Bacon Pie!

[Nihon_Ni]

My office had a pie bake-off today.  While most people opted for summer's bountiful fruits and berries, I opted for something a little more savory...
 
Pie...Good
Bacon...Good
Why not put them together??
 
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Red and yellow tomatoes, peeled, seeded and sliced; half of a Vidalia onion, diced; shredded Jarlsberg cheese; a little Italian parsley; cracked black pepper; and of course...plenty of bacon.  The recipe I found called for 12 ounces of bacon.  Amateurs!  I used almost two pounds, and had enough to add the lattice top. 
 
Needless to say, it was a big hit with all the guys at the office.

 

[jfields]

"Big hit with the guys at the office"...... I'm surprised one of them didn't try to slip you the tongue when you came walking in with that thing!! :laugh:

BTW...... We need to get together (In a non sexual way) for a smoke!

 

[Gern Blansten]

Holy crap that looks good! Did you use a standard pie crust?

 

[Nihon_Ni]

They didn't try to slip me the tongue, but I did nearly get mugged before I could get the pie to the conference room!
 
I cheated and used a prepared pie crust.  What can I say -- I'm not a baker, I'm a cook.  Unless there's some sort of animal flesh in it, I generally don't make it.
 
John, we are way overdue for a smoke!

 

[Rod]

Man that looks good!

 

[ironpeddler]

Awesome!...great job. I make a breakfast version of that (basically a quiche) covered with the bacon weave that I brush with real maple syrup & dust with cracked medley pepper...a very tasty morning treat.
 
Can you please post the recipe as you made it, it sounds really good! 

 

[Nihon_Ni]

I read about a dozen recipes before making this, but didn't follow any of them exactly.  I didn't really measure any of these ingredients, so this is all an approximation.
 
I used two pounds of bacon and made the lattice on a baking stone.  I should have done it on a cooling rack or a thin metal cookie sheet instead, because the bottom didn't get cooked as well as the top and I had to flip the whole thing and bake it for a while longer.  I ended up baking the lattice at 350 for about 30 minutes total, then set it aside to cool, then let it drain on a paper towel.  I cut a circle out of the lattice to top the pie, then chopped up the rest in 1" pieces to use inside the pie.
 
Some of the trouble I read about in various recipies was a soupy pie and stringy skins, so I took the time to peel them, remove the seeds and pat them dry with paper towels.
 
I use about four vine ripened red tomatoes and about eight yellow tomatoes the size of golf balls (that was the only yellow ones I could find).  I selected the yellow ones mainly for appearance.  I cut a small X in the bottom of each tomato, then blanched them for about 45 seconds or so, until I could see the skin start to wrinkle, then plunged them into an ice bath.  After that, the skins peeled off easily.  I sliced the yellow ones in half and made about four slices of the larger red ones. I used my finger to scoop out the seeds and spread them out on paper towels to dry off a bit.
 
I bought about a pound of cheese, but didn't use it all.  My pie probably ended up with about 12 oz of grated cheese.
 
I used about half of a Vidalia onion, diced into large chunks, and maybe 1/4 cup of Italian parsley.  
 
I cheated and used a pre-made pie crust, so I pre-baked it by itself according to the instructions on the box.  About 10 minutes if I recall.
 
When the crust was finished, I started assembling the pie:  a layer of tomatoes, a sprinkling of onions, bacon pieces, parsley, a pinch of kosher salt, a few grinds of cracked pepper and a handful of cheese.  (Next time I'll use more pepper.)  I made two and a half layers before the shell was full.  I baked it at 475 for 20 minutes using a crust shield, then removed the shield, added the lattice top and baked for another 10 minutes.  
 
Most recipes said to let the pie cool for 10 minutes before serving, but mine lasted a bit over an hour before the monkeys at work devoured it.