Strange Food Preservation - Meat Pies With Standing Crust - Unpacking The Pantry

How do you store prepared food for days without food storage bags, bowls with locking lids, or even a refrigerator? Check out this very strange food storage technique with pie crust shells on Unpacking The Pantry!
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[@tonicastel2390]

As a South African immigrant to the US, it was a great surprise to me that Americans, in general, do not have meat pies. I miss them tremendously. Obviously, I make my own but I miss buying them.

[@dimesonhiseyes9134]

It is rather interesting. I mean pot pie and casserole are both fairly popular meals. But meat pies are pretty rare. Which is so strange considering meat pies were common in the past and many people's families came from countries where meat pies were pretty common.

[@jackieyoung3359]

As an American who lived in New Zealand for many years and traveled in the UK, I can tell you that many of the British foods that remain within the Commonwealth countries are definitely not popular in the States. Meat pies, fish and chips, many of the sweet treats, even tea (with milk of course). I think it was because America was always a true melting pot of cultures that we ditched a lot of the traditional British foods.

[@jackieyoung3359]

@@managerialconclusionsNo, they really aren’t. Only meat pie that is somewhat popular in the States is chicken pot pie.

[@governorriffraff7601]

As a kiwi. Sit down friend. Let me tell you about meat pies. We have many and they are better than any Australian outfit

[@michaelsullivan339]

Just like everything else in the USA, it's regional. In Louisiana, we've got two traditional meat pies. The Nachitoches Meat Pie from the north part of the state and the Crawfish Pie from the south part.

[@jennil7797]

I find it amazing that stand pies didn't across the Atlantic when Brits emigrated. My great grandmother, born in the 1850s, would make them with pork for the drovers who were walking cattle to southern English cities. They would buy two or three each after spending the night in our farm bothy, eat the contents and feed the crust and some of the meat jelly collected on the inside of it to their dogs at pounds where no food, cider or beer was made. They keep fresh for several days, even without a larder and cold slab. Later, my grandmother and aunt would make them for shearing and harvest suppers for upward of thirty people. By then the crusts, coated in beaten egg with a salt added, was an integral part of the meal and the pies were eaten reheated or cold, depending on the weather. By the 1960s, we had developed a further family tradition having a large one to share on December 26th, when Mum took a break and only a cold buffet was laid so all callers could help themselves.

[@game_jinx]

pepperoni rolls

[@jerryodell1168]

There is a version in upper Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota that is like a hand pie with a lot of vegetables and some meat. It is more like fast food although they are sometimes served covered with a meat gravy along with mashed potatoes and/or other vegetables. The lumbermen and miners would take some with them to work for lunch or a quick snack. They are made with a pie crust or with a hot water crust. The hot water crust is harder than the pie crust and stays together better for travel.

[@tinamathews3379]

​@@jerryodell1168, I'm pretty sure that you are referring to pasties.

[@jamesellsworth9673]

Thank you for sharing this long-standing tradition with us. Raised pies have always been popular in British Pubs. I have made them at home and can attest to the simple crusts being tough.

[@rickthenailer]

@@tinamathews3379 Here in Mexico pastes (pasties) are very typicall food in the state of Hidalgo, brought in the 19th century by immigrant English miners. They are like big empanadas of hand pies with a big fat ridge so they could be eaten with dirty hands.

[@minuteman4199]

Very often, and still to this day gelatin is an essential component of this type of pie. It is injected through the crust after the pie has cooled and fills the empty spave between the filling and the crust. This keeps the air out and increases the shelf life of the filling.

[@xianvox22]

Interesting. I've seen something similar with other preservation techniques. Such as pouring aspic, lard or tallow to and letting it set on the bottom, then adding filing, such as meats, and then topping up as you go. Granted you wouldn't cook it after filling this way. Your container should already be ready, and the filling too, although they preserve raw meat this way, too.

[@MichaelGisiger]

Exactly. Where I come from (Switzerland, close to the French border), they sell these pies in every supermarket. They look more or less like the ones in the video, except they are filled with a kind of sausage meat and then sealed with a jelly made of gelatin, spices, water, and pork rind (called Sulz in German). Every time I go for a hike, I take a couple of them with me. For the same reasons given in the video.

[@johnr797]

Yeah even store-bought pâtés still have a layer of fat above the meat to preserve it.

[@RachLZelda]

We have the same kind in England - I had no idea they were a thing in France too! I always thought it was uniquely English, and I always wondered why they had jelly in them - now it makes sense! :D

[@nozero1]

Can't stand the jelly, even if its there with good reason!

[@peterreily1490]

I like this guy. Can we get more of him on the channel? He’s articulate

[@brmbkl]

He’s great. Likeable, engaging but not over the top. Great voice and demeanor. Outfit works for him, too.

[@SantisValiant]

Ryan is awesome

[@jeremypearce3056]

This is actually his channel if im not mistaken

[@mraaronhd]

@@jeremypearce3056yup. Ryan works for Townsends.

[@damienvalentine5043]

He's been in a few videos -- I remember he was in the "posset" video a few months back.

[@Sandgroper-WA]

All the Australians screaming at throwing away the crust of a pie.

