What’d You Do Last Weekend?
Best brunch item ever? Maybe, but why don't you try them yourself and decide?
Concord Grape Pie Filling
Ever wonder what to do with all of those concord grapes pouring over your fences and arbors this time of year? You could make jam and juice, certainly, but why not something a little more unexpected? Here in the Pacific Northwest we have an abundance of terrific apples and berries, but what a lot of folks don't know is that out concord grapes make mean pies too.
A crisp autumn day is perfect weather for the work of making grape pie filling, and if you make enough to store, you can have grape pies in the spring to combine with tart rhubarb too.
Grape Pie Filling
Prepare the grapes
Note: Make sure your grapes are fully ripe before harvesting them. It helps to wait until you've had a few cool mornings so their sugars really develop.
- After harvesting the grapes, stem and pick through them for rotten or underripe fruit.
- Give the grapes a thorough washing, making sure they're bug- and stem-free.
- Separate the grape peel from the 'eyeballs,' taking care to reserve the peels (you'll use them in a later step). Do this by squeezing them gently. The fruit will pop out of the stem end.
- When you have peeled all of the grapes (this is the time-consuming par of the work), place the fruit (not the skins!) into a large stockpot and mash with a potato masher or a pastry cutter to release the juice.
- Bring the fruit to a boil and cook for about 5 minutes.
- Pour the grapes into a sieve or a cheesecloth and allow it to drain completely, separating the seeds and some of the meat from the juice. It will continue to render juice until it is completely cool.
Note: I get impatient with this step and will typically use a small strainer with a few spoons of the cooked grapes, scraping the mixture until all of the liquid is strained out. - When you've extracted all the juice from the grapes, add the skins back into the juice.
This is the basis for the pie filling, and at this point you can freeze the grape mixture. Each pie recipe calls for 2+1/2 cups of this grape mixture, so I usually freeze bags in that amount.
Make the filling
2+1/2 c grape mixture
3/4 + 2 T sugar
2 1/2 T cornstarch
1 1/2 T lemon juice
1 T unsalted butter, softened
- Combine all of the ingredients in a mixing bowl.
- Pour into an unbaked pie shell and bake at 425F for 45 - 50 minutes, or until the filling is bubbling thickly.
