Lihapiirakka, Finnish Meat Pies
User Reviews
5
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Prep Time
3 hrs
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Cook Time
30 mins
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Total Time
3 hrs 30 mins
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Servings
10 servings
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Calories
465 kcal
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Cuisine
Scandinavian
Lihapiirakka, Finnish Meat Pies
Description
The dough for Lihapiirakka starts with dissolving yeast in warm water, then combining it with warm milk, salt, sugar, egg, melted butter, and flour to form a soft but workable dough. This dough is allowed to rise in stages for a total of about 1.5 hours ensuring a tender and airy crust.
The filling combines sautéed ground or diced meat with onions cooked in butter, seasoned with salt, white pepper, and optionally caraway seeds. Cooked rice and chopped hard-boiled eggs are added for texture and richness. These components create a balanced, mildly spiced filling that remains moist inside the fried dough.
Each dough ball is rolled out, filled with the meat mixture, sealed, then deep-fried until golden brown. This results in individual pies with a crisp, buttery crust and savory interior suitable for a filling snack or meal accompaniment. The recipe recommends using short or medium grain rice varieties like Japanese or arborio for optimal texture.
Ingredients
DOUGH
- 1 packet yeast dry
- 1/4 cup water warm
- 1 cup whole milk heated to steaming, then cooled
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 egg beaten
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 4 cups flour
- 1/2 cup butter melted
FILLING
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1 onion minced, small, yellow
- 1 pound meat ground or diced
- salt
- 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
- 1 teaspoon caraway seeds (optional)
- 4 egg hard boiled and chopped
- 1 cup rice cooled, cooked
- cooking oil for frying
Instructions
DOUGH
- Dissolve the yeast in the warm water; warm means about 98°F. Let this sit 10 minutes, then add it to a large bowl with the milk, salt, beaten egg, and sugar. Mix well.
- Add 2 cups of flour and mix until well combined. Pour in the melted butter and incorporate that into the dough. Now stir in the remaining flour until you have a soft but workable dough; you might need an additional 1/2 cup of flour. Knead it until smooth, about 5 minutes.
- Grease a bowl, then roll the dough ball in the oil, then cover the bowl in plastic wrap. Let this sit in a warm place for 1 hour. Punch the dough down, reform into a ball and let it sit, covered, for another 30 minutes. Separate into 12 equal sized balls and set them in the bowl, covered.
FILLING
- When the dough begins its first resting period, cook the onion and meat in butter until browned, adding the salt and white pepper near the end of cooking. Move the meat and onions to a bowl to cool. Mix in the cooked rice and the chopped boiled egg and caraway seeds if using.
TO FINISH
- Add about 1 to 2 inches of canola, vegetable or other high smoke point oil to a large frying pan set over high heat. You want the oil to hit 350°F.
- As the oil is heating, either roll out a disk with a rolling pin or use a tortilla press to flatten out a ball of dough. Add a couple tablespoons of the filling to half of the disk, then fold over the other half to form a half-moon shape. Press to seal with your fingers, then with the tines of a fork. Set each pie aside until the oil is hot.
- Turn the oven to 200°F and set a baking sheet in it. Set a cooling rack over the baking sheet.
- I find I can fry two pies at a time while making the rest, but I make a lot of pies. Start slowly if you're new at it. You only need to fry the pies until they are pretty and golden, maybe 2 to 3 minutes per side. Flip only once. Set the finished pies on the rack in the oven while you do the rest.
- Serve hot out of the fryer, or save them for lunch the next day!
Notes
- Use short or medium grain rice, such as Japanese or arborio rice, for the filling to achieve the right texture.
- Ensure the dough is soft but manageable by adjusting flour amount as needed during kneading.
- Allow the dough to rise twice for better texture: once after mixing, and again after punching down and dividing.
- Seal pies well before frying to prevent filling leakage during cooking.
Nutrition Information
Show DetailsNutrition Facts
Serving: 10servings
Amount Per Serving
Calories 465 kcal
% Daily Value*
| Calories | 465kcal | 23% |
| Carbohydrates | 50g | 17% |
| Protein | 20g | 40% |
| Fat | 21g | 32% |
| Saturated Fat | 12g | 60% |
| Polyunsaturated Fat | 1g | 6% |
| Monounsaturated Fat | 5g | 25% |
| Trans Fat | 1g | 50% |
| Cholesterol | 158mg | 53% |
| Sodium | 419mg | 17% |
| Potassium | 302mg | 6% |
| Fiber | 2g | 8% |
| Sugar | 7g | 14% |
| Vitamin A | 585IU | 12% |
| Vitamin C | 1mg | 1% |
| Calcium | 64mg | 6% |
| Iron | 4mg | 22% |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
User Reviews
Overall Rating
5
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