In honor of National Pi Day, which celebrates that elusive mathematical constant, I thought I'd take a moment to share one of our family's tried and true "pie" crust recipes made with chicken fat and shortening. While butter, Crisco and lard are all delightful options when making homemade pie, I have to go with chicken fat on this one, especially if you're making apple pie or mincemeat pie. There's just something about that salty, savory, sweet combo that can't be beat.
This is a very old recipe that was passed onto me by my granny Boohler (a.k.a. Beulah Bailey) back in Princeton, West Virginia, and as you'll see, it's characteristically vague (in a Southern passed down oral recipe kinda way) beginning with, "Next time you kill a chicken...."
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| My granny and grandpa in WV. I spy some pies on that table. |
Back in the 1940's in Ceres Hollow, WV, my dad, uncle, grandpa, and my granny Boohler raised chickens on a small plot of land that skirted Woodlawn Memorial Park, a cemetery that my great-grandfather helped to build and where much of the Bailey clan rests today. Their two acre "farm" had a milking cow, a hog, a few hens and several chickens as well as an ornery rooster, which was known to hide inside the outhouse toilet where it succeeded in scaring the you-know-what out of my dad when he had to use it in the middle of the night.
It was here that my grandpa took care of all the chicken killing, and he did it the old school way by wringing the chicken's neck, before cutting off its head and gutting it after which it would be scalded, plucked and singed over a fire to remove any stubborn pin feathers. There's an old story that my granny used to love to share at the dinner table, which involved my grandpa unsuccessfully wringing a chicken's neck and then chopping off its head only to watch it take off down the road spurting a trail of blood (seems that sometimes the nerves don't always match up with the brain as with the phrase "chicken with its head cut off"). It was stories like these that made for excellent meal fodder as you can imagine along with plenty of nervous laughter, especially when you're staring at a big plate of granny's fried chicken and white gravy.
Whether you're slaughtering your own chickens or purchasing them at your local market, be sure to save the fat after you stew one or make chicken stock since this is best way to salvage all the good stuff. A super easy way to make chicken stock is to do it in the slow cooker (same goes for stewing a whole chicken). I got quite adept at this cooking method while testing recipes for The Southern Slow Cooker where I have both a slow cooker chicken stock recipe and a recipe for slow cooker chicken with cornmeal dumplings. Once you've made your stock or stew, simply chill the broth and scrape all the fat off the top for making pie crusts.
Chicken Fat Pie Crust Recipe
As told to me by my granny....
"Next time you kill and stew a chicken, save the fat drippings by chilling the whole mess. Just spoon off the fat that has congealed on top. Then substitute the fat in your basic pie crust recipe. Substitute the chicken fat for half of your shortening."
Basic Pie Crust Recipe
Pie crusts tend to be flakier when you don't overwork them and use as little flour as possible, so when flouring your board or your rolling pin go easy on the flour.
Makes two 9-inch pie crusts
2 cups flour, sifted
1/2 teaspon salt
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon shortening (use half chicken fat here if you like)
3 to 4 tablespoons ice water, plus more as needed
Mix the flour, salt and shortening with a fork until it's well blended together. Add the water and mix until a ball forms. To roll out, lightly flour your counter top and rolling pin. Roll out pastry crusts to fit two 9-inch pie plates.
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FAQs
The pros: Butter has the best flavor. A butter pie crust forms light, lofty, flaky layers while it bakes. The flakiness comes partially from the water content of butter, which evaporates as the pie bakes and turns to steam, separating and puffing up the layers in dough.
What happens if you add too much fat to pie crust? ›
When there is too much fat in the pie crust, it crumbles. There isn't enough flour to form the flakes, so the extra fat just melts as it bakes and the pie crust falls apart as you cut into it. Baking is a precise art; you must measure the flour, salt, fat and water carefully or your pie crust won't turn out well.
