Chance to buy local pasties is once-a-year opportunity

ST. IGNATIUS — They’re the size of a plate, I’m told. Well, a plate folded over, Aylee Bain corrects. The classic Butte Irish pasty is a staple of sorts in Mission, too. The Mission Valley United Methodist women make them every year “for the Super Bowl,” said Patty Krantz, another Methodist woman.
The ladies make them in the new United Methodist Church kitchen, whereas in the past they used to work in the decidedly closer quarters of the St. Ignatius Senior Center. But with the Center’s kitchen being remodeled, and the new church kitchen available, the location this year was a no brainer.
“We have this lovely new kitchen,” said Lois McPherson of the new church, who with Bain is taking orders for this year’s meat pies.
The ladies make 90 dozen a year, they said. That’s over a thousand pasties, created in just two days by a passel of church volunteers.
“Oh, people always want us to make them again, and we did that one year, but no more,” said McPherson. She explains quite clearly there is one chance and one chance only, each year, to buy the meaty treats.
“We’ve been making them forever and ever,” she said of the number of years the women have been creating the pies.
For those who don’t know, a pasty is a meat pie, made by placing a good portion of filling atop a circle of dough, and folding it over like a calzone or a quesadilla. The crust of a pasty is like that of a pie, unlike noodle-based filled dough pouches such as ravioli, or bread-dough filled pouches such as bierocks or knishes.
The women grind “very good quality beef, it’s very lean,” said McPherson, with onions and potato, and use a cup full as filling for each bread-plate sized pasty. They bake them to a golden brown before selling, so that all a purchaser has to do is reheat them in the oven or microwave.
“They make a great meal,” Bain mentioned. “One is enough.”
“People will buy a couple dozen and freeze them to have,” said McPherson. But the chance to purchase them is limited, and is happening now.
The women are taking orders this week only for the pies, and will be creating the savory treats on only two days, Jan. 19 and 21, at the church.
Orders can be called in to Ayleen Bain at 745-4532, or Lois McPherson at 745-4535. Pasties cost $2 each, and are picked up at the church after they’ve been baked. All the women said they’re a deal, and a tasty meal to boot.