What's More American than Apple Pie?



LISTEN TO THE PODCAST

Perhaps Apple Pie...and bacon AND Bourbon!  Now someone had the guts to bring these two titans of food fantasy together.  Morgan Murphy, who wrote the book, Bourbon and Bacon, stopped by Tonia's Kitchen to talk about the amazing amount of deliciousness that occurs when these two are together. He told Tonia it's easy to do, just make a standard apple pie, with a lattice work of bacon instead of a dough top.  It's as good as it sounds, because Morgan says the cooked fat from the bacon drips into apples and sugar, for a taste that I simply don't have an adjective for! It's that good!

• 1/2 (14.1-oz.) package refrigerated piecrusts
• 3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 6 cups (1/2-inch-thick) slices peeled Fuji apple (5 apples)
• 10 to 12 applewood-smoked country bacon slices
• Step 1 Preheat oven to 350°. Unroll piecrust, and fit into a 9-inch pie plate. Fold edges under.
  • Step 2

    Stir together brown sugar and next 5 ingredients with a fork in a large bowl. Add apple slices, tossing to coat. Arrange apple slices in prepared crust, spooning sugar and accumulated juices over apple.
  • Step 3

    Arrange bacon slices in a lattice design over filling; gently press ends of strips, sealing to piecrust.
    Step 4

    Cover pie with aluminum foil. Place pie on a baking sheet. Bake at 350° for 1 hour. Remove foil. Bake for 40 more minutes or until crust is golden brown and bacon is crisp.
    Step 5

    Remove pie from baking sheet, and let cool on a wire rack for at least 1 hour before cutting into wedges.