Pockets of perfection!
by Marcy Harris
If I could pick one thing made by another Zingerman’s business to eat for the rest of my life, it would be the Nashville Fried Hand Pie we get in from Zingerman’s Bakehouse. The first time I ever tried one, I made up a little dance to go with it. Yep, they are that good. Warm, buttery, flaky crust, luscious fruit spilling out into pools of melting Zingerman’s Vanilla Gelato… Oh. Em. Gee. Any pie from the Bakehouse is the best of the best, but these are super special because they are formed into perfectly crimped little packages—just right for carrying to work, to school, or to hold while dancing in sheer glee over it’s deliciousness.
The legend lives on.
Hand pies are a long-standing tradition in the South, where historically they were known as “Crab Lanterns”. Made from crab apples, the pastries were cut with slits for ventilation, so they looked much like a lantern. There are many variations, of course, but ours are inspired by E.W. Mayo, who was known for the “world’s best” fried pie at his former restaurant in Nashville, Mayo’s Mahalia Jackson Chicken & Fried Pies. The dough was carefully cut around a saucer then folded over into a half-moon, each pie a work of love. People lined up out the door of Mayo’s restaurant to buy the apple, sweet potato, or peach. They were made by his momma, and he learned the recipe from her and had been making them since he was in high school. I love this video from Southern Foodways Alliance about Mayo, because you can see the process from start to finish:
The Bakehouse makes these babies with the same all-butter crust they use for their whole pies, and the filling varies by season—Cherry or Jumbleberry. Hand pies are amazing on their own, whether they are hot out of the fryer or cooled to room temperature, and even better with a scoop of Zingerman’s Gelato. Come try one for yourself, exclusively here at the Roadhouse!