Have you used them? Does anyone know where (locally) they can be purchased? Oh, for the curious and uninformed, pie birds are little ceramic characters, usually in the shape of a bird, which you place in the ceneter of the pie and it releases the steam from within the pie while baking. Something like this:
I've seen those...they are available through Amazon.com. What is the difference between using that and cutting a few slits in the pie shell? I guess I can't see a logical reason for having one. Does anyone know if it does something special?
You might try calling Carolina Pottery in Smithfield, I think there are a couple other kitcheny type stores down there as well. I've seen them in the junk catalogs too, such a Lillian Vernon. Depends on how soon you need it.
It's pure physics. Whether it's using a pie bird or cutting holes in the crust, the purpose is to release the steam built up by the liquid present in the pie's filling. Where the difference lies is logical, if you think about it. In most pie filling, the liquid will settle to the bottom. Once that liquid heats up and turns to steam, it will want to release from the crust. What the pie bird does is, gices the steam a direct path out. All that gets released (for the most part) is just the steam. Cutting slits, on the other hand, makes it so that the filling is between the steam and the slit. When the steam heats up and wants to escape up through the slits, it will be pushing the filling with it, causing it to seap out through the slits (and creating a mess).
Call me "blonde" if this is a stupid question, but doesn't this leave a hole in the middle of the pie?
OK I was waiting for someone to do it, no one did, so here goes: Pie Fit for a King Ingredients: Crust: 2 cups flour 1 teaspoon salt 2 cubes butter 1 egg 1/4 cup milk Filling: 4 and 20 starlings, plucked and dressed Parsley Sage Rosemary Thyme Fennel seed One turnip One carrot One stick of celery 1/2 cup chicken broth 1 teaspoon corn starch Make the crust: Mix together dry ingredients Cut in butter Beat egg Add egg and milk and mix them in but don't overdo it. Divide the crust into two parts and roll them out between sheets of waxed paper. Press one crust into greased pie pan. Arrange four and twenty starlings in pie pan with all they little feet in the air. Chop turnip, carrot, and celery and distribute evenly in the pie. Mix cornstarch and chicken broth and pour over pie contents. Sprinkle with parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme. Oh, and fennel. Put the top on and clamp it down well. Cut some slits in the top. Keep them less than 1 1/2 inches. Cook in 325 degree oven until birds begin to sing or crust becomes brown, whichever comes first. Serve hot. Brian M. Godfrey godfrey@pdx.oneworld.com
Yes, about a half an inch in diameter. Are you that hungry that a half an inch missing is a huge deal?
and some people can relate to that half an inch more than others.....can make all the difference in the world.
That much or more of the filling can get pushed through, if you just cut some slits in the top. Yes, I got the puns, but this is the "family" side of the forum, so I needed to make sure it stayed clean.
No but if I take a pie to a friends house and it has a hloe in the middle there will be serious questions. My friends would think my dog took a bite. Sorry but I have never ever seen a pie with a half inch diameter hole in the middle. I think I will pass on the "pie birds".
Do you usually serve food that your dog has taken a bite of? You ever see a pie where the filling has bubbled out through the top crust leaving burn marks and an oven that needs serious cleaning before it can be used again?
I have something shaped like that, but I don't use it in the kitchen. :lol: I guess I'm just "uninformed". Hey didn't the kid in the movie American Pie use the hole in the middle of an apple pie for something? Is that what you are up to? :ack: I think I will skip pie this year! :cheers:
Ya'll are a bunch of freaks! :lol: My grandmother used to put one of these in her pies, and she didn't take it out until the first piece was cut. It looked cute, and no hole for anyone to wonder about!
