Concord Grape Pie
Submitted by markedwards
Concord grape pie with 3 pounds of fresh grapes, skins and all, baked in a double crust with lemon zest. A fall harvest pie with intense grape flavor you can’t get from a jar.
YIELD
1 piePREP
45 minCOOK
45 minREADY
90 minConcord grape pie is a fall tradition in the Northeast that most of the country has never tasted. If you’ve only had grape from a jar, this is nothing like that. Three pounds of fresh Concord grapes get separated from their skins, cooked to loosen the seeds, milled smooth, then reunited with those skins for a filling that’s intensely grapey, tart, and deeply purple.
The slip-skin technique is what makes this recipe possible. Concord grape skins pop right off when you squeeze them, leaving the pulp behind. The pulp goes into a saucepan and cooks for about 3 minutes until the seeds loosen, then gets passed through a food mill. That seedless pulp gets stirred back into the reserved skins, which soften during baking and add both color and a slight chewiness to the filling.
Lemon zest and juice sharpen the grape flavor and keep it from tasting flat. The flour thickens the abundant juice into a filling that slices cleanly rather than flooding the plate. Start with the lower amount of sugar, taste, and add more only if needed. Good Concord grapes have plenty of natural sweetness.
The two-temperature bake gives you a well-browned bottom crust. Starting hot and dropping to 350 after 10 minutes means the bottom crust sets before the filling juice can make it soggy.
Kitchen Tips
- This pie needs to cool completely before cutting or the filling will run everywhere
- Crimp the edges tightly. Grape filling is juicy and will find any gap in your seal
- Brush with beaten egg yolk for a deep golden, glossy top crust
- Cut decorative grape leaf shapes from dough scraps to dress up the top
Variations
- Crumb top: Skip the second crust and top with a butter-sugar-flour streusel for a different texture
- Spiced grape: Add ¼ teaspoon of cinnamon and a pinch of cloves to the filling for a warm, mulled flavor
Ingredients
Directions
PREHEAT OVEN TO 400℉ (200℃).
Make the crust, line a pan and roll out the 2nd crust.
Refrigerate both while you make the filling.
If you have the larger amount of grapes, use a deeper pie tin.
Slip the grapes from their skins, working directly into a sauce pan.
Put the skins into a bowl.
Cook the grapes until they turn whitish and the seeds are loosened, about 3 minutes.
Pass them through a food mill to get rid of the seeds, working directly into the bowl with the skins.
Stir in the lower amount of sugar, the lemon zest and the flour.
Taste and if more sugar is needed, add the rest.
Add the lemon juice, to taste. Let cook for 15 minutes.
Pour the filling into the shell and cover with the 2nd crust.
Crimp the edges together well so that the juice doesn’t leak out.
For a more golden crust, brush the top with a little beaten egg yolk.
With the tip of a knife, etch a decorative design over the top.
Or cut some grape leaves out of the scraps of dough and fasten them to the crust with a little egg yolk or water.
Bake for 10 minutes in the lower 3rd of the oven then reduce heat to 350℉ (180℃).
Bake another 35 minutes or until the crust is nicely browned.
Cool before serving.
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