"Hubig's Pie" Line-Up: Apple, Lemon, & ... Phở

Find a fun little write up about this recipe over at Nola.com / The Times-Picayune! 

I draw inspiration for my recipes from so many different sources.  Whether it be the season, or a holiday, or New Orleans, or something incredible I ate... I find inspiration all around me.  Sometimes though, inspiration comes in the form of an early morning text message from one of my best friends.  

"Make a f***ing Hubig's Pie."

-- Hayli Dupre 

Though I'm not even sure that such a crass demand can be counted as inspiration, I made a f***ing Hubig's Pie.  Three kinds, actually.  

Of course, these pies are not made using the actual Hubig's Pie recipe.  Instead, this recipe is a tribute to one of the greatest culinary landmarks in New Orleans history.  Hubig's Pies, for those of you not from Southeast Louisiana, are deep fried hand-held pies that were pretty much ubiquitous in New Orleans until a tragic fire destroyed the factory a few years back.  Though the company says they plan to reopen, it hasn't happened yet and it doesn't look like it's going to happen anytime soon.  I would go into further detail but this post is about pie, not heartbreak.  

The pies came in a variety of flavors.  Apple was my favorite, but I was known to flirt with lemon, too.  They also offered chocolate, sweet potato, peach, and other seasonal flavors.  I chose to recreate the apple and lemon for old times sake, but I also wanted to make something that expressed another side of New Orleans.  {No, I didn't make a "the smells of Bourbon Street" pie}.  

Thanks to the city's huge Vietnamese population, I have phở  at least a few times a month. So naturally, I made a phở  faux "Hubig's Pie."  It's filled with all of the traditional phở goodies such as beef brisket, rice noodles, jalapenos, cilantro, and mint.  Instead of a traditional Hubig's Pie glaze, this pie gets a few swirls of Hoisin and Sriracha, as well as a squeeze of lime. 

The recipe for both the crust and each filling makes about 6 pies.  

Pie Crust

• 5 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 T salt
• 1/2 T sugar
• 1 beaten egg
• 1.5 sticks (12 T) unsalted butter, extremely cold
• 1 cup ice cold water
• 2 T vodka or gin
• 1 Quart+ 1 Pint (48 oz) Vegetable oil for frying, I used canola. 

1. Cut the butter into 1/2" cubes and put in a bowl in the freezer for 10 minutes.  You want this butter to be cold cold cold.
2. On a clean surface or in a large mixing bowl, mix the flour, sugar, and salt.
3. Using a fork or a pastry cutter, blend the butter into the flour until you don't have any pieces larger than a pea.  
4. In a small bowl, beat together the water, egg, and vodka/gin.
5. Form a well in the middle of the flour mixture and pour in the egg mixture.
6. Quickly blend the egg mixture into the flour mixture with a fork or a pastry cutter.
7. Try not to over-mix it, you really just want it all to just be coming together.  A little excess flour in the bowl is no biggie.  
8. Form the dough into a ball and refrigerate it for half an hour, or up to one week if you're not using it immediately.
9. Instructions for frying the pies can be found below.

Pie Glaze {Only for lemon & apple}

• 3 cups powder sugar
• 1/3 cup buttermilk or whole milk

1. Whisk all ingredients together, add extra milk 1 T at a time if you desire a thinner consistency. 

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Lemon Pie Filling

• 1 cup sugar
• 5 large egg yolks
• 1 stick (8 T ) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2" cubes
• 1/3 cup lemon juice

1. Fill a small saucepan half-way with water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
2. In a metal bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until smooth, about one minute.
3. Whisk in lemon juice to combine.
4. Reduce heat under the saucepan to low and set the metal bowl on top of the saucepan (the water should be low enough to where it is not actually touching the bowl, you just want the heat from the steam).
5. Whisk constantly until thickened {you want this to be the consistency of Yoplait yogurt} and slightly pale in color, about eight to ten minutes.  I would actually recommend using an immersion blender for this step if you have one.
6. Immediately remove from heat and stir in butter piece-by-piece, allowing each addition to melt before adding the next.
7. Transfer to your storage container and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill for at least two hours, but it will last for up to a week in an air-tight jar. 
8. Assembly & frying instructions below.

Apple Pie Filling

• 2 medium gala apples
• 1.5 t cinnamon
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar
• 1/2 t salt
• 1 t lemon juice

1. Chop the apples into small pieces, about 1/2" in length.
2. Toss the chopped apples in the granulated sugar and the salt.
3. Place apples in a colander or sifter over a bowl and let sit for half an hour, up to two hours.  This step ensures that excess liquid is removed from the apples, so that the frying process will not be a total mess.  
4. In a small bowl, toss apples with the powdered sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, and lemon juice.  Use within the hour, as the apples will begin to let out more liquid if they sit too long.  
5. Assembly & frying instructions below.  

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Phở Pie Filling  

• 1/2 pound eye of round
• 1/2 lb dried phở rice noodles (can be found at most supermarkets, but definitely international food stores)
• 1 jalapeno, diced
• 3 green onion, chopped
• 4 T chopped fresh cilantro
• 4 T chopped fresh mint
• 1 T coconut oil (you can substitute butter or other vegetable oil if you'd like)
• Hoisin, Sriracha, and lime juice for garnish

1. Prepare the noodles according to the instructions on the packaging, set aside.
2. Cut the eye of round into extremely thin slices (literally as thin as you can get it), going against the grain.
3. In a skillet over high-heat, melt the coconut oil.
4. Sear the eye of round slices for about 15 seconds on each side, set aside.
5. Assemble & fry according to the instructions below.
6. Once fried, sprinkle lime juice on top and serve with Hoisin sauce and Sriracha

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Assembly:

1. Once the dough has chilled, divide it into 6 - 8 small balls, a little larger than a golf ball.
2. On a well-floured surface, roll each ball of dough into an oval about 5" wide and 6" in height (and about 1/4" thick), similar to the shape of a football.  
3. For lemon & apple filling: dollop about 3 T worth of filling on one side of each oval of dough.
4. For phở  filling:  layer noodles, meat, and greens on one side.  Use less filling than you think you'll need as these tend to overflow.  
5. Fold the pie closed, and use a fork to press the two sides together, creating small ridges along the seal. 

Frying:

1. In a large pot, bring oil to between 365* and 380* F.
2. Lower the pie in slowly, and fry until golden brown, about 3 - 4 minutes. Turn over once halfway through this process.  Only fry one pie at a time unless you're using a commercial-sized fryer, as the pies are large enough to greatly effect the temperature in such a small amount of oil.    
3. Carefully remove from fryer with tongs and place on a wire rack.
4. While still hot, drizzle the glaze on top (for the lemon & apple only, the phở pie can be finished off with just a few squirts of Hoisin, Sriracha, and lime juice.) 
5. Let cool before serving.  

Yum