The Best Blueberry Pie
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The Best Blueberry Pie. This one uses wild Newfoundland blueberries which I think are the absolute best, most intensely flavoured berries anywhere.
Originally published on October 10. 2007.
The best blueberry pie in the world is made with wild Newfoundland blueberries. There, I've said it and I'm prepared to stand behind my statement.
We have low bush blueberries here in the far north-east and a short growing season. This produces very sweet, intensely flavoured blueberries that do not compare with commercially grown high bush varieties.
I've sampled blueberry pie from Ontario and east in Canada and all over the northeast US. Although I've enjoyed almost all of them, none compare to the concentration of blueberry flavour to be found in our local berries.
Unfortunately, I know most of you will not have access to these little blue gems and will have to substitute available fresh or frozen berries.
But, if you ever get to this neck of the woods, be sure to sample a local blueberry product and you will soon taste what I mean.
A better filling method.
I've come to the conclusion that many fruit pies, like this blueberry pie, benefit from cooking the fruit filling.
Next, cool it down before adding it to the pie crust. Especially so if using the old fashioned flour thickening method as I have always done.
That method prevents clumps of flour or sugar from depositing at the bottom of the pie crust. All of which, lead to an overall better appearance and texture in the pie filling.
The Best Blueberry Pie for decades.
This is my version of Newfoundland Wild Blueberry Pie that I have been making for over 25 years. The addition of a little lemon zest and a touch of spice complement the blueberries very well.
This blueberry pie version is a little unusual in that it prepares the filling first and allows it to cool to room temperature before being added to the pie.
I've found that this method doesn't have the juice from the berries sitting at the bottom of the pie before the filling begins to bubble and thicken inside the pastry.
This goes a long way toward preventing a soggy bottom crust on the pie.
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The Best Blueberry Pie
The Best Blueberry Pie - this one uses wild Newfoundland blueberries which I think are the absolute best, most intensely flavoured berries anywhere.
Ingredients
For the blueberry filling
- ⅓ cup flour, depends on the juiciness of your berries, you can use up to half a cup
- 1 cup sugar
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- 6 cups fresh blueberries, thaw to room temp if using frozen berries
- 1 teaspoon finely chopped lemon zest
- 4 tablespoon lemon juice
- 3 tablespoon butter
For the pastry
- ½ cup very cold vegetable shortening cut in small cubes
- ½ cup very cold butter, cut in small cubes
- 2 ½ cups flour
- 2 tablespoon brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ to⅓ cup ice water, Only enough to make a dough form.
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- It is best to start with making your filling because it has to be cooled to room temperature before being used to fill the pie.
For the Blueberry Filling
- Whisk together the flour, sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg.
- In a large saucepan, bring the blueberries, lemon zest and lemon juice to a gentle boil.
- Stirring constantly, gently stir in the flour, sugar and spice mixture. Cook for only a minute after the last of the dry mixture has been stirred in. Your filling should now have thickened.
- Remove from heat and stir in the 3 tablespoon butter.
- Cool the filling to room temperature before adding to the pie crust. This is very important or your bottom pie crust will be soggy.
- Pour into prepared pie crust. Top with the second pastry round, tucking the edges of the dough under the bottom crust and flute the edges together using your fingers or a fork. Brush with egg wash made by whisking together 1 large egg yolk & 1 to 2 tablespoon water.
- Lightly sprinkle sugar over the top of the egg washed pie if you like. Turbinado sugar works well for this. Slit a 1 inch hole in the middle of the top crust to allow steam to escape.
A lattice crust?
- If you prefer to make a lattice crust on top, roll the second dough round into a 12 inch square-ish shape and cut that into 8 equal strips for the lattice crust top. Place the pastry strips on top of the blueberry mixture, interweaving them to form a simple lattice pattern. Tuck the ends of the strips under the edge of the bottom crust and crimp with a fork or your fingers to seal the pastry together. Brush the edges of the crust and the lattice top with an egg wash.
- Chill the pie in the fridge for 20-30 minutes. This will help make a flaky crust. Place the pie on a cookie sheet to catch any dripping filling as it bakes. Bake at 400 degrees F for about 20 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 degrees F or until filling bubbles and thickens, about 45 minutes to an hour. If the crust begins to get too dark around the sides, cover the edges with strips of aluminum foil and continue baking until the rest of the pie is completely baked. Cool completely before serving.
