Vodka Pie Pastry

Vodka Pastry Recipe:

1 lb lard
5 1/2 c/ flour
2 t. salt
1 egg
1 T. vinegar
1/3 c. pure alberta vodka
1/3 c. ice cold water
4 ice cubes

Make sure that the lard is very cold. I put mine in the freezer till hard and then take it out for about 30 minutes before I cut it up into very small pieces. About 1/2 cm by 1/2cm.

Place the flour and salt in a large bowl, set aside. Beat the egg and the vinegar together very well. Add the vodka (chilled) and the ice water to fill a 1 cup measuring cup. The egg and vinegar should come to 1/3 of a cup and then add half vodka and water to make one cup. Then add the 4 ice cubes.

Cut the lard into very small pieces and blend into the flour mixture with a pastry blender until about the size of small peas. Make a well in the center and add the cup of liquid excluding the ice cubes. Mix very gently until incorporated. Do not knead or over mix, this will result in a tough and non flaky dough. Shape into a log shape and cut into 6 equal pieces. Wrap individually and rest in the fridge for an hour minimum. If you are not using all the dough at once, as it makes 3 large deep dish 10 inch pies. Then you can double wrap it for the freezer to use at a later date. Keeps well for about one month.

Use as directed by recipe. 

This is the best and flakiest pie pastry dough that I have ever worked with. It is fantastic. If you don't want to use vodka you can omit it and replace it with ice cold water. 

Enjoy!