This pumpkin pie was good enough that I thought it needed a place on the world wide web. So here I am, reviving this old blog in order to memorialize the existence of my best-ever pumpkin pie.

This is best made with a sweet, firm squash–be sure to use a pie pumpkin, butternut squash, kabocha, or many others will also work. The typical jack-o-lantern pumpkins are no good here.

We grew our own sugar pie pumpkins in the front yard this year, and they ripened nicely, so that’s what I used for the pie pictured above. The Mad River Hospital has an organic farm and each year they host an amazing pumpkin patch for staff and their families to come pick out a pumpkin or two–this year I collected a few more pumpkins that I can’t wait to use in future rounds.

Homemade Pumpkin Puree

Cut 2-3 small pumpkins in half and remove the seeds and pulp. Place cut-side down on a cooking sheet with parchment, and bake at 350F for about 45 minutes, or until fork tender.

Once cool, scoop the cooked flesh into a blender and puree until smooth. Some recipes say to add water if it’s too thick, I’ve never needed to. Reserve 4 cups for this recipe, freeze any leftover puree or use it in muffins, pancakes, or smoothies.

The crust is everything

The secret ingredient to this pie is what makes it so special and gives the crust an amazing texture and mouthfeel: bear fat. If you don’t have bear fat, you can substitute a high quality pork lard or maybe beef tallow. If you don’t have any of those, just go ahead and make an all-butter crust. It’ll be fine. After all, it’s pie.

When our neighbor killed a bear that was found gorging on his family’s apple trees, he slaughtered it and Bob helped with processing the carcass–this wonderful neighbor gifted us a heap of fat which I rendered into the snow-white greasy goodness you see here.

Edited this recipe: I accidentally wrote 1 Tbsp salt, it should be 1 Teaspoon! Fixed.

BEAR FAT CRUST RECIPE:

• 1 1/2 cups plus 1 cup flour
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• 1 Tsp salt (I used a flaky kosher which resulted in lovely salty bits)
• 1/2 cup bear lard in frozen shreds/small chunks
• 12 Tbsp cold butter, cut up in small chunks
• 1/4 cup ice water
• 1/4 cup iced vodka

1. Put 1 1/2 cups flour, sugar, and salt into mixer bowl. Mix until well combined.
2. Add bear lard to the flour mixture. Mix until blended with flour.
3. Add butter and mix again, until the fats are incorporated into the flour and it resembles coarse crumbs. Chunks of the fat are a-ok.
4. Add the last cup of flour and mix again.
5. Add the vodka and ice water a little at a time until the mixture comes together in a ball.
6. Divide dough into 2 parts and shape into discs. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before use.

The filling: an American classic, with tweaks

PUMPKIN PIE FILLING RECIPE (Yields 2 pies):

1. Preheat oven to 425F
2. Combine sugar, salt, and spices in the mixer bowl.
3. Add eggs and blend until well combined.
4. Add pumpkin puree and mix until smooth and well combined.
5. Stir in evaporated milk.
6. Pour into unbaked pie shell.
7. Bake at 425 for 15 minutes.
8. Decrease temp to 350, bake an additional 50 minutes or until a knife inserted in center comes out clean.