My grandma's secret pie crust recipe is NOT the best and I'm tired of pretending it is

Last Thanksgiving, I followed her recipe to the letter, using the exact 2 cups of flour and 1 cup of shortening she always wrote down. The crust came out tough and bland, just like it always has at her house. I think our family has been too scared to say anything for years because it's a 'treasured' recipe. I finally tried my friend's mom's recipe with butter and vinegar, and it was flaky and perfect. Has anyone else had to quietly retire a family recipe that just wasn't that good?

3 comments

3 Comments

quinnj242mo ago

My aunt's famous meatloaf was just dry ground beef with ketchup, we all knew it.

jade_miller622mo ago

Look, that's just honest cooking right there. Sometimes you want simple food that tastes like your childhood, not some fancy chef thing. The ketchup makes a crust and keeps it from being totally plain, and dry meatloaf is perfect for soaking up gravy or more ketchup anyway.

wendy_carr23d ago

Dry ground beef with ketchup works fine for some, but a real meatloaf needs more than that to be worth making again. @quinnj24 maybe your aunt's recipe was just one of those things no one wanted to say anything about. A good meatloaf has some moisture from eggs or breadcrumbs so it holds together better and actually tastes like something.