Beef Tallow Pie Crust

Directions

Nothing creates a flakier, more satisfying crust than natural fats—and beef tallow delivers exceptional structure, flake, and rich depth of flavor. This crust truly shines in savory pies like pot pies and quiches, but it also pairs beautifully with richly spiced desserts such as pumpkin or squash pie. For sweeter fillings, a touch of sugar or warm spice helps balance tallow’s robust character, making this from-scratch crust well worth the extra effort.

Tallow Crust:

1. In the bowl combine salt and flour, add cold beef tallow and cut in using a fork or pastry cutter.
2. Add water and vinegar and mix until it just begins to come together. 
3. Dump pie dough onto a lightly flour-dusted surface (it should still be pretty loose). Press until it just comes together. 
4. Roll dough out into about a 1/2″ thick disk. Tip: Roll it out thinner than you would a lard or butter pie crust because tallow is a firmer fat.
5. Wrap rolled out dough in plastic and transfer to the the refrigerator for 1 hour or overnight. 
6. When ready to roll out dough, let it sit at room temperature for about 10-15 minutes before rolling.
7. Roll dough out with a rolling pin, it should be about 1/8″ of an inch thick when finished. Add flour during this process, as needed. 
8. Transfer your dough to your pie tin or baking dish. Gently roll the dough back over the rolling pin to make this step easier, trim off any extra dough if there is any. Roll over the last 1/2″ of the dough and crimp it with your fingers for a decorative edge. 
9. Dot the bottom of the dough with a fork, line with parchment paper, and fill dough with pie weights.
10. Blind bake dough for about 20 minutes at 375 degrees or until edges of dough start to take on color. 
11. When done baking, reduce the oven to 350 degrees, remove pie weights, and set dough aside to cool while you prepare the filling. 

Pick your favorite filling—savory or sweet—and make it your own. However you bake it, this beef tallow crust is a celebration of real ingredients and time-honored technique. Happy baking!

Click here for our pumpkin pie filling recipe!