Pasty

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Quick Bite

A Michigan pasty is a hand pie filled with beef, potatoes, rutabaga, onions, and seasoning, then baked until golden. It is the Upper Peninsula’s ultimate portable meal: sturdy, hearty, and built for miners, road trips, and hungry people in flannel.

History

Pasties came to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula with Cornish miners in the 1800s. They were practical underground meals: filling, portable, and wrapped in a sturdy crust that could survive a long workday.

The Upper Peninsula’s mining communities included Cornish, Finnish, Italian, and other immigrant groups, and the pasty became one of the foods that crossed cultural lines. Over time, it became a symbol of U.P. identity, not just a miner’s lunch.

The traditional filling is usually beef, potato, onion, and rutabaga, though carrots sometimes appear and arguments follow. The crimped crust helped seal the filling inside, and old stories say miners could hold the crust edge with dirty hands and discard it, though whether that was universal is debated.

Today, pasties are sold hot, frozen, with gravy, with ketchup, plain, or mailed across the country. The one thing everyone agrees on is that a good pasty should be hearty enough to count as a full meal.

Fun Facts

• In Michigan, it is pronounced “PASS-tee,” not “paste-ee.”
• Ketchup versus gravy is a real U.P. debate.
• Rutabaga is traditional in many versions, even if some cooks swap in carrots.

Where to Try

Lehto’s Pasties St. Ignace, Michigan
A historic family-owned pasty shop serving Upper Peninsula pasties since 1947.

Lawry’s Pasty Shop Ishpeming / Marquette, Michigan
A long-running U.P. pasty name with roots going back to the 1940s.

Muldoons Pasties & Gifts Munising, Michigan
An award-winning Munising pasty shop known for traditional Cornish-style pasties.

About the Game

This recipe is part of Van Life Challenge, a travel-themed board game from Gray Dog Games where players explore the United States, discover regional foods, and collect memorable experiences along the way.

Each featured food celebrates a real place, a local flavor, and the kind of delicious roadside discovery that makes every trip feel like an adventure.

Recipe

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Home-Cook-Friendly Michigan Pasty Makes: 6 pasties Prep: 35 minutes, plus 30 minutes chilling Cook: 50–60 minutes Difficulty: Medium Style: Michigan / Upper Peninsula Hand Pie

Ingredients

For the crust

• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 ½ teaspoons salt
• 1 cup cold unsalted butter or lard, cubed
• 1 cup cold water, plus more as needed

For the filling

• 1 pound beef chuck or round steak, diced small
• 2 cups potatoes, peeled and diced small
• 1 cup rutabaga, peeled and diced small
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1 carrot, diced small, optional
• 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 3 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces

Instructions

1. Make the crust: Mix flour and salt, then cut in butter or lard until the mixture looks crumbly.
2. Add water: Add cold water gradually and mix until a dough forms.
3. Chill: Divide into 6 balls, flatten into disks, and chill for 30 minutes.
4. Heat the oven: Heat the oven to 375°F.
5. Mix the filling: In a large bowl, mix beef, potatoes, rutabaga, onion, carrot if using, salt, and pepper.
6. Roll the dough: Roll each dough disk into an 8-inch circle.
7. Fill: Place filling on one half of each circle and dot with butter.
8. Fold and crimp: Fold the dough over the filling and crimp the edges tightly.
9. Vent: Cut a small slit in the top of each pasty.
10. Bake: Place on a baking sheet and bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until golden and cooked through.
11. Rest: Rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Traditional note: To make it more traditional, use beef, potato, onion, and rutabaga in a sturdy crust. Serve plain, with ketchup, or with gravy depending on which side of the argument you prefer.

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