By March. The crawfish return and so does the hope. Every year, the return of crawfish season feels like a resurrection — the long winter breaks open and the mudbugs emerge and the boiling pots fire up and Louisiana remembers what it's for. We're for this. We're for the steam and the cayenne and the newspaper on the tables and the gathering of everyone you know around a pile of red.
First boil of 2019. Fifty pounds. Rémy on seasoning. The boil was textbook — spicy, garlicky, the soak time perfect, the crawfish fat and sweet. We ate in the driveway and Carl came over and Tee-Claude called from his car ("I'm ten minutes away, save me a plate") and by 5 PM there were fifteen people in the driveway and Danielle was giving me The Look and I was pretending not to see it.
The business is strong. Four employees. Steady work. The strip mall in Prairieville led to referrals — two more commercial jobs this month, plus the usual residential work. DeShawn is becoming something special. He's got the kind of quiet competence that doesn't need praise but deserves it, and I tell him, once a week, in words he can't deflect: "Good work, DeShawn." He nods. He moves on. He's like Pierre. The quiet ones are always the strongest.
Made a crawfish pie to close out the week — the real one, Mama's way, with a pastry crust and a filling of crawfish tails, cream, trinity, and the particular love that only goes into food that you learned from someone who learned from someone who learned from the beginning. The pie is a circle. The crust is a circle. The tradition is a circle. You learn, you cook, you teach, you learn again. Year three is done. Year four is starting. The crawfish are back. The roux is turning. The circle holds.
I’ve been making crawfish pie the way Mama made it since I was tall enough to reach the counter, but this week I found myself thinking about the other pies — the ones that close out a long, good stretch of days when the season has been kind and the crew has been solid and everyone you love showed up in the driveway on a Tuesday. County Fair Pie is one of those. It’s sweet and honest and doesn’t ask anything of you except that you slow down and eat it. After fifty pounds of crawfish and four employees and one look from Danielle and Tee-Claude calling from the car, I needed something that tasted like a reward. This was it.
County Fair Pie
Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 50 min | Total Time: 1 hr 5 min | Servings: 8
Ingredients
- 1 unbaked 9-inch pie shell
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
- 3 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- 1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans
- 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat. Heat your oven to 325°F. Place the unbaked pie shell in a 9-inch pie dish and crimp the edges as desired. Set aside on a rimmed baking sheet.
- Make the filling. In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until smooth. Add the beaten eggs, vanilla, vinegar, and salt and whisk again until fully combined.
- Fold in mix-ins. Stir in the shredded coconut, chopped pecans, and chocolate chips until evenly distributed throughout the filling.
- Fill the shell. Pour the filling into the prepared pie shell. The baking sheet beneath will catch any drips and help the bottom crust bake evenly.
- Bake. Bake at 325°F for 48 to 55 minutes, until the top is deep golden brown and the center is just set — it should have only a slight jiggle when you gently shake the pan.
- Cool completely. Transfer the pie to a wire rack and allow it to cool for at least 1 hour before slicing. The filling will firm up as it cools. Serve at room temperature or with a dollop of whipped cream.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 480 | Protein: 5g | Fat: 27g | Carbs: 57g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 210mg