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Meet the Pie Man
Chef Jeff Masten’s Left Fork Grill is Salt Lake City’s e-pie-center.
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hef Jeff Masten never meant to be king of pies. When he opened Left Fork Grill, he planned to serve cheesecake, pudding and layer cake along with pie as part of his comfort food menu. But word of his pie prowess spread, and he now serves 12 to 14 different pies every day. Savvy regulars know to get in orders for their favorite slice even before they’ve decided between corned beef hash or meatloaf for the main meal. A chalkboard behind the cash register lists the day’s pie offerings, and every so often you’ll hear a server call out, “No more raspberry cream!” That pie gets crossed off the list until another emerges from the oven. “It’s hard to find good pie,” says Masten, who stops at every roadside café advertising homemade pie. “They are always made with frozen crusts and canned filling.” But Masten’s mama taught him differently, and he still uses her lard-based recipe. He’s never afraid to share his crust recipe. “If I gave the same recipe to 10 different people, you’d end up with 10 very different pies. You can only do it with practice. In the summer, when the swamp cooler is on, the flour absorbs a lot of that moisture, so you need to add less water. In winter, the moisture evaporates quickly, so you have to add a little more. It’s a matter of feel.” 68 W. 3900 South, SLC, 801-266-4322 102
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Tips
from the
pie man Always use a glass pie plate, not metal. If available, try to use Macintosh apples. After you lay the bottom crust in the pie plate, rap the pan sharply on the cutting board to make sure the dough is fitted to the plate. Use unsweetened frozen fruit.
Use scissors to cut off the excess bottom crust and don’t cut off too much. Brush the edge of the bottom crust with water before laying on the top crust to create a strong seal between the two. Brush the top crust with an egg beaten with a few tablespoons of milk for a shiny, brown finish.