Do You Know the Minnesota Tradition of Pudgy Pies?

Each state or region of the country has traditions or customs that may not be exclusive to them per say, but at least these customs or traditions are very common. 

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My wife and I learned this firsthand after moving to Minnesota last September, when we heard the term “hotdish”. In the south where we’re from, that’s a dish that was sat inside the oven to bake or cook a meal and it was still “hot”. 

As we learned more about Minnesota “hotdishes”, we saw similarities to casseroles. We also learned that saying a “hotdish” is similar to a casserole could also start a fight, so we won’t go there right now.  

Since moving here, my wife, Kim and I have become friends with my co-worker Lee Voss and his fiancé’ Michelle. They reached out to us last week and asked if we’d like to come over Saturday night and sit by the fire and relax after a long week.  

Michelle texted Kim and said they were inviting Lee’s parents and some neighbors over as well for “pudgy pies”. “What the hell is a pudgy pie” I asked.  

We learned on Saturday it’s a tradition that we really enjoy. First you need the cast iron pie-iron that are shaped like small sandwiches. Once your fire has died down to embers, you place your “pie” or sandwich in the cast iron pie-iron. Then you place the pie-iron above or in the embers and rotate them occasionally, so the sandwich cooks evenly.  

We used ham, turkey, pulled pork and cheeses along with condiments like mustard, bar-b-que sauce and others to make our pies. Whatever your favorite condiment is would probably work just fine.  

I like to call Kim and Michelle “Sourdough Sisters”. Michelle shared a sourdough starter with Kim, and she’s been baking bread ever since. For our pudgy pie experience, Michelle also brought out some homemade sourdough bread that we used in the bigger of the pie-irons. Sourdough “Pudgys” are really good if you haven’t tried them.  

To borrow a phrase from my southern heritage, “I’ll tell you what, those pies were damn good”.  

It was sort of like roasting marshmallows except the “marshmallow” was your entree. Kim and I have relatives and friends in North Carolina that we can’t wait to share “Pudgy Pies” with as soon as we can.