[@adrianirimescu988]

i would never

[@jeromethiel4323]

Not too hard to see somebody making the jump from "hard tack keeps forever," to "i'll make a crust similar to hard tack, and it will keep the food inside from spoiling."

[@johngalt969]

It's nothing like hard tack though. Not at all. Pastries are very, very different to each other even though they have the same ingredients based on the way they're cooked and other womanly witch craft your wife does over it. It makes no sense to me. But growing up on meat pies I can assure you the exterior is NOTHING like hard tack. If you've ever had a sausage roll a sausage roll is basically a derivative of the meat pie, same crust. These are the kinds of meat pies your grandma makes, they're a bit harder on the outside, sort of like a meat and jelly pie. They're kinda gross, especially cold. Vile cold. But they're the "We've got meat pie at home." version of meat pies - you want the store meat pies, they're the good ones.

[@jeromethiel4323]

@@johngalt969 Still, there is no butter or milk fat to go rancid. Which means it will help preserve the "innards." Which is where i was going with that comment. Nobody in their right mind tries to eat hard tack plain. It'd break your teeth! No, hard tack was simply a good way to preserve flour, to be used at a later date. I have seen hard tack used in stews, broken down into a flat bread and fried in salted pork fat, etc.

[@Arthurian.]

​@@jeromethiel4323he very clearly stated he used butter and suggested whatever fat you may have, meaning not hard tack

[@prohet-econo]

​@@Arthurian.He also said you could use iust tallow.....but og def has butter 😅

[@Buchertn]

It's amazing to see just how prevalent these pies were going all the way back to the medieval period.

[@littlekong7685]

The wild part is many times the crust would be reused. You would eat the filling, then hand it back to be refilled and re-baked for the next person. Some could get as hard as ceramic from repeat baking.

[@claireloub]

That's exactly like a British pork pie - hand-raised with hot water crust pastry. I wouldn't think of it necessarily as a form of preservation, other than as something cold to take on a picnic, but Cornish pasties are famous as a portable lunch for miners (don't know how historical that is) so it definitely has its purposes

[@johnfisk811]

I have found pastie crusts in old Cornish mines that closed generations ago. The crust indeed allowed toxic dirty hands to hold the pastie while the rest was safely eaten.The crust discarded for the piskies and knockers share.

[@MeMe-Moi]

Pot pie: meat, vegetables, and gravy or cream/bechamel sauce. Requires cutlery to eat Meat pie: drier filling made predominately of minced or shredded meat and seasonings. Has multiple form factors from full pies to small free form hand pies. Also, the crust varies from a baking powder biscuit dough to puff pastry to a solid pie crust. Generally a good portable option and can be eaten out of hand so long as you are not at a table. These were a popular "field meal" option as they were good hot or cold. Not commonly seen in the mainstream US cooking.

[@kutter_ttl6786]

Nice, simple, explanation. It seems a lot of people seem to think a pot pies and meat pies are the same. This deserves more likes.

[@MeMe-Moi]

@@kutter_ttl6786 I think it is a cultural thing. I had relatives who lived in rural eastern Canada, so I was exposed to stuff like tourtiere, fish pie, and hand pies (I swear, the food culture around there is based on 1800s-1945 with a special niche for 1950s style convenience meals). But since pie in America is almost always sweet, the general consensus is that any savory pie that contains meat is a meat pie. Explaining how one uses up meat when cooking a large roast to Americans is always fun. Day 1: hot roast, then cold sliced roast for supper. Day 2: cold sliced roast for dinner, then meat pie for supper. Day 3: soup or stew using leftover roast for dinner, meat and potato hash for supper. Any further leftovers go in a casserole or soup.

[@ceecee9155]

My mom made meat pies all the time when I was a kid. They were just bread dough wrapped around a mixture of ground beef, chopped onions, salt, and a little lemon juice. We loved them!

[@ItsYaBoiV]

Also a very light crust on the pot pie, and sometimes the crust is just a layer on top. Reminiscent of a shepherd's pie with dough instead of mashed potatoes on top.

[@marilynmitchell2712]

​@@ceecee9155that sounds like my understanding of an English pastie

[@westsurfer87]

Can wait for the follow-up showing how the preserved one turns out and tastes!

[@EXIT_FAILURE]

Just watch out for that botulism.

[@barryschalkwijk9388]

@@EXIT_FAILURE Homer Simpson: "Hmmmmmmm, botulism...Tangy!"

[@priestesslucy3299]

​@@EXIT_FAILUREbotulism has become such a boogie man. It can't be that difficult to preserve food, we got here somehow.

[@msrlapin99]

@@EXIT_FAILURE Botulism requires a low or no oxygen environment. I'm not sure these pies will provide an environment for that.

[@Starannify]

@@priestesslucy3299 One 2016 source put deaths by foodborne botulism at around 100 people out of the 330 million people in the USA. It is indeed very rare. The question is, if more people did old fashioned food preservation methods and assuming they do a decent job, what would the rate of botulism be? Presumably much higher yet still rare, as otherwise humans would be extinct from using these old preservation methods. I'm not saying the older methods are as effective as today's technology, but they worked.

[@spodokomodo5468]

I’ve just finished making a chicken, leek and tarragon pie for our dinner today. Pork pies are the perfect picnic food.🇬🇧

[@madisonm.2969]

That sounds amazing!! Love that flavor combination.

