"shipwreck" wrote in message
...
Made an caramel apple pie yesterday, following a recipe from FoodTV on
Tylers Ultimate program.

The main problem was so much juice at the bottom. I mean a flood. I
used Granny Smiths (4) and Breaburn (4). Last time I used Gala instead
of the Breaburn and had less liquid, but still had a good about.

How do I reduce this liquid content?

Also, how thin is pie crust supposed to be? I followed Vox's
(Julia's) recipe for pie crust and had to make it pretty thing to
cover my 9" pie plate.

Thanks,

Gary

The crust -- It will be thin. When I make apple pie I pile the apples
really high. I can almost see the apples through the pastry. I think that
most people don't like a lot of crust anyway. It really ****es me off when
I see people discarding the crimped edge. It would be easier to make them a
bowl of pudding or some cooked fruit rather than a pie if they don't like
crust.

The juice problem. I have pasted the recipe below so others can give their
opinions.

There are four ways that I know of to deal with excess juice. You can add
more starch, line the pastry with crumbs to absorbed the liquid, bleed the
liquid off before cooking, or cook the filling first and simmer off the
liquid before assembling the pie. You might start by increasing the flour
to three tablespoons or change to another starch like tapioca that won't
leave a pasty taste like a lot of flour might. You could take some of the
sugar from the sauce (say 1/3 cup) and toss the apple slices in it. Put the
apples in a colander over a bowl and let them bleed for a couple of hours.
Collect the liquid and add it to the sauce, reducing it to the proper
thickness. That will return the sugar and the flavor from the apples while
removing some of the water. I don't think you could cook this filling ahead
of time, so the last option probably won't apply. You could also add some
bread, cake, or cookie crumbs to the pie before layering on the apples.

When I make apple pie, I like to use 3/4 granny smith apples and 1/4 golden
delicious. The GSs are firm and tart and the GD are sweet and cook down to
a sauce that fills in between the GS slices.

I'm not surprised that the recipe doesn't work. I think they reverse
engineer the show to send Tyler's ass all over the globe and then justify
the showmanship with a recipe. It's the Cook's Illustrated/America's Test
Kitchen approach to cooking.

--------
3 cups all-purpose flour
Pinch salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cold, cut in chunks
2 eggs separated, (yolks for the pastry, whites for the glaze)
3 tablespoons ice water, plus more if needed
Caramel Apples:
1 cup sugar, plus 1/4 cup for the top
3 tablespoons water
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup red wine
1/2 vanilla bean, split and scraped
1 lemon, halved
8 apples (recommended: Granny Smith and Gala)
1 tablespoon flour
1 cinnamon stick, freshly grated
1/4 cup unsalted butter


Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
To make the pastry, combine the flour and salt together in a large bowl. Cut
in the chunks of cold butter with a pastry blender, a little at a time,
until the dough resembles cornmeal. Add the 2 egg yolks and the ice water,
and blend for a second just to pull the dough together and moisten. Be
careful not to overwork the dough. Form the dough into a ball, wrap it
tightly in plastic wrap, and let it rest in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

While the dough is resting, prepare the filling.

To make the caramel sauce: place the sugar and water in a small pot and
cook, stirring constantly, over medium-low heat until the sugar has melted
and caramelized, about 10 minutes. Remove the pot from the burner and add
the cream and wine slowly. It may bubble and spit, so be careful. When the
sauce has calmed down, return it to the flame, add the vanilla bean and heat
it slowly, until the wine and caramel are smooth and continue to slowly cook
until reduced by half. Remove from the heat and cool until thickened.

Fill a large bowl with cold water and squeeze in the lemon juice. Peel the
apples with a paring knife, cut them in half, and remove the core with a
melon baller. Put the apple halves in the lemon-water (this will keep them
from going brown). Toss the apples with the flour and cinnamon.


Take the dough out of the refrigerator, unwrap the plastic, and cut the ball
in half. Rewrap and return 1 of the balls to the refrigerator, until ready
for the top crust. Let the dough rest on the counter for 15 minutes so it
will be pliable enough to roll out. Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough
on a lightly floured surface into a 12-inch circle. Carefully roll the dough
up onto the pin and lay it inside a 10-inch glass pie pan. Press the dough
into the pan so it fits tightly.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Slice a couple of the apples at a time using a mandolin or a very sharp
knife. The apples need to be thinly sliced so that as the pie bakes, they
collapse on top of each other with no air pockets. This makes a dense, meaty
apple pie. Cover the bottom of the pastry with a layer of apples, shingling
the slices so there are no gaps. Ladle about 2 ounces of the cooled red wine
caramel sauce evenly over the apple slices. Repeat the layers, until the pie
is slightly overfilled and domed on the top; the apples will shrink down as
the pie cooks. Top the apples with pieces of the butter.

Now, roll out the other ball of dough just as you did the first. Brush the
bottom lip of the pie pastry with a little beaten egg white to form a seal.
Place the pastry circle on top of the pie, and using some kitchen scissors,
trim off the overhanging excess from around the pie. Crimp the edges of
dough together with your fingers to make a tight seal. Cut slits in the top
of the pie so steam can escape while baking. Place the pie on a sheet tray
and tent it with a piece of aluminum foil, so the crust does not cook faster
than the apples.

Bake the caramel apple pie for 25 minutes on the middle rack. In a small
bowl, combine the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar with the freshly grated
cinnamon. Remove the foil from the pie and brush the top with the remaining
egg white. Sprinkle evenly with the cinnamon sugar and return to the oven.
Continue to bake for another 25 minutes, until the pie is golden and
bubbling. Let the apple pie rest at room temperature for at least 1 hour to
allow the fruit pectin to gel and set; otherwise the pie will fall apart
when you cut into it.