Nothing says Midwest summer like a rhubarb pie.
If I had to say I have one culinary skill it would be making pie, specifically rhubarb. I make other kinds but this is always my favorite. For many people who didn’t grow up with it, it is an acquired taste. Tart and maybe a little sour but if done right, just enough sweet to make it irresistible. Also, the crust is key. A hard chewy crust will ruin even the best tasting filling. I’ll share my secrets of making a light, fluffy, golden crust.
I planted my own rhubarb this year but it hasn’t gotten established enough yet that I could use it for this pie. I found this perfect bunch at my local grocers. I like the really red kind but the thinner green type works just as well. I prefer the red because I find it a little sweeter and it makes a really pretty pink filling in the finished pie. The type I am growing is Chipman’s Canada Red. The stalks are deep red all the way through, it is sweeter and doesn’t bolt (or go to seed) as fast in hot weather.
Wash and dry your stalks. Cut off the woody and leafy ends. This is one of the things you don’t want to put in your compost pile because it has a chemical in the plant that will kill other plants and can even stop the microbial action in your compost.
Chop up the rhubarb into one inch pieces. Really thick stalks should be split down the middle. Add flour, sugar, and salt per recipe and set aside. I do this before I start making my crust to give it time to macerate, or for the juices to come out and soften.
I grew up learning to cook out of my Mother’s copy of this cookbook. She gave me this one when I got married almost 24 years ago. I have collected many other fancier and newer cookbooks over the years but this is my go-to source when I want good, simple, home-cooked food. (I use Joy of Cooking when I want to get fancy or try something new.) This also may be the only cookbook that has a recipe for plain rhubarb pie. I’ve seen recipes with strawberries, cream cheese, tapioca and other stuff but this one is simple: sugar, flour, rhubarb and butter.
Now it is time to make your crust. I also use BHG for my crust recipe. It is simple for a double crust pie:
Crust Recipe:
2 cups all purpose flour
Pinch of salt
2/3 cups shortening or lard
6-7 T. cold water
I used real lard in this pie because I had some on hand from soap making. I used to only use Butter flavored Crisco. But in all honesty, I think I prefer lard. I have no idea what is really in Crisco and anything “butter flavored” is probably loaded with artificial crap. Unfortunately however, this made my pie off limits for my vegetarian friend to try a piece. To me homemade pie is a special treat, not something I make every day or even every week so I splurge and use real ingredients.
Measure out the flour, salt and lard into a large mixing bowl.
Here is one of my “secrets,” get yourself a “pastry cutter.” I used to have a red handled antique one just like my Mother’s but it got lost in one of our kitchen makeovers or moves. I was lost without it. Yes, you can use a fork to cut the lard into your flour but it just doesn’t work the same. Then one day the Pie Gods smiled down upon me and I saw this one on an end rack at Wal-Mart or Meijer. This bad boy will combine your flour and lard into perfect little chunks and result in perfect flaky crusts. I promise.
It should look like this when you are done cutting them together.
My next secret is to use ice water for the next step. I fill a glass measure with ice and water and measure from there with my Tablespoon. The colder your ingredients the lighter your crust.
Measure the water one Tablespoon at a time and gradually add to the flour mixture. I sprinkle one spoon and then gently mix that section until it clumps together and then push it to the side of the bowl and add another and so on until the entire dough is just went enough to form a ball but not sticky.
This is what it should look like at this point.
Then I divide it in half and wrap each in plastic wrap in a ball shape. Be careful to not over-handle your dough or you will get a tough crust. Put these into the fridge to chill for at least an hour. I also put my rolling pin in the fridge too. I recently found a marble pin at the resale shop for $3! I’ve been using my old wooden one for ages and it worked fine but the marble gets cold and is heavy so I don’t have to use as much muscle power to get a nice result. I’m also fortunate enough to have granite counters so I just roll my dough on them but I’ve also used my big wooden cutting board in the past. When I use my board I put a damp towel under it to keep it from sliding around when I’m rolling out my dough.