[@alistairdimmick2886]

Tarragon is so underrated

[@gregmuon]

I think it was John Harvey Kellogg and the other religious health nuts of the late 19th century who campaigned against meat pie, and were fairly successful in removing it from American cuisine. That's why we no longer have standing meat pies, British people. We still have chicken pot pie and its variants of course.

[@DeeDee-bm9hr]

The same guy who made circumcision/mutilation a common practice in the US

[@sgt_slobber.7628]

He was a VEGGONAZI!!!!! LOL!!!!

[@DirtyFrigginHarry]

It's amazing how despite being very ahead of his time in certain insights and beliefs, He was inversely insane with others. This is a man that pioneered several at the time radical dietary, manufacturing, and medical breakthroughs, but thought consuming alcohol, coffee, or tea led to moral deficiency and a varied diet caused sexual arousal

[@fnjesusfreak]

@@DirtyFrigginHarry Well, he was a Seventh Day Adventist, and a lot of it came from that.

[@nagatodan]

​@@DirtyFrigginHarrysome of it can make sense, I can see somewhat diet can be involved with sexual arousal

[@ceecee9155]

My mom made meat pies, although not the same as yours. They were, essentially, bread dough wrapped around a mixture of ground meat, chopped onions, salt, and a little lemon juice. They were about the size of a small pastry. Similar to a pasty, without the flaky crust. Rumor has it the coal miners took these into the mines, where sometimes they'd work several days without coming to the surface. The meat pies kept very well down there, and needed no special care. My mom would put a bunch of these in a large Tupperware bowl, and leave them in the bottom of the refrigerator for a week or so. Dad would take some to work every day and the kids would grab one or two as a snack when we got home from school.

[@oliverhopkins8074]

Until John and his mighty shrek friend found out momma didn’t use nutmeg. Now shes not making pies no more.

[@kayjaybee616]

Love learning about the ingenuity of our ancestors. In our arrogance, it’s easy to think that anyone from “back then” was backward, but we are standing on the shoulders of their invention and resourcefulness today!

[@prince_cyprus]

I love this comment.

[@spiritanimal7516]

Agreed they deserve our respect

[@ItsYaBoiV]

My family makes salt dough Christmas ornaments with a very similar recipe! Once you cook them, they're solid, inedible like clay. They're fun to make and decorate with the kids, too. I can totally see using this as a preserving method, that stuff bakes solid!

[@AKayfabe]

you have a hard tack tree! ornaments

[@cockexploder]

Ryan has gotten so good at speaking on camera! You guys are pros ❤

[@jamesellsworth9673]

RYAN! This is a FINE installment of your cooking series.

[@jamesross2373]

Meat pies are basically a national dish here in Australia. Every town in the country (even tiny ones with just a few dozen residents) with have a bakery or cafe selling meat pies, in addition to most service (gas) stations. We eat the crust. We have so many varieties; minced beef, steak and pepper, steak and mushroom, steak bacon and cheese, curried chicken, chicken and camembert, bacon and egg, scallop or curried scallops, cauliflower and cheese, cottage pie, the list goes on…

[@vexile1239]

My favourite is the chicken and cheese pie from the bakery up the road

[@Stoic_Zoomer]

I wonder what happened in America that we forgot or discarded meat pies, we still love pies but to us they are desserts being apple, pecan, pumpkin, sweet potato , etc. pies. There are few Americans who don't love their grandmother's pie at Thanksgiving or Christmas.

[@vexile1239]

@@Stoic_Zoomer I think the fellow mentioned that America went into a "healthy" phase and got rid of meat pies back in the 30's to 60's

[@CymruHunter]

i have to say however that australian meat pies and british meat pies are fairly different, i do miss having a cold pok pie for lunch!

[@pharaohsmagician8329]

​@@CymruHunterwhats the differences?

[@christophernaisbitt6038]

This is great. Here in the UK when I was a kid, late 70s early 80s, we had toys made from bread. Faux biscuits and faux loaves, made from dough with super high salt content. We’d have them in the Wendy House and pretend to cook them and eat them. Incidentally, they’re were really quite indigestible. They lasted years! Also, the intricate harvest festival plaits were often made from similar dough. They’d put them on display in the church year after year. I wonder if these 18th century storage pies also used similar doughs.

[@CaptainSlowbeard]

I'd forgotten about those! I tried to eat one... only once though.

[@russellpengilley5924]

I know it as salt dough, I made some miniature food items for a diorama using it a few years ago. Really easy to work with and takes paint nicely.

[@cannett8966]

Ryan, on the live it was ask if we eat meat pies.YES! They are ancient recipes. Pork pies here are judged by the jelly. Boiling the bones down till they are gelatine. My husband makes them big and beautiful! Cee, from the little haunted cottage in ireland 💚💚💚🍀🍀🍀

[@perishark234]

as a man who is always trying to find better ways to make my lunch for the work week, this was VERY cool. You guys have such a creative channel.

[@Trassel242]

Hello Ryan! Good to see you again! Here in Sweden, people would pick wild lingonberries and preserve them either by making jam or jelly, or simply by putting them in glass bottles with water. The lingonberries are sour enough that they won’t go bad or ferment in the water. I think cranberries might work for this preservation method too, but I’m not completely certain and haven’t tested.

