Everyone needs to have a “go-to” recipe for pastry dough in their back pocket. This one will become yours.

Making a pie crust from scratch has such stigma attached to it. So many people feel intimidated when thinking about making their own, they forgo making pies, tarts, pot pies, etc. I am here to tell you that with the right recipe, you will be churning out the most beautiful crusts ever. By using this recipe for Lard and butter pie crust, you will be using the “old fashioned” way of making pastry dough. My great grandmother’s recipe relied heavily lard, and less on butter. Over the years, I have perfected her recipe, stepping up the butter to lard ratio to 1:1. The texture is beautiful, and the buttery flavor is perfect.

The keys to this lard and butter pie crust are two-fold: Cold ingredients and working the dough as little as possible. The more you work the dough, the less flaky it will become.

The beauty of this recipe for lard and butter pie crust is that it can be used in both dessert and savory applications. It can be used for standard sized or deep dish pies, as well as open tarts. It can also be used for meat pies and pot pies. With some simple alterations, this recipe is the base for all of your pastry crust needs.

For savory recipes, simply remove the sugar
Double recipe for 9×13 pot pies
Half the recipe for tarts and single pie shells

Note: When purchasing lard, make sure you get lard without additives. So many of the “big” lard brands have junk in them. I have taken to using this brand, which is simply lard with some rosemary extract to preserve freshness.

Ingredients

2½ Cup AP Flour
1 tsp Salt
2 Tbsp Sugar
1/3 Cup + 2 Tbsp Lard https://amzn.to/4xXwEWv
1/3 Cup + 2 Tbsp Butter, Very Cold
3 Tbsp Very Cold Water

Instructions

In a medium bowl, mix the Flour, Salt, and Sugar together.
Add the Lard and Cold Butter, which can be cut into small pieces directly into the bowl.
Using your fingers, gently rub the butter, lard, and flour together until it forms a rough, crumb-like texture. Mix until the butter/lard are in pea-sized (or smaller) pieces.
Add Very Cold Water. Stir, pushing against the edge of the bowl, until the mixture comes together into a mass.
Shape into log. Divide into 1/3 – 2/3 portions. The larger portion will be for the bottom crust, since it has to be larger to account for the edges of the pie plate. The smaller portion will be the top crust.
On a flour coated sheet of parchment paper, roll the larger portion of dough into a circle that will fit the pie plate. Make sure to roll big enough to have a bit of dough over the edge of the plate, which will be used to seal the top/bottom crusts together.
Gently transfer to pie plate, and press into the bottom of the pie plate and up the edges. Trim excess.
Add desired filling to crust.
Roll out the remaining 1/3 of the crust into a circle that fits the top of your pie.
Gently transfer onto the top of the filling.
Trim any excess crust from the edges. Using thumb and forefingers, pinch the top and bottom crusts together.
Make sure to cut vent holes in middle of top crust to allow for steam escaping during baking.

Lard and Butter Pie Crust – A Flakey, Tender Classic