Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

piece of lattice crust rhubarb and strawberry pie with lots of filling in a pie pan.

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Prep Time30

Cook Time1

Cooling time4

Total Time5 30

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings:

Calories: 411kcal

Author: The Food Charlatan

Ingredients

1/2 cup grenadine syrup optional
1 homemade double pie crust*

For the filling:

3 and 1/4 cups rhubarb chopped (about 6 stalks, buy 1.5 pounds)
3 and 1/4 cups strawberries chopped (buy 1.5 pounds)
1 and 1/3 cups granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest from 1 lemon
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 tablespoons butter cut in pieces

Pie assembly and serving:

1 tablespoon milk to brush on pie crust
1 and 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar for sprinkling on pie crust
vanilla ice cream or whipped cream for serving

Instructions

Soak your rhubarb in grenadine: This step is totally optional. It helps bring out the RED color of rhubarb. Rhubarb is greenish sometimes, and can look a little funny in a pie. Soaking in grenadine not only sweetens the rhubarb slightly, but brightens the fruit to make your pie more appetizing. After all, we eat with our eyes first. You can skip it no problem!
Chop about 4-6 stalks of rhubarb in half lengthwise, if they are thick. Then chop each split stalk into 1/4 inch pieces. You need a very sharp knife for rhubarb, and you need to cut through all the way. If you don't, the edges of the stalk will strand off in ribbons. This is no big deal, but it is kind of annoying, and you often lose the outer edge of red color if you peel off the outside strands. So chop confidently and thoroughly.
Measure the rhubarb to make sure you have about 3 and 1/4 cups. (Don't just toss in all that you have.) Add to a medium bowl and pour 1/2 cup grenadine syrup over the top. Stir together well and cover. Chill in the fridge for about 60 minutes, or up to overnight.
Make your pie crust: If you know what's good for you, make a homemade pie crust. Seriously. No shade, Pillsbury, but you cannot compete. I've got lots of tips and tricks for success on my pie crust post. Make the recipe as written for a double pie crust.*
Roll out your pie dough and place in a deep 9 inch pie dish, with the excess hanging over the edges. Chill in the fridge until your filling is ready.
Make the filling. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F. Drain the rhubarb in a colander. Return the drained rhubarb to the now-empty bowl (no need to wash it.) Chop 3 and 1/4 cups strawberries into bite size pieces. Add to the rhubarb.
Add 1 and 1/3 cups granulated sugar, 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest (I love to use my microplane grater for zesting), 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, 1/4 teaspoon kosher or sea salt, 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg, and 1/4 cup cornstarch. Stir with a rubber spatula until well combined.
Roll out the second pie crust quickly, to keep it cold.
Pour the filling into the chilled bottom pie crust. Mound the filling in the center slightly. Chop 2 tablespoons butter into small pieces and scatter them over the top of the strawberry rhubarb filling.
Top the pie with the second rolled out crust. You can even make a Lattice Pie Crust if you are feeling fancy! If you top with the whole pie crust, be sure to use a sharp knife to make a few cuts in the top of the pie, so the steam from the filling can vent.
(If you have any down time at all during the pie assembly process, the pie dough and filled pie should be chilled in the fridge or freezer, if possible. Chilled pie going into a hot oven makes for a super flaky crust!)
If you have time and space, freeze the assembled pie for 20 minutes.
Place your gorgeous pie on a baking sheet, in case the filling overflows. Brush the top with 1 tablespoon milk. (Or you can do 1 tablespoon milk whisked together with half a beaten egg. I always have a half egg leftover from my homemade pie crust.) Milk brushed on top of the pie will make the crust brown and matte. Egg brushed on will make it brown and shiny. I like a combo :)
Sprinkle the brushed pie with 1 tablespoon demerara sugar, or regular granulated sugar is great too.
Bake at 425 degrees F, with the rack in the lower 1/3 of the oven, for 15 minutes. The crust on the edge should be turning light brown.
Make a pie shield out of tin foil. Get a square of foil that is the same size as your pie. Fold it in half, then in half again. Cut out the center. Open it up again. You should have a square of foil with a circle cut out of the center. See photos above.
Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Remove the pie from the oven and place the foil on the edges of the crust. Loosely crimp it around the edges. This will protect it from burning.
Return the pie on the baking sheet to the oven. Don't forget, the oven should be at 350 now. Bake for 30 minutes.
Take a peek at your pie through the door. If the whole top of the pie looks golden brown, top the pie with another square of tin foil. No need to crimp or anything fancy, literally just place the foil on top of the pie.
Bake for another 15 minutes. The pie should be in the oven a total of about an hour.
Cool. Take the pie out of the oven and let cool completely on a wire rack. It will take at least 3-5 hours for this pie to reach room temperature. If you cut into it early, it will be a juicy mess. (Delicious, but the wrong texture.) Pie! a lesson in patience indeed.
Serve this pie with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream, you cannot miss out on this opportunity!! Such an amazing combo.

Notes

*Pie Crust: If you are making the Crumble topping, you only need a single pie crust.

Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble Pie:

Make the pie as directed, until you have the filling poured into the pie crust. Flute the edges of your single pie crust. Skip the 2 tablespoons butter that are normally chopped and sprinkled on top of the pie. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt:

1 and 1/4 cups flour
3/4 cups + 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
10 tablespoons butter (1 stick + 2 tablespoons), melted and cooled

Melt the butter in a medium bowl and let cool slightly. Add the flour to the butter mixture and use a rubber spatula to mix it together. (put your flour bowl back in the cupboard.) See photos, you don't want to combine the flour and butter too much. Some flour streaks are ok. Put this mixture in the fridge or freezer for 20-40 minutes until it's chilled. Keep your assembled pie in the fridge or freezer if there is wait time.

Preheat the oven to 425. When the oven is really hot and the crumble is completely chilled, add less than half of the crumble to the top of the pie. Use your fingers to break up the crumble into chunks that about about the size of a dime or less. You want some sandy bits, and some bigger chunks. Work it with your fingers. Only sprinkle on as much of the mixture as you need to barely cover the strawberry rhubarb filling. Save the remaining crumble in the fridge.

Bake the pie on a metal baking sheet (to protect from overflow) on a rack this is placed in the lower 1/3 of the oven. Bake at 425 for 15 minutes. Then lower the heat to 350.

Make a tin foil pie shield, see photos in the post.

Remove the pie from the oven and cover the edges of the crust with the tin foil shield.

Don't forget to lower the heat to 350. Place the pie back in the oven and bake another 15 minutes.

Remove the pie from the oven one last time. Take off the pie shield and add the remaining crumble, all of it, pile it on. Replace the pie shield on the edges of the pie, making sure the crumble part is exposed.

Bake at 350 for another 20-30 minutes. (the pie should be in the oven for a total of 50-60 minutes.) Check the pie toward the end, and if the crumble topping looks very brown, get a square of tin foil and place it right on top of the other shield (no need to crimp or anything, just toss it on top.) This is to protect the top from overbrowning, but you want the rhubarb to be in the oven for at least 50-60 minutes, to make sure it gets fully cooked.

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