She’s here and just in time for pie season. You’re gonna want this incredibly delicious Flaky Tallow Pie Crust in your arsenal of recipes!
I’ve been perfecting my pie crust for 2 years. There have been many failures, some decent ones and some great ones, but I finally landed on my perfect one. And there’s a special ingredient that makes this pie crust so so flaky and imparts the most delicious flavors. BEEF TALLOW! Trust me on this, I wouldn’t let you down!
I like to use a mixture of butter and tallow for the best flavor. Tallow has always been around. But it’s been popular lately.
What is beef tallow?
- Beef tallow is basically rendered beef fat. It can be used as a cooking oil, and more recently it has become a very popular ingredient in skincare and beauty products. I order mine in bulk on amazon and sometimes i buy it directly from Whole Foods Market
Tallow and lard have very similar textures and consistency, which is probably why it works so well in this recipe. The flavor and texture is unbeatable.
Lard (pig fat) is still commonly used in pie dough, but now most pie crust recipes are “all butter.” you can still find lard in prepared pie crust in grocery stores, but I’ve never come across tallow in a pie crust. So I made my own.
Temperature will be the main driving force in a pie dough recipe. You want to make sure every single ingredient is cold, including the flour. Tallow tends to be a little softer than butter due to its high fat content, so I like measure it out first and then spread it evenly on a piece of plastic wrap or parchment. It will be easier to freeze and cut into cubes.
ingredients
- Cold Butter
- Beef tallow
- All purpose flour
- Salt
- Cold Water
- Apple cider vinegar
I like adding a splash of apple cider vinegar to the water that’s used in the pie dough. this creates an even flakier your crust because it aids in slowing gluten formation. we don’t want any chewy pies here.
Lamination
- Once you’ve added all the ingredients, dump it onto a clean surface. A bench scraper will come in handy for this process. Gently knead just enough to form the dough into a ball. Cut it in half using a bench scraper and stack on top of the other, press down and form into a ball again. This is called lamination. Repeat this process 2-3 more times. Gently pressing down and cutting in half, creating those flaky layers as shown below.
I like to chill my pie dough in the fridge for up to 2 days before using. This will give the fat a chance to firm up again and also allow the gluten to relax. Don’t skip the chilling process as it aids in producing maximum flakiness!
Best Flaky Tallow Pie Crust
Equipment
- Bench scraper
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup beef tallow
- 1 stick cold butter
- 2½ cups all purpose flour spooned & leveled
- ½ cup ice cold water
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1½ tsp fine salt
Instructions
- Add the flour and salt to a large mixing bowl.
- Spread the tallow onto a sheet of parchment or plastic wrap in an even layer. Cover and freeze for 10 minutes. Once firm, use a knife to cube both the butter and tallow. Add it to the flour.
- Useyour fingers to incorporate the butter & tallow into flour, continue until the dough looks shaggy. Stream in the water and apple cider vinegar. Toss together until the water is absorbed.
- Dump the dough onto a clean surface gently knead the dough just enough to form into a ball. Cut it in half using a bench scraper and stack one on top of the other, press down and form into a ball again. This is called lamination. Repeat this process 2-3 more times. Gently pressing down and cutting in half.
- Divide into 2 equal sized discs and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate for up to 2 days. When ready to use, remove from the fridge and follow whatever recipe you're making. Enjoy the flakiest pie crust ever!
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