Granmama’s 3 Famous Stockyard Lunchroom Pies
My granmama was a remarkable woman! She taught me the meaning of hard work, persistence, and reward through her example. I have childhood memories of her staying up all night during the 1960s to bake as many of her Famous Meringue & Cream Pies as humanly possible in the simple oven of her small farm kitchen. She made three varieties of pies; lemon meringue, banana cream with meringue, and coconut cream with meringue. Very early the next morning, without sleeping, she would gingerly load all the delicious pies into her car and drive to the Kentucky Stockyard Lunchrooms that she ran and operated. The regular Stockyard sale days were on Tuesday in Walton and Wednesday in Williamstown. Sometimes there was also a special sale day on Saturday. Her delicious homemade pies always sold out quickly in the day! Loyal customers knew they needed to get there early to order their slice and enjoy it.
If I or my brothers were lucky enough to be visiting with granmama on the days of the Stockyard Sales, we would eagerly accompany her to be her assistant/s. In retrospect, I guess this was really my first volunteer job experience. Not a bad way to start!
My brother, Jim, fondly wrote the following article excerpt which appeared in our original 1992 Perkins Family Cookbook …
“The quantity of food by granmama was never larger than when she ran the restaurants at the Walton and Williamstown Stockyards. Those days were wonderful for young boys such as Charlie, Bobby, and me. We would eat as much and as often as we desired. There was also an unlimited supply of six-ounce Cokes or Dana orange or grape pop. We were often accused of eating up the profits. The only tribute that we had to pay was pick-up the empty bottles throughout the stockyard. To young boys, this was often an adventure. The best part of the day though was being able to eat anything you wanted for breakfast. Since she had to leave so early in the morning to drive to the Stockyard, we would eat at the restaurant/lunchroom instead of home. We thought we were really something when we got to eat a cheeseburger “through the garden” or a fish sandwich for breakfast.”
WHAT ELSE DO YOU NEED?
Granmama’s Homemade Pie Crust Recipe
Equipment
- Pastry Blender
- Large Mixing Bowl
- Rolling Pin
- 8-inch Pie Dish
Ingredients
- 1 Cup Flour
- ½ Teaspoon Salt
- ⅓ Cup Shortening ( like Crisco)
- 2-3 Tablespoons Ice Cold Water
Instructions
- Cut the shortening into the flour and salt mixture with a pastry blender in a large mixing bowl.
- Add the ice-cold water to the mixture. Stir more with the pastry blender until it forms a ball. You want the dough to be stiff, but not sticky. Make sure that you do not add too much water.
- Let the dough chill in the refrigerator for at least ½ hour before rolling out.
- Roll out on a floured surface with a rolling pin. Place into an 8-inch pie pan that has been sprayed with a non-stick spray.
- Prick several fork holes onto the bottom of the crust to prevent puffiness.
- Bake the crust in a preheated 400° oven for 15 minutes or until the crust is no longer translucent and completely cooked
- Special note: You may also want to bake the pie crust with dry beans or pie weights on top to alleviate a puffy or uneven crust
- Makes 1 homemade pie crust.
Granmama’s Famous Lemon Meringue Pie
Equipment
- Sauce Pan
- 2 Mixing Bowls
- Cooking Spoon
- Rubber Spatula
- Electric Mixer
- Measuring Spoons
- Measuring Cup
- Egg Separator
- Microplane Grater
Ingredients
- 1 Pre-cooked Pie Crust (see granmama's separate recipe)
- ¼ Cup Sugar
- 2 Tablespoons Cornstarch
- 2 Cups Boiling Water
- 3 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
- 2 Egg Yolks
- 1 Teaspoon Butter
- 1 Teaspoon Grated Lemon Rind (or lemon flavoring)
Meringue
- 3 Egg Whites
- ¼ Teaspoon Salt
- 6 Tablespoons Sugar
- ½ Teaspoon Vanilla
Instructions
- Combine sugar and cornstarch in a sauce pan on top of the stove. Stir in the boiling water and cook over low heat until very thick and clear. (about 15 minutes)
- Crack and separate 2 eggs. Save the whites for the meringue topping (later).
- Beat the yolks to a cream in a separate mixing bowl. Add a little of the hot mixture from the sauce pan into the beaten egg yolks to temper them. Mix thoroughly.
- Gradually blend in the rest of the hot mixture into the egg yolks
- Next, stir in the butter, lemon juice, and rind. Cool the lemon filling mixture slightly before pouring into a previously prepared and baked pie crust. (see granmama's separate recipe)
Meringue Preparation
- In a separate mixing bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the egg whites and salt together until stiff peaks form.
- Next, fold in the 6 tablespoons of sugar gradually. Then add ½ teaspoon of vanilla.