To prepare the pastry
- Using a food processor or a pastry blender cut cold shortening and butter into flour, brown sugar and salt until mixture resembles a coarse meal. Small pieces of shortening and butter should still be visible.
- Pour vanilla into cold water then pour over the mixture and work in by tossing with a fork until dough begins to form. Use your hands as little as possible and work the dough as little as possible.
- Divide dough into 2 balls, flatten into 2 rounds, wrap in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to rest for a minimum of 20 - 30 minutes.You can make your dough the previous day but make sure you take it out of the fridge for 10 minutes to warm slightly before rolling out.
- Roll the dough into a 12 inch round and place in the bottom of a 10 inch pie plate. Push the dough well into the pan to make sure that it is not stretched at all. This is important to make sure your dough does not contract during the baking time. Trim the dough to edge of plate by running a sharp knife around the edge.
- Roll the remaining dough round into a 12 inch round and reserve for the top of the pie.
Nutrition Information
Yield
10Serving Size
1 gramsAmount Per Serving Calories 409Total Fat 14gSaturated Fat 6gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 7gCholesterol 15mgSodium 149mgCarbohydrates 67gFiber 3gSugar 36gProtein 4g
The nutritional information provided is automatically calculated by third party software and is meant as a guideline only. Exact accuracy is not guaranteed. For recipes where all ingredients may not be used entirely, such as those with coatings on meats, or with sauces or dressings for example, calorie & nutritional values per serving will likely be somewhat lower than indicated.
I'm prepared to challenge you on the Newfoundland berries' superiority. Oregon berries from the Willamette Valley are, bar none, superior to any other berry in the history of ever.
That said, this is the most amazing pie recipe. I think I used a whole stick of butter in the filling, and instead of the egg yolk glaze, I always brush the crust with heavy whipping cream and dust the top with organic sugar before popping into the oven. Highly recommend this obese-cat version.
Two totally different varoeties of berry. Our low bush berries are far more intense in flavour! 🙂
Can you can or freeze the blueberry filling for future use?
I've never tried that.
I used this recipe for the crust. I never had any blueberries but I'm excited for next fall when I can pick some in my back garden! (I was fooled when I bought an Oregon blueberry bush at a nursery on the mainland and had berries that weren't like our "blueberries"). Luckily I have a garden full of black currants, blueberries, blackberries, partridgeberries and raspberries. When I says full I mean I have enough to make a pie out of each lol.
Anyways, I had some crab apple pie filling made from my dear Nan's tree. It was stored in the freezer and I wanted a bakery style pastry for it, not that store bought thin stuff, and this pastry was wonderful!
I used lard and unsalted butter because that's all I had at home and added a 1/4 tsp salt to make up for the unsalted butter.
Thanks Mr Parsons!!
I agree that your berries of Newfoundland would be the best. Every summer for years, my Nana would send us brats out to pick wild blueberries, low bush of course - and the flavor is intense as you say. My Nana live in Meat Cove, then Pleasant Bay Nova Scotia, the closest points to Newfoundland. Have lived a life as a military brat, and eating different foods in the eastern half of the US, when I was a kid nothing can compare to that first burst of flavor either fresh picked or fresh pie. Now having lived the last 45 years in central NY, I still think of the berries in Cape Breton as the best.
My filling was runny even after sitting at room temperature overnight. What did I do wrong?
I'd just the flour for thickening it next time if the berries are particularly juicy. Frozen berries tend to release more juice too.
Thank you very much for this recipe, cannot comment on the pastry crust as I always use my own but the filling is amazing, Tweaked the spices a bit for our own tastes and of course the flour for the juiciness of the berries used but the recipe is a keeper. Have tried many of your recipes and they always turn out perfectly. Have your 3 books, and am subscribed to your newsletter and follow you on Facebook. Cannot comment on Newfoundland berries, have never had them but coming from another Island our low bush berries are pretty good too, have only used high bush berries once and didn't find them very flavourful. Thank you very much for the quality of your recipes and look forward to trying more.
woops forgot the butter!!!!!!! Hope this will make it thicker as it is runny.
I just took two of these pies from the oven. They’re beautiful. Thank you for sharing the recipe. I used your recipe for the crust, too. Can hardly wait for them to cool.
Hi Barry love your recipes! Can I cut the sugar from one cup to half cup? Just to make it a bit healthier for us.
Thank you
Sure.