Your filling should be looking like this by now. See how the salt and sugar have pulled out the juices of the rhubarb? But adding that little bit of flour has thickened it all up so you won’t get a runny pie.
Now it’s time to roll!
More secret weapons. My aforementioned “new” marble rolling pin and my dough scraper. I don’t remember where I found this but I recently misplaced it and missed it terribly. I also use it when chopping vegetables for soup because I can scoop them up off the cutting board and dump them into the pot so easily.
I apologize that somehow I missed taking photos of the actual rolling out of the dough. My daughter came in the kitchen and we started talking and I forgot until I got to this stage.)
Generously dust your surface with flour. A cold counter or board and a cold rolling pin will also help to avoid the dough from sticking. But if it does start to stick just dust with more flour. As I roll I will carefully flip and turn my crust to be sure it isn’t sticking to the counter and so that it stays fairly circular.
After rolling out your dough carefully fold it in half, using the dough scraper to lift it, then in half again and gently place it on your pie plate like this. This helps you center it and avoid ripping a hole when transferring it from counter to pan. Gently unfold it and let it settle into the bottom of the plate. Again avoid over handling it. If you do get a hole you can patch it by taking a small pie of dough and wetting the area around the hole and pressing the dough “patch” into place.
Add your filling and dot with butter.
Trim away excess dough around the edge of the pie plate and patch any areas that ripped or didn’t get enough dough.
(This is when having the daughter come in to watch came in handy. I couldn’t have gotten this picture with one hand!) After you roll out the second, top crust carefully roll it over your pin to move it to the pie. Then it just easily rolls right off and into place. It is really hard to pick up and reposition the top crust once it is put in place so this method helps you get it right the first time. I also like my top crust to be quite generous in size so that I have lots of overhang to work with.
Carefully trim off the top crust but leave enough so that you can tuck it under the edge of the bottom crust to get a good seal.
Then my favorite part of pie making; fluting the edges. I remember watching my Mom do this and thinking it was kind of magical. I even think there may be a “code” for pie crust edges. Fluted means it is a fruit pie, forked means it is a meat pie, or am I making that up?
The process of fluting isn’t easily described in words but I think my daughter did a pretty good job of capturing my method in this photo. Just gently press down with two fingers on the top and press between them with the thumb of your other hand along the edge. It makes a pretty edge and seals the edge against leaks.
Melt a couple of tablespoons of butter and brush over the top of the crust, then sprinkle with sugar. You can use an egg wash if you prefer but I like the butter. I find egg wash can get too brown for my preferences. Plus BUTTER! I really like this little silicone basting brush. I used to have a traditional bristle pastry brush but it would get used for BBQ and then never be right again. This one can go into the dishwasher and comes out perfectly clean and sanitized. For some reason it has been dubbed the “butt tickler” but I assure you it has never been used for that purpose! It just looks like some kind of kinky sex toy and we are a bit twisted around here so there you go.
Cut slits into the top of you pie to let the steam escape during baking. You can go as simple as this or get all fancy and use a small cookie cutter or write your name or whatever. “Roll it and pat it and mark it with a B” if that’s what you want!
Almost ready for the oven! I also take strips of aluminum foil and cover the edges of the pie for the first 25 minutes of baking. This prevents the edges from getting too brown. I’ve seen actual metal pie guards sold for this purpose but I don’t need or have room for one more limited use gadget in my kitchen. I have to save room for my pastry cutter, dough scraper, marble rolling pin and mango slicer for heaven’s sake!
Into the oven at 375 for 25 minutes, remove foil and bake for another 25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove and cool on a rack or your kitchen window, just be careful that Eddie Haskell doesn’t come along and steal it! (I really am old aren’t I?)
You should have a golden, flakey, delicious pie to satisfy your summer cravings and impress your friends. I made this for a little midsummer party we had on Sunday and I forgot to take any photos of a slice. So you’ll just have to take my word for it that it was a beautiful pink filling with just the right amount of tart and sweet.
