Cornish Pasty (as it is called there) was traditionally stuffed with beef, onion, potato and swede in large chunks. As a popular “miners” meal, this eventually spread across the world and to the United States where those miners kept those traditions alive and made the pasty somehow the iconic sandwich/food of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Also called hand-pies, it’s a pastry is filled with beef, potatoes, onions, carrots and rutabaga.
How I Made It!
I tried to make my yoopy pasty as traditional as possible. I started with a homemade dough made with shortening and stuffed it with a pre-cooked and cooled seasoned beef, carrots, potatoes, onions and rutabaga. The result was…fine. This is obviously a stretch as a “sandwich” in that the only connection to one is that it is handheld. This was just a bit too plain for me, but I appreciated the utility of it. I do remember finishing mine with a healthy helping of ketchup.
What Does A Local Think? (Thanks to Kyle M. from Winging it in Motown!)
Do you think the pasty represents your state accurately?
This is tough because the pasty is historically tied to the Upper Peninsula, mainly in the 1800s when many Cornish miners flocked to the UP to mine copper. They are popular, but not very widespread, so I don’t think I’d put it up there with the coney, which is already controversial because of “hot dog is not a sandwich” crowd.
So I think it comes down to these:
Coney dog
Chicken shawarma (Michigan has one of the largest Arab/Muslim populations in the US, especially metro Detroit)
Pastrami/corned beef from a Jewish-owned deli (another popular pick in metro Detroit)
I think it’s fair to include the pasty, but the state “sandwich” is very open to interpretation and opinion.
How do you make your sandwich?
Pasties aren’t terribly popular with my generation, so I can’t say that I have ever made one. As for where to get one, another tricky question. Dedicated pasty shops are few and far between, so you’re usually going to find them at bakeries.
How did I do?
All that being said, it looks like you did yours pretty well. Checks all the boxes, though it’s meant to be eaten with your hands, not a fork. 🙂
Where do you order your favorite pasty?
In all honesty, they (pasty) are usually pretty bland and have to be doused with ketchup or sour cream (or whatever you prefer) to be anything special IMO.
