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A rustic double-crust pie bursting with the intensely tart, honeyed flavor of wild plums foraged from Wyoming creek beds, baked in a flaky lard crust that shatters at the fork—pure frontier heritage in every bite.
Wild plum pie is Wyoming's best-kept secret. While the county fair blue ribbons go to apple and cherry, the old-timers know the truth: nothing captures the taste of late summer on the high plains like these small, fiercely flavored fruits gathered from thickets along creek banks and ranch fence lines.
The Prunus americana has fed people on this land for thousands of years. The Arapaho and Shoshone dried them for winter. When homesteaders arrived in the 1870s and 1880s, ranch wives learned quickly that these wild plums, too sour to eat raw, transformed into something extraordinary when baked with sugar between layers of pastry. A good pie became currency. It could thank a neighbor for help with calving, welcome a new family to the valley, or win a man's heart at a church social.
The fruit ripens in late August through September, hanging in dense clusters that glow amber and ruby against dusty green leaves. You'll find them along irrigation ditches, creek bottoms, and the edges of cottonwood groves where cattle gather for shade. Bring buckets. The trees produce abundantly, and once you've tasted this pie, you'll want enough fruit to freeze for winter baking.
The crust matters as much as the filling. Lard was the fat of the frontier—rendered from the hog butchered each fall—and it produces a flakier, more tender pastry than butter alone. I've given you both options. Use what your grandmother would have used, or what you have in your kitchen. Either way, you're making something worth the effort.
Quantity
2 1/2 cups (310g)
Quantity
1 tablespoon
Quantity
1 teaspoon
Quantity
1 cup (200g)
cubed, or substitute cold unsalted butter
Quantity
6-8 tablespoons
Quantity
1 teaspoon
Quantity
4 cups (about 2 pounds)
pitted and halved
Quantity
1 cup (200g)
Quantity
1/4 cup (30g)
Quantity
2 tablespoons
Quantity
1/4 teaspoon
Quantity
1/8 teaspoon
freshly grated
Quantity
1/4 teaspoon
Quantity
1 tablespoon
Quantity
2 tablespoons
cut into small pieces
Quantity
1
beaten with 1 tablespoon water for egg wash
Quantity
2 tablespoons
for sprinkling
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| all-purpose flour (for crust) | 2 1/2 cups (310g) |
| granulated sugar (for crust) | 1 tablespoon |
| fine sea salt (for crust) | 1 teaspoon |
| cold lardcubed, or substitute cold unsalted butter | 1 cup (200g) |
| ice water | 6-8 tablespoons |
| apple cider vinegar | 1 teaspoon |
| wild plumspitted and halved | 4 cups (about 2 pounds) |
| granulated sugar (for filling) | 1 cup (200g) |
| all-purpose flour (for filling) | 1/4 cup (30g) |
| cornstarch | 2 tablespoons |
| ground cinnamon | 1/4 teaspoon |
| nutmegfreshly grated | 1/8 teaspoon |
| fine sea salt (for filling) | 1/4 teaspoon |
| fresh lemon juice | 1 tablespoon |
| cold unsalted butter (for filling)cut into small pieces | 2 tablespoons |
| large eggbeaten with 1 tablespoon water for egg wash | 1 |
| coarse sugarfor sprinkling | 2 tablespoons |
Whisk together flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Add the cold lard or butter cubes and work them into the flour using a pastry blender, two knives, or your fingertips. You want pieces ranging from pea-sized to the size of small lima beans. This unevenness creates flaky layers. The mixture should look shaggy and dry, with visible chunks of fat throughout.
Combine vinegar with six tablespoons of ice water. Drizzle over the flour mixture while tossing with a fork. Add water one tablespoon at a time until the dough just begins to clump when you squeeze a handful. It will look dry and ragged. This is correct. Divide the dough in half, shape each portion into a flat disk about one inch thick, wrap tightly in plastic, and refrigerate for at least one hour or overnight.
Pit the plums by slicing around the equator and twisting the halves apart, then popping out the stone with your thumb. Wild plums cling to their pits more stubbornly than their cultivated cousins. Some will tear. This is fine. Leave the skins on. They hold pectin and color, and their slight chewiness in the finished pie is honest. You should have about four cups of fruit.
Whisk together the sugar, flour, cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in a large bowl. Add the prepared plums and lemon juice, tossing gently to coat every piece. Let this mixture sit while you roll out the crust. The sugar will draw juice from the fruit, creating the syrup that thickens into that glossy, spoonable filling.
Remove one disk of dough from the refrigerator and let it soften for five minutes. On a floured surface, roll from the center outward, rotating the dough a quarter turn after every few strokes. Work quickly and confidently. You want a circle about twelve inches across and roughly one-eighth inch thick. Drape it over a nine-inch pie plate, easing it into the corners without stretching. Leave the overhang for now.
Pour the plum filling into the crust, mounding it slightly higher in the center because the fruit will settle as it bakes. Scrape in every drop of the accumulated juice. Scatter the cold butter pieces over the top. These will melt into the filling, adding richness and helping the top crust release steam.
Roll out the second disk of dough to the same dimensions. Drape it over the filling. Trim both crusts to a one-inch overhang, then fold the edges under themselves, creating a thick rim that rests on the lip of the pie plate. Crimp decoratively by pressing with a fork or pinching with your fingers. Cut four or five slits in the top crust to let steam escape.
Brush the entire top crust and crimped edges with egg wash, working into every crevice. Sprinkle generously with coarse sugar. Place the assembled pie in the refrigerator for twenty minutes while you preheat the oven to 425°F. This final chill firms the fat, ensuring maximum flakiness.
Set the pie on a rimmed baking sheet to catch any drips. Bake at 425°F for twenty minutes, until the crust turns light golden and the kitchen smells of butter and warm fruit. Reduce the temperature to 375°F and continue baking thirty to thirty-five minutes more. The pie is done when the crust is deep golden brown and thick juices bubble actively through the vents. You should hear the filling simmering.
Transfer the pie to a wire rack and resist temptation for at least three hours, preferably four. The filling needs time to set. Cut into a hot fruit pie and you'll have delicious soup. The patience is worth it. Serve at room temperature or barely warm, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, a pour of cold heavy cream, or a wedge of sharp cheddar if you follow the old Wyoming custom.
1 serving (about 170g)
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