As American as Apple Pie

I scored two free pounds of organic, free-range lard. What could a girl do but make REAL pie? My project for this spring is going to be making my own lard...outside on the grill. The pie was wonderful hot out of the oven. It must have been wonderful cold too because there isn't any left!

Apple Pie with Gruyère

3 lbs. tart red apples

1/2 c. sugar

1 tbsp. lemon juice

1/8 tsp. cinnamon

5 tsp. cornstarch

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 Gruyère Pie Crust–recipe below

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Take dough out of fridge.

Peel, core and slice apples into quarters. Slice each quarter thinly. Mix with other ingredients.

Roll the larger piece of dough into a disk about fourteen inches in diameter. Ease dough into plate. Roll smaller piece of dough into circle twelve inches in diameter. Pile apples into pie plate, scraping any juice on top of the apples. Place smaller round of dough on top of the apples. Seal two crusts together, brush with the beaten egg, and make three parallel slits in the top crust to allow steam to escape. Wrap the edges in foil to prevent burning.

Place pie on a cookie sheet to catch any drips, put in oven, and reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees. Bake 50 minutes to an hour, or until you can see the filling bubbling up between the slits in the crust. Cool on a wire rack at least 20 minutes before serving.

Gruyère Pie Crust

Makes one double-crusted 9-10 inch pie.

2 1/2 c. unbleached all-purpose flour

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp. sugar

13 tbsp. cold, unsalted butter, cut into 1" pieces

7 tbsp. lard (or more butter, if you don't have access to REAL lard)

2 oz. Gruyère, grated with a microplane rasp grater

6-7 tbsp. ice water

Mix flour, salt, sugar and Gruyère in a large mixing bowl or bowl of a food processor. Using a food processor, pastry blender, or your fingers, cut in the lard until no large pieces remain. Add the butter, and cut into flour until the largest pieces of butter are the size of large peas.
Remove flour-butter mixture from food processor, if using, and place in a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle ice water over flour in increments of one tablespoon, toss with fork after each addition. When dough clumps together when squeezed in your palm, gather dough together into two disks. Refrigerate until ready to use.