[@adreabrooks11]

As a child in northern Ontario, some of my freinds' families would make "pasties" - a similar affair of dense, hard crust and meat, for taking into the bush on short trips. Often, one would take along a couple potatoes, a turnip, some carrots or similar - hearty vegetables that could take some abuse on the trail. When one got to a camping spot, one could get out a pot, stew the veggies and, when cooked, break up the pasty into the soup. Rather than throwing the crust away (and risking attracting bears and other scavengers), the crust served to thicken the soup into something more hearty-feeling and calorific - similar to the way one might use ship's biscuit. Of course, if the going was hard, and one didn't have much time for cooking by the end of the day (too tired, can't find firewood, etc.), the pasty could just be eaten as-is instead - though eating such a crust is more about fuel than flavour, and using them as an "ingredient package" is always preferable. I've often heard of miners and labourers throwing away their pie crust. Part of me always thought this sounded wasteful, in a society where calories were harder to come by - and I always wondered if this was more about cleanliness (no one wants to eat a coal-dusted pie crust) than viewing them as inherently disposable. For general use, though, the pasty notion always seemed more sensible and frugal.

[@nealgrimes4382]

These originate in Cornwall and where originally made for miners and of course it was before modern packaging and the pastry was intended as a wrapping as it would get covered in coal dust and was only there to keep the food on the inside clean. They where taken to America by Cornish tin miners emigrating for work, originally one corner had a sweet fruit filling, but now the pasties in England also don't have it.

[@adreabrooks11]

@@nealgrimes4382 Thank you for the confirmation! In our area, the metal miners primarily sought nickel and copper. Of course, Canada has seen vast numbers of immigrants from the UK over the centuries, and I'm not at all surprised to learn that some tin miners from Cornwall had brought this food with them. Nevertheless, it's always fascinating to learn connections!

[@MsBfromtheD]

Northern Michigan miners kept the tradition of Cornish pastie. I’ve heard told this hand pie had a bit of braided crust along the edge, to be held with a dirty hand and then discarded.

[@adreabrooks11]

@@MsBfromtheD Interesting! Ours typically have a "frill" of crust like the one in the video - though, of course, it depends on the baker.

[@tomyorke3412]

For small meat pies here in the UK like a pork pie the crust is normally rather dense and not flaky so you can bite into it and it all stays together no mess.

[@DI2023-]

Cool video, thought you may find it interesting to know this type of thing is still common in the UK. I'm from the south west of England and we eat 'Cornish Pasty's' as well as Pork Pies. The former has a thick outer crust part which you hold with the idea being way back when workmen & miners could eat lunch without having to wash their hands and take it with them. They would then discard the crust handle. The latter Pork pies are are a short crust pastry with lard as you made and then a layer of savoury jelly and then cooked pork. Very popular picnic food still.

[@cooldudicus7668]

I have a book on the mining district of Park City, Utah. It has a section for original recipes from the 1800s. It has a recipe for Cornish Pasties. I have always wanted to make some. I will try it soon. Do you have any tips on how to cook them that would help me?

[@firelunamoon]

I love British pork pies. They're so good, and great for a quick meal when you're in a rush.

[@mytimetravellingdog]

I've never been a fan of the melton mobrary style pork pie because of that jelly. Ever since I was a kid I hated it. I keep meaning to try and make something like this with rougher chopped pork and no jelly at some point and this seems to be a good one to try.

[@willedlin4506]

@@mytimetravellingdog look for re uses for game pies, often with layers of rabbit venison pheasant etc, will show you how to make one with larger pieces of meat

[@mbern4530]

This style of food storage goes back to at least the middle ages. It was even the first sort of fast food as you could buy meat pies and carry them with you to eat later for lunch if you were working far from home.

[@littlekong7685]

Apparently a common food for moving between villages. Buy a pie, eat it on the road, return the crust at the next town to be refilled and resealed for tomorrow for you or another customer. Once it gets rough throw it to the dogs.

[@bumbleguppy]

I can imagine having one of these and having a pot of boiling water with some root vegetables thrown in and just drop the whole pie in. Instant stew.

[@josephmclaughlin9865]

Interesting idea. I will definitely try to do that, thank you.

[@xianvox22]

This is my thought exactly. Old school condensed soup. Feeds more people and doesn't waste precious carbs.

[@dembro27]

I wonder how long you can preserve food in these! The idea of a crust as a portable, discardable vessel for food has been around since Medieval times (and probably earlier), but it may have changed somewhat by the 18th century. I'd be most concerned about insects; even ship's biscuit, hard as a rock, can host little worms or weevils.

[@JerryB507]

Botulism toxicity can form in as little as 3 weeks. I've eaten beef that was wrapped in aluminum foil after cooking and stored in my sea kayak two days later with no ill effect. Sealed in the cooking vessel, I would think a few days longer if kept in a cool location.

[@littlekong7685]

As I understand it these were more medieval travelling foods, often only kept for days at a time. Eat your fresh food first, then the pie, then stop at the next village for resupply and rest anyways. You could re-use the crust many times by resealing and re-baking it over and over until it was done (Then give it to the dogs, or if really desperate eat it yourself and hope your teeth survived).