- Using a rubber spatula, cover the whole pie with meringue spreading it evenly out to the edges of the crust. It is necessary to seal the meringue to the pie crust well so that it does not shrink or weep during baking.
- If desired, you can use the back of a spoon, to gently press down on the meringue and lift lightly to form decorative peaks all over the pie.
- Brown the pie in a 350° oven for 10-15 minutes or until the meringue is lightly browned. Keep a watchful eye on the process, to avoid it burning.
Granmama’s Famous Banana Cream Pie with Meringue Topping
Equipment
- Sauce Pan
- Cooking Spoon
- Rubber Spatula
- Wire or Nylon Whisk
- Measuring Spoons
- Measuring Cup
- Egg Separator
- Electric Mixer
- Mixing Bowl
Ingredients
- 1 Pre-cooked Pie Crust (see granmama's separate recipe)
- 2 Beaten Egg Yolks
- 2 Cups Milk
- ½ Cup Sugar
- 2 Tablespoons Flour
- 1 Tablespoon Butter
- Pinch of Salt
- 4 Bananas
Meringue
- 3 Egg Whites
- ¼ Teaspoon Salt
- 6 Tablespoons Sugar
- ½ Teaspoon Vanilla
Instructions
- Peel and slice 2 bananas into thin coin shapes and spread evenly on top of the baked pie crust.
- Crack and separate 2 eggs. Save the whites for the meringue topping (later).
- On the kitchen counter, using a wire whisk, beat the egg yolks to a creamy consistency in a sauce pan.
- Add the milk, sugar, flour, butter, and pinch of salt to the sauce pan and mix well.
- Move the sauce pan to the stove. Continue stirring the mixture and gradually bring it to a boil as it becomes a thick custard consistency.
- Remove the saucepan from the heat and allow the custard to completely cool.
- Then spread the cooled custard mixture over the previously sliced bananas.
- Peel and slice 2 more bananas into coin shapes and spread evenly on top of the custard layer.
Meringue Preparation
- In a separate mixing bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the egg whites and salt together until stiff peaks form.
- Next fold in the 6 tablespoons of sugar gradually. Then add ½ teaspoon of vanilla.
- Using a rubber spatula, cover the whole pie with meringue spreading it evenly out to the edges of the crust. It is necessary to seal the meringue to the pie crust well so that it does not shrink or weep during baking.
- If desired, you can use the back of a spoon, to gently press down and lift lightly to form decorative peaks all over the pie.
- Brown the pie in a 350° oven for 10-15 minutes or until the meringue is lightly browned. Keep a watchful eye on the process, to avoid burning.
Granmama’s Famous Coconut Cream Pie with Meringue Topping
Equipment
- Double Boiler
- Sauce Pan
- Rubber Spatula
- Wire or Nylon Whisk
- Cooking Spoon
- Measuring Spoons
- Measuring Cup
- Egg Separator
- Electric Mixer
- Mixing Bowl
Ingredients
- 1 Pre-cooked Pie Crust (see granmama's separate recipe)
- 2 Cups Scalded Milk
- 1 Cup Sugar
- 2 Egg Yolks
- 2 Heaping Tablespoons Cornstarch
- 1 Cup Grated Coconut
Meringue
- 3 Egg Whites
- ¼ Teaspoon Salt
- 6 Tablespoons Sugar
- ½ Teaspoon Vanilla
Instructions
- Scald the milk in a double boiler.
- Crack and separate 2 eggs. Save the whites for the meringue topping (later)
- Using a wire whisk, beat the egg yolks to a cream in a separate mixing bowl.
- Add the sugar and cornstarch to scalded milk mixture and combine mix well, stirring thoroughly.
- Add a little of the scalded milk, sugar, and cornstarch mixture into the beaten egg yolks to temper them. Mix thoroughly.
- Gradually blend in the rest of the scalded milk mixture into the egg yolks.
- Next, add in the grated coconut and continue to mix well.
- Pour the coconut cream pie filling into a 1-crust pie crust.
- Bake for 45 minutes in a preheated 350° oven.
- While the coconut cream pie is baking, prepare the meringue topping which will be added during the last 15 minutes of the total baking time.
Meringue Topping
- In a separate mixing bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the egg whites and salt together until stiff peaks form.
- Next fold in the 6 tablespoons of sugar gradually. Then add ½ teaspoon of vanilla.
- Using a rubber spatula, cover the coconut cream pie with meringue spreading it out to the edges of the crust and continue baking for the last 15 minutes of the total cooking time. Keep a watchful eye on the process, to avoid burning.
- It is necessary to seal the meringue to the pie crust well so that it does not shrink or weep during baking.
- If desired, you can use the back of a spoon, to gently press down on the meringue and lift lightly to form decorative peaks all over the pie.
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