Easy as blueberry fried pie
Cake or pie? That’s a question often posed, with much weight attached to the answer. For me, the choice is simple: I’ll take the pie.
I don’t know what this says about me exactly, but I do come from a pie-eating family, which might hold some sway over my decision. Likewise, I have more of a salt tooth than a sweet tooth, and the flaky, tender, slightly salty crust has always been my favorite part of a pie, so much that you could bake me pie-crust scraps and sprinkle a little sugar and cinnamon on them and I’d think that was the best treat ever.
This isn’t to say that I don’t love cake because I do. But if someone was offering a portable dessert, such as the choice between cupcakes or fried pies, it would be no contest. Much to my chagrin, however, fried pies are nowhere near as ubiquitous as cupcakes. Matter of fact, I have a hard time finding them anywhere except at fast-food places, and what they offer is not even close to the glory of a fried pie made with two hands, a fresh filling and love.
Fried pies are a longstanding tradition in Texas, found at fairs, cook-outs, restaurants, bakeries, and, of course, in home kitchens. They are a terrific dessert for big picnics and other outdoor feasts because they’re portable, don’t melt and taste just as good either hot or cold. And they are very warm-weather friendly. If it’s oppressively hot outside, wouldn’t you rather stand over a skillet for a few quick minutes than be subjected to an oven’s overheated wrath for one very long hour? That’s what I thought.
At the market on Saturday, I saw the first of the season’s blueberries—blue orbs that popped with a tart, sweet juice. They were going fast, so I grabbed a few pints. After gorging myself on about a hundred berries, I decided that perhaps I should take advantage of their being fresh and make some fried pies.
You can use frozen blueberries in some things, such as muffins, smoothies or cakes, but I think that when you’re making a pie filling you want them to be as fresh as possible so each bite will have that snap and wholeness that frozen berries seem to lack. I also like to add a bit of lemon zest and cinnamon to my filling, but it’s the berries that are the real stars.
But of course, you can’t have a fried pie without a proper pastry to contain the filling. A few weeks ago I rendered leaf lard, which is the best kind of lard for pastry, and I had enough left over to make a crust. It doesn’t get more basic than flour, salt, water and lard. And if you have never worked with a pie crust made with lard, well let me tell you—it is the easiest, smoothest thing ever to roll. No struggle and no crumble—the only reason mine wasn’t perfect was because I still haven’t mastered the art of rolling out pies. The good thing is, however, is that nobody sees your mistakes when you make fried pies. You cut out circles for the individual pastries—and these can be as neat and tidy as you like.
The best thing about a lard-based crust is that it’s strong yet flaky. And while sometimes I have problems with my fried pies leaking, these stayed sealed with nary a blueberry to be seen until after my first bite. And oh, what a bite! I sprinkled some powdered sugar on my pie (though that’s not necessary) and it was sweet, salty and crisp with the berries round and full. It was a true summertime taste. I don’t think this batch will last until the weekend, so I plan to make some more for the Fourth of July. And of course, there are now apricots, cherries and raspberries to fill my fried pies with as well. I can’t wait!
What are you making for the Fourth of July?
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Not interested in fried pies? Here are some other recipes that would be fabulous on the Fourth:
- Great-Grandma Gibson’s fried chicken
- Fried okra
- Cole slaw with cilantro and jalapenos
- Texas caviar
- Refrigerator dill pickles
- Texas sheet cake
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Blueberry fried pies
Ingredients
For the crust:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 cup chilled lard
- 1/4 cup cold water
For the filling:
- 2 cups blueberries
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 cup water
- Powdered sugar, for dusting
Instructions
- To make the crust, mix together the flour and salt. Add the lard, either with a fork, your hands or a pastry cutter.
- When the flour is clumped together, slowly add the cold water a tablespoon at a time until the dough is moist enough to come together. Form the dough into ball. Wrap and place the dough in the refrigerator to chill for at least an hour.
- Meanwhile, mix the blueberries, sugar, flour, lemon zest, cinnamon, and water in a pan, bring to a boil and cook for about 2 or 3 minutes or until thickened. Turn off the heat
- To make the fried pies, roll out the chilled pie crust until it’s no more than a 1/4 of an inch thick. (I like to roll it out into a rectangle-type shape.) Cut out 12 five-inch diameter circles (I use a saucer as a guide). Any scraps that are left over you can roll out again and cut out more circles.