What is the secret to a great pie crust? ›
Cold butter is the key to flaky crusts. Do not skip this step. You must put your butter in the freezer to get it nice and cold. Many people do not like working with frozen butter, but it makes all the difference in the world when you create your pie dough.
What is the secret to crispy bottom pie crust? ›
Sprinkle dried breadcrumbs or crushed cornflakes, or other types of cereal, on the bottom crust before filling and baking in the oven.
Which fat makes the flakiest pie crust? ›
The Pie Crust Takeaways
This time, though, there was one very clear victor. Butter made a tastier, flakier, sturdier crust by far.
Is Crisco or lard better for pie crust? ›
Crisco makes a very solid and well formed general crust for most pies. Lard makes a crisp crust great for fruit and custard pies but lack a bit for meat pies and cobblers in my opinion. Tallow or beef fat pies are great for soft crusts for meat pies but will soak up too much liquid for fruit or custards.
Is pie crust better with butter or Crisco? ›
“My preferred fat for pie crusts will always be butter. To me, it is all about flavor, and no other fat gives flavor to a crust like butter does. Other fats, even though they have great pros, lack flavor,” De Sa Martins said. “The more flavorful the butter, the more flavor your pie crust will have,” Huntsberger added.
What does adding vinegar to pie crust do? ›
Vinegar is very acidic, and that acidity is thought to slow the development of gluten in dough.
What does adding vodka to pie crust do? ›
Unlike water, alcohol does not contribute to the formation of gluten, the network of proteins that can cause a crust to turn leathery. Because the alcohol burns off quickly in the oven, drying out the crust, we could add enough vodka to keep the dough wet and extremely supple.
What is the number 2 most important thing when making pie crust? ›
I like to use pastry flour because it contains less gluten than all-purpose flour and therefore creates a more tender crust, but all-purpose flour will work just fine if that's what you have on hand. The “2” is fat. Butter is the most common type of fat used, but other solid fats will work as well.
Below are six common mistakes when making a homemade pie crust and some helpful solutions to avoid them.
- The ingredients are too warm. ...
- The pie dough is overworked from excessive mixing or rolling. ...
- The pie dough isn't given enough time to relax and chill. ...
- The pie dough is shrinking down the sides of the pan.
Pre-baking is a must if you're looking for a flaky pie crust. It's especially helpful for recipes with a wet center. Recipes for most tarts, pies, and quiches call for pre-baking to ensure that the final product doesn't end up soggy.
Should you poke holes in bottom of pie crust? ›
With docking, the holes allow steam to escape, so the crust should stay flat against the baking dish when it isn't held down by pie weights or a filling. Otherwise the crust can puff up, not only impacting appearance but also leaving you with less space for whatever filling you have planned.
How do you keep chicken pie from getting soggy on the bottom? ›
The most common way to ward off a soggy pie crust is by a process called blind baking. Blind baking means you pre-bake the crust (sometimes covered with parchment or foil and weighed down with pie weights to prevent the crust from bubbling up) so that it sets and crisps up before you add any wet filling.
Is it better to use lard or shortening? ›
Choosing between shortening and lard comes down to personal preference. Both create a flaky, tender crust, are semi-solid, and are 100% fat. Swap one for the other in recipes. If you want to add additional flavor to the dish, lard is the right choice.
What does fat butter lard or shortening do in a pie crust? ›
Fat keeps the layers of flour/water "matrix" separated as the pie bakes; the longer fat is present in its solid form (score one for shortening, with its high melting point), the more flakes will form, the more tender/flakier the crust will be. Now, that may be true.
What is the most common type of fat used in pastry? ›
That's because butter is the most expensive fat they could use for their baking and they're not about to do that unless they can charge a premium for it. The most common fat you'll see in store baked pastries is vegetable oil shortening, most often made with palm oil and maybe lard in some cases.
What type of fat can be used in pastry? ›
A shortening is defined as a fat, solid at room temperature, which can be used to give foods a crumbly and crisp texture such as pastry. Examples of fat used as “shorteners” include butter, margarine, vegetable oils and lard.
