Easy Beef Pasties

Steps

1. 1Prepare Crust: Before you begin measuring everything out, place the cubed butter in the freezer to chill.
2. 2Stir together flour, sugar, and salt, and pour into the food processor. Add butter and pulse until butter is cut into the flour, but still has visible chunks.
3. 3While pulsing, slowly pour in 1/2 cup of the buttermilk and continue to pulse until the buttermilk is incorporated into the dough. At this point, your dough should look like rough crumbs and hold their shape if squeezed together. If dough does not hold its shape, drizzle in a little more buttermilk, up to 2½ additional tablespoons, until it does. The dough will look a little scary at this point, but don't worry. It's supposed to look like that!
4. 4Lay a sheet of plastic wrap on the counter and dump half of your dough crumbs onto the sheet. Gather the edges of the plastic wrap and press tightly together to form a 1-inch thick disk. Do the same with the rest of the dough. Place in a plastic bag and refrigerate for at least an hour, up to 24.
5. 5Prepare Filling: Preheat oven to 400°F.
6. 6In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium-high heat (watch closely, you don't want to burn the butter) and add the meat. Cook until well browned.
7. 7Add potatoes and carrots and cover with just enough water that the meat and vegetables are submerged. Add salt, rosemary, pepper, and oregano.
8. 8Bring to a boil, turn down to medium and simmer for five minutes. Meat should be cooked through and potatoes should be softened, but still have a bit of a bite to them.
9. 9Remove from heat and drain the cooking liquid into a separate container for later use. Set liquid and meat and veggies aside.
10. 10In a medium saucepan, melt remaining 3 tablespoons of butter over medium heat. Add onions and cook until they begin to soften, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add flour and whisk continuously for 1 minute until a sticky paste forms and flour turns golden. Whisk in 1 cup of the reserved cooking liquid from your meat and potatoes (discard the rest). Simmer for 2 to 4 minutes, whisking continuously, until a thick gravy forms. Remove from heat and stir in the meat and vegetable mixture, making sure everything is well coated.
11. 11Assemble Pasties: Whisk together egg and milk in a small bowl to make your egg wash.
12. 12On a well-floured surface, divide your dough into 4 to 6 equal-size pieces and roll into balls. If you are slow at rolling out pastry dough, place all the balls, but one, back in the fridge and work with one at a time so the dough stays chilled and easy to work with.
13. 13Re-flour your work surface and roll first ball out to 3/8 inch thick with a floured rolling pin, forming as round of a circle as you can manage (trim edges with a knife to make a perfect circle if necessary). Pick up your dough to make sure it is not stuck to your work surface. If it is, use a metal spatula to dislodge it before filling.
14. 14Brush egg wash around the edges of your pie crust to help seal it and spoon beef mixture over slightly less than half of the dough, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Fold dough over the filling and use a fork to crimp the edges closed. Cut 3 slashes in the top and transfer to baking pan.
15. 15Repeat with remaining dough balls. You may have a bit of meat mixture left over, depending on how thin you rolled out your dough. You can eat it with a spoon.
16. 16Brush pasties with egg wash and and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until they are beautiful and golden.
17. 17Allow to cool slightly and enjoy.