[@Topcatrs88]

They never mentioned the actual preserving method in the video. The pies were filled with either clarified butter or suet to keep the air away from the pie’s contents. Pies were reportedly kept this way for weeks. When it came time to serve the pie, they were reheated, and the suet was poured out and replaced with a gravy. The butter/suet preserves the contents, while the crust protects the butter/suet. The small amount of sugar he used in the video might be enough to preserve it for a few days, but I wouldn't risk anything past that.

[@Nellyontheland]

I'm in the UK. 🇬🇧 I sometimes eat a pork pie at work. Many times...MANY times I have 'found' a pie floating around my work bag. On its own, all firm and no cracks. ... I consume. A little salt on the lump of meat inside.... and it's gone. The crust goes to the birds. Cheers 🇬🇧 I also remember my father being served a Cornish pasty. He, too, would discard the crust, as you should. He worked where I now work on the trains. It's dirty, and you often eat 'cold'.

[@jackieyoung3359]

I was lucky enough to experience the Cornish Pasty while in Cornwall and they are INCREDIBLE!

[@Nellyontheland]

@jackieyoung3359 They are. My dad was Cornish, and Mum would bake a HUGE pasty for him on a regular basis. We would get a smaller one each. The ones we had were thin crust and the crust 'edge' was on the top like the backbone of a whale and we'd eat the lot, but if she baked him one to take to work, the crust edge would be down the side and much thicker, like you get in the shops. His pasty was around a foot long, as fat as a cat and full of (by today's standards) a rather bland mix of meat cubes, onions, potatoes, and salt and peper. I'll ask my older sister if she remembers the recipe. 😋🇬🇧

[@j.robertsergertson4513]

Two British foods I really miss from living in London. Meat pies and flake bars . Mushy peas and beans on Toast not so much 👍 Ps. I'm a yank ,so I eat the crust .

[@fireborn]

I work in coal mines in Kansas, my Scottish wife makes me beef pies sometimes. They stay together well in my day pack when I am in the hole. Usually I don’t eat the crust, but when I have no breakfast, I do.

[@Nellyontheland]

@j.robertsergertson4513 They still make "Flakes", and we still stick them in softwhiped ice cream 🍦 😋

[@Yesica1993]

How did people even figure it out that food could be preserved like that? Such an idea would never have occurred to me in a million years.

[@mae8646]

If youre hungry and you have no food, youll open the two week old pie to see if its still good

[@KougaJ7]

@@mae8646 If you're hungry and have no food, how is it that you have a two-week-old pie? :P Well anyway, there are plenty of ways, yes.

[@christopherkarr1872]

@@KougaJ7 Yours is a solid point. How would you have the old pie? You hoarded it out of desperation. The most likely method, though, is vendors selling their pies after a cattle slaughter and realizing that they stayed good much longer than fresh raw beef; it's also not unlikely that they were cooked with a high salt-content filling, as well as sugar, for added preservative qualities.

[@garethbaus5471]

​@@mae8646I think forgetful and running out of food sounds more likely.

[@KougaJ7]

@@christopherkarr1872 I think this is a likely possibility. Besides, there surely wasn't one inventor that then brought the invention out into the world. It's likely that more people realised that this method of preservation worked well. With some, the knowledge died with them. With others, the knowledge was spread regionally. Until, one day, it died out also, or became an even wider-spread knowledge.

[@peterott-tn6pf]

Glad to see you again, Ryan!! That was a great video buddy and those pies looked absolutely amazing! What a great way to wake up in the morning!!!!!

[@user-hj5nw4id7l]

I’m from the north of England. This is a pork pie. This is as much a part of my everyday life and, I suppose, my heritage as bread is to the French. Eat the entire thing, crust and all. The filling is generally very meaty but bland in taste, but the tongue-coating texture of the pastry and the density of the filling make it a perfect food. Bury a boiled egg in the middle of the pork and it becomes a sophisticated snack called a gala pie. Townsends is an encyclopaedia of culture. Chapeaux. This man understands food.

[@charlesurrea1451]

What's funny is that there were inkwells that were very much this shape and referred to as pork pies because of this very thing.

[@mugglesarecooltoo]

Interesting 😮

[@JerryB507]

Look up Pork Pie Hats. Ryan's pork pies don't have the brim.

[@olbluetundra881]

Nice. I've made these myself. From Townsend show. Cooked some pork, beef, venison, and even a chicken version. These were fun to try. Took them for lunch at work. Most people have only ever seen fried desert pies. Didn't bother microwaving them. Just chopped up the pie. Ate the inside and put some of the pie into my gravy.(bone broth) that I had made from the venison bones. Although you can use whatever animal you choose. Everyone should give this a try imo. Easy, and fun to get the little ones helping. Especially making and molding the dough.

[@TryAThingLearnAThing]

How'd the venison pie go down?

[@InSanic13]

I'd be interested to see how well these crusts hold up when jostled around while walking and traveling for a while.

[@JoramTriesGaming]

The local Melton pies here were intended for taking on the Hunt, so they held up well enough for a good few hours' ride at speed in a saddlebag. I'd imagine a haversack or backpack wouldn't be much rougher on them.

[@missinformed9550]

The crust is thick and tough, hard to cut even.