- To make each pie, place 2 tablespoons of filling in the center of each crust. Moisten the edges and fold the crust over, sealing the edges with your fingers and then by pressing down on the edge with a fork.
- In a cast-iron skillet, heat an inch of oil (or lard or shortening) to 350° F.
- With a spatula, gently place each pie into the hot oil, and turn over after a minute. Cook on the other side for another minute, and then drain on a rack or paper-towel lined plate. You can sprinkle powdered sugar over the pies if you like.
Beautiful photos and wonderful recipes. my grandma used to make fried pies. there was nothing better than being sent home from mamaw’s house with a oil-spotted paper sack full of fried pies. chocolate, peach, cherry….ummmm!
So many Texans in NYC! All my Texan tastes are so pronounced now, too. It’s good that I can find enough tasty things to keep me going, more so I mean than London…
I would love fried pie with apples (not into cooked berries), and cream on the side.
As someone who eats strictly Kosher, lard is out of the question. What do you recommend as a suitable alternative?
OMGOODNESS, those look so good. I am going to try this weekend–I’ll let you know how they turn out. Maybe you would have an idea as to why the cherry pie I made on the 4th was icky? (see my post “Let Freedom Ring [while eating an icky pie])
Just found your blog and love it – added to my blog roll today.
Sending Texas-sized hugs!
Half-Baked–One? Heck, I could eat at least two!
Kelly–What an excellent meal!
Susan–Should you feel torn in your allegiance, I have the perfect compromise–chocolate pie.
Nika–I’ll gladly take the blame. Heck, I’ve gained at least 20 myself!
Lydia–See what y’all have been missing on the East Coast? Imagine a world without fried pies.
Bee–I’m a big fan of peach cobbler myself. Peaches aren’t in season here yet, but you bet I’ll be making some as soon as they arrive.
Chris–My grandmother either cans or freezes her peaches, but I might have to dry the drying method this summer.
Kevin–Thanks!
TAMY 3 Sides of Crazy–You’ve very welcome.
Paula–Glad y’all enjoyed the rice!
Just A Plane Ride Away–I love cucumber salad in the summer–it’s so refreshing!
Mike–Is Nacogdoches known for its blueberries? I did not know this!
Amy C Evans–Love the packaging! And that’s the next thing I need to figure out–how to make a splendid coconut custard pie.
Tina–Hope it works for you!
Margaret–Yep, the only way to make them is in a cast iron skillet. What a wonderful memory!
Brave Sir Robin–Apricot is another excellent fried pie filling. And glad your boys liked the rice. Are they a tough crowd?
Lisa–I agree–I think of pie as more of a summer thing probably because of the bounty of delicious fruit fillings.
Meeta–Oh so decadent but oh so good!
Ken–No way! And yep, they’re good anytime of day!
Tom–I’m not aware of any family from Alabama–before Texas we were in Tennessee and Virginia, though fried pies are pretty common all over the south. And I love the idea of using old biscuit dough–I’ll have to try that!
Steve–I have been bugging my grandmother for her chocolate pie recipe for ever–hopefully she’ll share it with me soon.
MusikMom–You’re very welcome. And that’s a shame that August Pies went out of business. Is there no longer a demand for fried pies?
Becci–I’m sorry to hear the fried pie shop in your hometown went out of business. Someone needs to start a movement to return fried pies into vogue!
Ann–McD’s? There’s no comparison!
Pamela–Thanks for sharing your wonderful story! I’d forgotten about those peanut patties, but perhaps I need to find a recipe…
Cheryl–Yep, I don’t see why they wouldn’t work with strawberries.
kkryno–Thank you!
Jerry–Ha! Be careful!
Cynthia–Yep, you know me and my fats!
Sarita Lenoe–Thanks! I’m glad you enjoyed the peanut brittle.
Ashley–Smart move! And I adore apple dumplings!
Justin Fox Burks–It’s interesting how many people say their grandmother’s made fried pies but not their mothers. I think we need to bring back the fried pie!
Olivia–There are quite a few of us here, yes. And fried apple pies are just as delicious.
Pesky Settler–You could use butter or shortening.
Nicole–Welcome and enjoy! I don’t know why the pie tasted so bad–maybe it was too much vanilla and arrowroot. I usually use corn starch or flour.