Every once in a while I run across a Depression-era recipe that piques my curiosity and gives me an excuse to play in the kitchen and torment the kids. We all need to do that once in a while.
Anyway, I found this recipe at Hillbilly Kitchen for something called a Buttermilk Pie. I’d never heard of such a thing, and as I was looking at it I noticed a bunch of other Youtubes for other buttermilk pie recipes and I gathered it was popular in the South. I just knew it was going to be a food storage-friendly dish, and the author has over 300 comments on it. I only read the first 30 or so, all positive, so I was hoping it would be as good as the Water Pie and Lemon/Vinegar Pies that we tried out two years ago.
Here’s the recipe from Hillbilly Kitchen. And I actually made two pies—for the first I followed the recipe exactly. For the second, I substituted coconut oil for the butter.
Preheat oven to 400°F.
In a medium bowl, combine the sugar, flour, and salt. Whisk in the remaining ingredients, (except for the pie crust, of course) making sure to incorporate all the sugar. You don’t want any sugar or flour lumps. Pour filling into pie crust and bake 50-60 minutes, until set. Let sit at least 15-20 minutes before serving. Serve warm or cold. Refrigerate leftovers.
Note. This pie gets really brown, and may look a bit unappetizing, though they say it doesn’t taste burnt. If you want to avoid that, make an aluminum foil tent and leave it on top of the pie for 30 minutes, then remove so that the pie will brown some (and not stick to the aluminum foil).
To make an aluminum foil tent: Take a square of foil, fold it in half lengthwise and unfold, repeat with the width and unfold, and then do the same with both diagonals. You’ll have a tent that will cover the pie without resting on the pie.)
If you want to dress it up, make some caramel syrup and drizzle it on the plate, place the pie slice on it, and then add a spritz of whipping cream and drizzle more caramel syrup on top.
Reviews: In contrast to all the lavish praise on the Youtube for this recipe, Aaron, Becky, and I all thought it tasted a bit egg-y. Maybe it’s an acquired taste kind of thing, and as we aren’t from the South we won’t ever acquire it. But it was ok. It’s not like it made us gag. However, if I’m going for something low-budget and Depression-era, I’ll stick with Water Pie. Cheaper, faster, tastier. Oh, and I couldn't tell any difference between the pie made with butter and the one made with coconut oil.
Try adding 1 T of lemon juice (fresh) and 1/4 tsp fresh nutmeg
ReplyDeleteI will be sure to do that!
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