[@RaymondRChammas]

Bless you two gentlemen the rest of the people who help you with the channel and all the viewers of this video.

[@mikafoxx2717]

I even like to make fruit tarts with this hard crust - mostly because I cant be bothered to go to the effort for myself. But I also like that I can bring them places without crushing it if its in a bag or such.

[@westonward735]

The video seemed to end very quickly. The little pies look delicious and are something that I will certainly try. 👍. You could put all different kinds of ingredients in them.

[@HLBear]

(It ends quickly because they've discovered that viewers tend to click away during closing scenes, and then YT doesn't share their videos as often. Thank YT for that nonsense.)

[@weird-guy]

That’s sad, I hate when videos end abruptly.

[@winnerscreed6767]

So nice to see Ryan again. Always great to see a new Townsends video.

[@potatertot360]

For those with modern households, you can also use crisco in place of the lard. The way I learned it, in pastry you use lard for structure and butter for flavor, so if you don't plan to eat the crust, you don't have to use butter. I'd plan on it, though :) Glad to see another video with Ryan!

[@Non-nt5ln]

Use lard.

[@fugu4163]

I love this kind of content. ever since i made your 18th century emergency bread i am really hooked on the flavours and aromas of the 18 th century.

[@jamesvatter5729]

Well done, Ryan! Great presentation. Of course that Cheshire Pie has nutmeg in it.

[@rosewhite---]

In UK we call these Stand Pies and most people eat them for Xmas holiday snacks. I can get them all year from local butcher adn they are delicious.

[@SheyD78]

Cornish pasties were an example of this, a meal packaged inside a robust folded pastry case. These days the pastry is designed to be edible but possibly not so much back in the pre-industrial days.

[@neoaliphant]

they ate the majority of pastry back then, they just didnt eat the crimped crescent crust edge, as thats what they held it with with grubby soot covered hands....

[@probro101]

Full of passion as usual, Ryan. Keep at it!

[@panderson9561]

I couldn't imagine eating that, and not eating the crust. The crust, after absorbing the flavor of what was inside, would be the best part.

[@xianvox22]

Also a precious source of calories and carbs. That crust is essentially a baked roux, it would be perfect for making gravy, stew or soup. Heck, throw the whole pie into a pot. A meal for one becomes a meal for many.

[@mg_claymore8611]

Back in the day. In the middle ages the crust was little more then flour and water and very hard. In a time with poor dentistry, you wouldn't want to risk breaking teeth. And so many would not eat the crust.

[@xianvox22]

@@mg_claymore8611 which is why i they were used to make gravy, soups and stews. The fate of stale bread, too.

[@Giraude]

Burning question...how well did the other pie keep???

[@moonhorse100]

Considering how much he liked the first one id say 2.6 seconds :)

[@dougaltolan3017]

​@@moonhorse100👍

[@ChaoticMoonN1bd]

I was wondering if there was a part 2. Explaining an update. Lol

[@c4feg4r44]

well you can test it. make like 7, have one once a day. Then you will know how well it keeps in a week and from there you can make educated guess. But i also think it also depends on your local climate. In a moist area like Florida i bet it wont last long. But in a dry climate like Arizona it might last a lot longer.

[@recordatron]

Just want to say, these videos do absolute wonders for helping me relax and calm my nerves of an evening and help me get a restful night's sleep! Thank you for making them! It's also fascinating seeing the innovative methods used for cooking and preserving back in this time period. I've learned a lot watching these videos.

[@HardlyFound]

Thanks Ryan, it IS a brilliant idea. Better to have food in a bread bowl rather than the grit of clay.

[@nathant97]

If you're looking down the pie route, I'll always recommend the cornish pasty. Used by miners, one end sweet one savoy, delicious!

[@howlongisnow791]

Ryan is always great. Love his recipes.

[@s.h.v.c2865]

In Australia, the meat pie is very ubiquitous and cheap, and the crust is still a hot water pastry much like this. Dead easy to make and I think quite tasty. You need the strength of a hot water crust as they are eaten from the hand (or a paper bag), not with a knife and fork. A flaky pastry is usually used as the lid though, but not always. Have yet to try a standing crust though. I'll let you in on the secret of an Aussie meat pie, it's a little bit of clove in with the meat and gravy, makes all the difference.

[@homesteadgamer1257]

There is SO many wonderful, time-tested ways of preserving food that freezers and refrigeration has led us to forget. I was blessed to find a book called "Fabulous Feasts - Medieval Cookery and Ceremony" and it includes a bunch of things like the expected-to-be-known dough coffins. I think I found it at a thrift store, too! On Amazon, some copies are selling for almost $1,000!!! It is definitely one of my most treasured cookbooks, there are SO many great preservation techniques our ancestors can teach us if we only take the time to look.

[@flintandball6093]

In Australia meat pies are in every bakery and cooked in most homes. The classic ratio is half fat to flour. I’ve used more butter but at 1:1 it ends up more like shortbread.

[@SpacePatrollerLaser]

Dough was an all-purpose material, used for other things besides food, such as buttons

[@RAnthis]

Fascinating video! Learned so much from such a short and sweet segment. It's amazing the forethought about traveling and food. This makes so much sense. I want to make some of these for camping.

