Apple and Duck Sausage Hand Pies

Duck… Duck… Duck… PIE. Don’t think of pies just as something sweet served on a plate. Hand pies are just a little bit of savory wonderfulness in a flakey crust ready to eat on the go. And after trying these hand-size Apple and Duck Sausage Hand Pies, you will realize they are something you need to add to your backpack for your next ski, snowshoe, hike, or bike trip.

Thursdays are ski days for me this winter. Mainly because with pandemic restrictions, it seems to be the only day I can sneak away from my day job AND get reservations at my local mountain. After a couple of hours of turns, I’m hungry. And, it’s great to nosh on something satisfying while riding solo on the chair or at a tailgate with some of your friends.

A great pie is all about the crust. When making a pastry crust, you want prevent the creation of gluten, and that means keeping things cold. This means you will want to start with ice-cold butter and refrigerate the dough at every step of the process. While you can use store-bought frozen pie dough for this recipe, this dough is quick and easy to make. It is a variation of the “all-butter” dough from Cathy Barrow’s “When Pies Fly,” adjusted because I live at a higher altitude.

Tip for the Perfect Pie Crust for Apple and Duck Sausage Hand Pies

• Keep it cold. By far the most important tip for a successful pie. On top of using ice cold butter, do not let the kitchen get too hot. Make your dough in the morning and not while you are baking other items in the kitchen.
  
• Mind the water. Water can help to faciliate gluten. Gluten leads to a “chewy” texture (think of your favorite crusty bread) rather the light and flakey texture you want in your pie dough.
  
• Don’t forget to chill the dough! For this recipe, the dough should chill for atleast 4 hours or as many as 12 hours.

Spicy duck sausage was the filling of choice this time. Why duck sausage? It was what I had in the freezer that I was about to reach its end of life. As much as we like to pretend things that we can freeze or dry last for forever, they do not. Duck sausage is not essential to this recipe. You can use any type of sausage from venison to chicken to pork!

Steps to Make Apple and Duck Sausage Hand Pies

1. Use a food processor or pastry blend to combine the dough ingredeints.
2. Form dough into disk and wrap in plastic.
3. Chill dough for 4 – 12 hours.
4. While dough chills, start to make the filling by browning sausage and set aside.
5. Saute onion and apple. Add aromatics.
6. Combine sausage, onion, apple and cream cheese.
7. Roll out dough into rectangles.
8. Add filling.
9. Seal with fork and brush with egg wash.
10. Bake for 30-35 minutes, cool and enjoy!

Looking for other great snacks for your outdoor adventure? Check out my list of the 10 Best Snacks for Ski Days!

4.50 from 4 votes

Apple and Duck Sausage Hand Pies

Servings 4 people

Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Resting Time (For Dough) 8 hours hrs

Total Time 9 hours hrs

Equipment

• Food Processor

Ingredients

For the Dough…

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 8 tbsp butter cubed and frozen
• 1/2 cup ice water

For the Filling…

• 8 oz sausage
• 1/2 small onion finely chopped
• 1/2 Granny Smith apple finely chopped
• 1/2 tsp thyme chopped
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 4 oz cream cheese
• 1 eggs beaten

Instructions

For the Dough…

• Combine flour and salt in a food processor fitted with a metal blade attachment. Add butter. Mix on the "pulse" setting 10-12 times. Slowly add ice water and mix until the dough comes together. Do not over mix.
• Remove dough from food processor and form into a 4 inch disk. Place in a plastic bag and refrigerate for 4-12 hours.

For the Filling…

• Brown sausage over medium heat in a skillet. Remove sausage from skillet and place in a bowl. Set aside. Do not remove excess grease from the pan.
• Add onion to the pan. Cook for 1-2 minutes. Add apple and cook for another 3 minutes. Combine in a separate bowl with sausage. Stir in salt, thyme, and cream cheese. Cool in the fridge for 30 minutes.

For the Pies…

• Roll dough into a 1/4 inch thick square. Cut dough into 8 2 x 4-inch rectangles. Cut vents into 4 of the rectangles.
• Place 1/4 filling on full rectangle and top with a vented rectangle. Seal the edges with a fork. Brush with egg wash. Repeat for the other 3 pies. Chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
• Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Bake pies for 30-35 minutes. Cool on a baking rack for 5 minutes.

Course: Main Course, Snack

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Make Ahead, On the Go

Did you make this recipe?

Please let me know how it turned out for you! Leave a comment below and tag @bewildeats on Instagram and hashtag it #bewildeats.