Lard in my Pie

Baked Unfilled Piecrust 

This post began simply enough. I wanted to share my go-to recipe for pie dough – the one I’ve used most consistently and with the best results for over thirty years. My recipe uses lard and that’s where I got a little bogged down.

I know using lard in cooking is a touchy subject. It’s a fat and that always seems to get people talking. In my experience, popular attitudes toward fat in our diet change with every study released and that can get confusing. Over time, it's hard to decipher what's good for you and what's not. I always try to consider the source and remind myself that on some level everybody is trying to sell something.

If you take a spin around the Internet (which is where I really got bogged down), you’ll find a myriad of opinions and some interesting information about lard. For instance:

• Where there are pigs, there is lard. In cultures where pork is part of the diet, lard is used in cooking. Since it's made of pork fat, it's a waste not, want not scenario.
• Lard has less saturated fat, more unsaturated fat and less cholesterol than butter. And unlike most vegetable shortenings, unhydrogenated lard contains no trans fat and is a rich dietary source of vitamin D.
• You can make lard in your own kitchen. I will be giving that a try soon.
• A concise and informative article on many aspects of lard can be found at blackbookcooking.com

All I really know for sure is that lard makes the flakiest piecrust. I have made this recipe using vegetable shortening instead of lard and it's quite edible, but you won't get the same flakey crust. Primarily, I use Tenderflake Lard made by Maple Leaf Foods. It is non-hydrogenated but does contain two preservatives, BHA and BHT. That’s another reason I will try rendering my own pork fat to eliminate these two possible carcinogens. I’m also looking into finding locally produced lard that’s made without additives. Until then, I'll continue to take my chances. I’ll stick with Tenderflake and this recipe, which is basically the one you can find right on the box. It makes enough for six 9" pie shells or three double crust pies.

MA's Flaky Lardy Piecrust

Dry ingredients and lard blended to large crumbs

5 ½ cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp salt
1 lb lard
1 tbsp white vinegar
1 egg, lightly beaten
Cold water

In a large bowl, mix together the flour and salt.

Using a pastry blender or two knives, cut the lard into the flour and salt until the mixture turns into large crumbs.

Mix egg, vinegar and water to make one cup

In a one-cup measure, combine the vinegar and egg. Add cold water to make one cup. 


Using a fork, gradually stir the egg-water liquid into the dry mixture. Use only enough water to make the dough cling together. Too much liquid will toughen the crust.




Gather the dough into a ball. Divide into six portions.

Divide dough into 6 portions

On a lightly floured surface, form one of the portions of the dough into a round flattened disc. Using your rolling pin, roll out into circle. If the dough is sticking, chill it for an hour or two.

Place the dough in the pie plate. You can move the dough to the pie plate, by wrapping it loosely around the rolling pin and then unwrapping it over the pie plate. Alternately, if you have rolled the dough on a piece of wax paper, you can lift the paper and flip the rolled dough into the pie plate. This is my preferred method.


For future use, pie dough can be kept refrigerated or frozen. 

Dough for today and dough for future

• Refrigerated dough should be wrapped well. My method is to wrap a disc of dough – enough for one pie shell – in a piece of wax paper and overwrap this tightly with plastic wrap or foil or place several wax paper wrapped discs into a plastic freezer bag. When it’s baking time, I just roll the dough out on the wax paper it was wrapped in. 
• Refrigerated dough will keep well for about one week. Take it out of the fridge about 15 minutes before you want to use it so it will be supple enough to roll out. 
• Frozen dough can be stored as an unbaked disc, rolled out dough or as a baked or unbaked pie. It should be wrapped well before freezing. Frozen dough will keep in the freezer for about 5 months.
• Defrost the dough at room temperature before baking; making sure it is pliable before working with it. 

Printable Recipe for MA's Flaky Lardy Piecrust