[@lucasotis9525]

Good to see you again! Times have been difficult for food, preservation techniques are always welcome

[@PepeSnow]

I live in England south east and a recipe i know to cook well is a recipe that has been taught to each member of the family ( So far i cook it the best ha ha ). It is a Chicken , Leek and Bacon pie with a white sauce filling , and you can either use short crust pastry , puff pastry or do a mix like a short crust bottom and a puff pastry top , :) i used to do that mix but realized recently the short crust cooks much nicer and holds the flavor better. 🙂

[@PepeSnow]

an easy way to make a pie mold for the bottom , is roll the pastry out to the thickness you want it at , and then have something deep and circular to drape it over then just gently mold it into the thing you use , . best to have an actual pie tin 10 plus inches wide then you have food for days :)

[@PepeSnow]

and always use a fork a tiny touch of water to seal the top crust of the pie to the bottom before cooking ( sorry bit of a pie master being english hahaha )

[@PepeSnow]

and you was right to egg wash but if you have no eggs you can actually use a small bit of full fat milk and brush that over :) and almost the same result , just for anyone that cares

[@noahhughes2501]

My great grandfather worked at a steelworks in Scotland. He and his friends would buy pasties; meat pastries much like a meat pie, but flat. The baker would roll up a thick crust on each with the tough pastry, and the men ate with dirty hands on their break and threw away the crust they touched!

[@danielbeck9191]

Very similar to the PASTIES (pronounced "PAH-stees") which my Cornish ancestors took into the mines for their meal each day. They were shaped more like a burrito or a McDonald's hot apple pie, size of two hands-full, and were wrapped in a small cloth and placed into a small metal lunch bucket Filled with diced turnips, meat, potatoes, and seasoned to taste before baking. They remain popular in the copper mining region of the Keweenaw Peninsula of Upper Michigan.

[@this-aint-no-party]

comparing cornish pasties to burritos or mcdonalds apple pies is the most american thing ever hahaha, especially when they're actually a crescent shape ;) it's so interesting that they're popular somewhere in america!! it's crazy to me that savoury pies aren't big over there, i so much prefer them to sweet ones

[@b1oh1]

Don't throw the crust out. If you're using it as storage, or even backpacking.. Just boil some water and break it apart and make it a stew.

[@fourgedmushrooms5958]

I'm in Australia and pies are big. I had a beef and mushroom, and a chicken leak and camembert in a white sauce. Pockets of cheze. Was from chain bakery not small business

[@WaddedBliss]

Pies are the national dish of Auz.

[@fourgedmushrooms5958]

@ConontheBinarian I have seen EMU pie but never tried. Kangaroo with pepper and gravy or curry would work good though.

[@phototristan]

Reminds me of a pasty, which I love. apparently minors used to take those down in the mines with them for days, if not weeks on end.

[@nt5434]

In the UK pies were also used as a way of transporting food and keeping it clean whilst in the mines. You could discard the outer casing and eat the contents when it was lunchtime. Also, you have pies which are one-half savoury and the other half sweet, in a sense a packed lunch. People used these in so many way.

[@johndoe3johndoe382]

Wow very interesting stuff. Really enjoy these videos. Historical cooking, I like it!

[@madisonm.2969]

You're in the right place! This channel and Tasting History with Max Miller are my happy place.

[@leoscheibelhut940]

Ryan, it is great to see you coming into your own! Great presentation on an interesting topic. Great tips! Thank you.

[@ripley2995]

I love this, it reminds me of tamale in ancient Aztec society! Meat or veggies cooked in starch for portable nutrients 👍🏼

[@JamesGree]

This reminds me of how Cornish miners would throw away the parts of the crimp of their pasties (a type of hand pie) that they would hold on to with their grubby hands, but could eat most of the pasty just fine.

[@MUSTASCH1O]

Pork pies made much like this are a very common meal or snack in the UK. The combination of buttery pastry, super savoury meat and gelatine is a favourite of many.

[@mariaboletsis3188]

Missed you, Ryan! SO glad you're back. Loved this episode!

[@SimpleDesertRose]

I'm always excited to see when Ryan come on. He always has something fun and unique to try. You can tell he really prides himself in his cooking skills. This reminds me of the pot pies my great grandmother would make in little tart dishes. The crust stood up on its own just like this and they lasted for days, or until the grand kids came over. I always wanted to try my hand at them but her recipe has since been lost to us. I'm thinking I might want to try this recipe out once the weather cools off.

[@henrymann8122]

You all encourage me to try these recipes and cooking methods. Thank you for posting.

[@michaeljones4049]

We make hot water crust in the UK pretty often. Same paste ingredients expect no butter and that's what we use for lots of things like pork pies. It was odd to see you cool the pastry first though. We tend to just mix, roll and form

[@johnfisk811]

Yes, hot water crust pies are made with lard and formed hot. Even the supermarket ones are made thus.

[@BreakerBea]

This is the second video ive seen of this channel, coming from portable soup. There was a real endearing sense of passion coming from every word and every action of this process. It left me with a big smile at the very end with "the best pie he's ever had"~ Very nice ❤

[@SovietGrazz]

As an Aussie who loves a meat pie ... Who throws away the crust?! The crunch added to the meat texture is all part of the experience!

