CAN SHE BAKE A CHERRY PIE????

Can she bake a cherry pie Billy Boy, Billy Boy,
Can she bake a cherry pie charming Billy,
She can bake a cherry pie, quick as a cat can wink an eye,
She's a young thing and cannot leave her mother . . .

Anyone remember that childhood song?

So, yes, she can bake a blueberry or blackberry pie the way it is done at Shepp Ranch per the consummate baker and ranch manager, LYNN DEMERSE :-) 

Here's how it is done:

We start with berries.  The blueberries grow in the ranch garden and the blackberries grow about a 1/4 mile up Crooked Creek from the ranch.  The berries grow right over the creek.

Ripe black berries growing over Crooked Creek . . . . .

 

Lynn and I decide one hot sunny morning we will go up Crooked Creek to pick blackberries.  We each take a bucket and one sturdy glove.  The glove of course is to keep from getting scratched on the non-picking hands that holds back the bushes.  We are walking directly in the creek with river sandals on our feet so we don't slip and fall on the rocks.

 

Lorrie with her bucket of black berries . . . .

 

Lynn in Crooked Creek picking blackberries . . . .

 

 

The berries are prepared and ready before making the crust.  Eight cups of berries are washed and mixed with sugar and a little cinnamon and a bit of cornstarch if they are really juicy.  The recipe for berries and crust is from an old old Betty Crocker Cookbook much used and loved at Shepp Ranch.  I am making a ten inch diameter crust.

 

Preparing the berries . . . .

 

The secret to a good pie crust is C O L D lard to mix in with the flower.  The lard (taken from last year's Shepp Ranch pig) is kept in the cold walk in.  It is measured out in ice water and then dropped in the flour.  I use a pastry cutter to mix in the lard until there are pea sized chunks of flour and lard.  then eight tablespoons of water are slowly added to bring it all together with a fork.  Again, the secret is keep the lard cold until time to roll it out.  The sphere of dough is then rolled out to a thin crust and placed in the bottom of the glass pie plate.

 

Bottom crust with berries . . . .

 

Pats of butter are then placed on top of the berries.

 

Pats of butter placed on the berries . . .

 

The top crust is rolled and placed over the berries, trimmed, sealed and fixed with pretty fluting on the edges.  This is the fun part :-)

 

Here I am in the kitchen trimming and sealing the bottom and top crust together . . . .

 

Slits are make in the top of the pie crust to let the steam out while baking.  Otherwise, one's pie might I guess explode in the oven.  That would be a major mess to clean up, so be sure the slits are open.

 

Top crust with slits . . .. ready for the oven . . . .

 

The pie then bakes in the oven for about an hour or so.  We check it after 55 minutes and add another 15.  The juice coming out of the slits should be very thick.  That is our test for doneness.

 

A  finished pie coming out of the oven . . . .

 

Lorrie has made the very first pie of her 62 years.  Thank you Lynn for being such a patient pie making teacher!!

 

 A very proud Lorrie and her berry pie, ready for serving . . . .

 

If you have any questions about making a lard crust or anything else about pie making you can e-mail Lynn at shepp@sheppranch.com and reference this blog.  Happy Pie Making to you!!!!