Medieval Steak and Ale Pies

The History

I have a complex sociological theory based on years of research that all human cultures have a food that is a hot filling in an edible wrapper. Yes, my theory is that a shared common thread of humanity is The Hot Pocket.

The idea of cooking food in a technically edible wrapper goes back to Neolithic times. The ancient Egyptians get the credit for first using a primitive bread-like pastry bowl to cook in. Eventually, when the Ancient Greek and Egyptian cultures began to mix (see: Cleopatra), the ancient Greeks followed the Egyptian lead and started to cook similar dishes with their own favorite fillings, like olives. Unsurprisingly, the Romans copied the Greeks and adopted the recipe themselves, a popular pie-like dish was unfortunately named a “placenta.” When the Romans conquered most of the world, they brought their recipes with them and the locals started to remix with their own ingredients.

One of the most notable of Roman occupations, was of course England (London still has its original Roman walls to this day). As steamed vegetables and meats seem baked into their DNA, the people of the isle of Britain embraced the Roman recipe and ran with it. Originally, the English called the dish “coffins,” not in a morbid way, the word literally means “box.” The outside pastry crust was made so thick that it could withstand several…