[@jackknifer1]

This guy is great! I would love to see more of him, such a soothing voice and easy to follow directions!

[@Momoko524]

I'm from NZ and have always found it really weird to make a pie and only consume what's inside. Here the crust is the most important. Must be flakey and delicious. We eat the crust and all here.

[@hobes6845]

Petition to rename this segment "Fry'n with Ryan"

[@johndayan7126]

Fascinating! A great episode. Thanks for sharing!

[@scottdunkirk8198]

So glad to see this, all the trips in the military to Europe I fell in love with meat pies. Doing this as preservation method makes sense

[@misterv4462]

I've seen standing crust pies made in other videos, but they did not explain that the pies could be stored on a shelf for a time. Having grown up in the modern era in the U.S., EVERYTHING went in the fridge. It's only been in the past few years, with experimentation, that we have found quite a few things can be left out on the counter and they won't instantly go bad.

[@toryistatertot5394]

As a mom who had to feed a family of 6 with a dog and two cats on 20$ a week for awhile I nearly had a heart attack when he said you could throw away the shells and you weren't wasting anything. I remembered only nibbling crackers and taking a teaspoon of potato soup so the kids could eat well. There were days I didn't eat at all so the kids and the spouse could be healthy. lol Now each tiny dust of flour and pinch of salt is precious. ALSO, I thought "hmm... he used a heaping cup of water" when he said he added a spoon or two more.

[@aldenheterodyne2833]

I've experienced abuse-based food insecurity, but I notice that I have an attitude similar to people who experienced _actual_ food insecurity- I try to use every scrap of food I can get my hands on (veggie scraps and bones = broth, apple scraps = vinegar), and I feel vulnerable when there's not an absurd amount of food available to me. I feel really guilty whenever I accidentally forget about a head of cabbage or something and I have to throw it out. I don't know if this is something people who have experienced _real_ food insecurity do, but I'm almost pushy about giving other people food. And I don't like taking food that "isn't mine", even if it's available for everyone. If someone doesn't tell me that I am included in "everyone", it's really uncomfortable for me to take it... Because what if someone else needs it more? That was less of an issue when I was constantly hungry in college, but now that I have plenty, it's hard to take. I also pack an absurd amount of food whenever I go on a trip... And then I usually try to give away at least half of it. I personally also like to re-use everything... To a degree that annoys the people I live with. I'll save the packaging for a lot of stuff because I want to reuse it for something. I keep all my threadbare and worn out clothes for use in (mostly hypothetical) future projects. Again, I've never _actually_ experienced poverty. As a kid, I knew that if I begged hard enough and was willing to endure the bullying, I could get whatever I needed... It was just easier to learn how to make do rather than ask for more.

[@johnr797]

I just don't understand why you wouldn't give away your pets to let your children eat better, to be honest.

[@zepplin839]

​​@@johnr797probably the same reason that whole comment seems strange.

[@johnr797]

@@zepplin839 I'm still trying to understand the "heaping cup of water" part.

[@evil1by1]

​@@johnr797i don't understand why the man was eating good and happily so while she starved. She didn't make those babies alone , not I. He can pull ot if people are going hungry

[@jonbennett3946]

Love this guys presentation. Fantastic job!

[@jessegreywolf]

I am definitely going to try this. You have answered every question i have ever had about this process. Thank you so much for the vid

[@danielhanlon7005]

This was really great! Thank you, Ryan.

[@LordProtectorPepper]

I love this channel sm, everyone involved with it is just 10/10

[@RayMak]

I love this channel so much

[@ST-zm3lm]

Always glad to see Ryan! Always happy to see Townsends in general!

[@johnmchakeres]

@10:31 All your hard work paid off!! I LOVE IT!! I am going to try this on for sure!! Saving video and making this weekend!

[@philipkuzmicz5397]

Good informative video Ryan, keep up the good work...

[@lightspeedius]

Nothing beats a steak & cheese pie. I had one for dinner tonight!

[@dolorismachina2]

Great to see more of Ryan! Your content is always so wholesome.

[@playwars3037]

My god, this man exhudes joie de vivre on a level I've rarely seen. He also looks and talks like you'd expect a traditional baker to, it's almost mesmerizing.

[@ice9tom]

My mouth is watering. Great ambience in your videos. Keep up the good work.

[@RachLZelda]

I'm from the north of England, and this sort of thing is really common! You can get them in most butchers or bakers shops. The title of the video saying "standing pie" made me wonder if it was this food straight away, because we refer to it as stand pie! I have always wondered why we called it that, but if standing pie is the original name then it makes total sense! I'm not sure about leaving them for a week or two, though... We just keep them in the fridge these days!

[@RachLZelda]

Also, I never would have thought a peck was 14lbs! We commonly use stone (strictly for measuring bodyweight), which is 14lbs. It's so interesting to see this difference.

[@aurysage3043]

Another educational and enjoyable video. Everyone who presents in your videos are excellent.

[@Faze-2]

Ryan is back

[@earlshaner4441]

Good morning from Syracuse NY everyone thank you for sharing your live history videos

[@SundaySeaSongs]

this is absolutely delightful, thank you so much

[@danielspeake7539]

I absolutely love this channel! Always have.