Mile High Apple Pie

Pie Crust:
3 cups flour (all purpose)
2 teaspoons fine sea salt
14 tablespoons chilled, cubed, unsalted butter
1/2 cup ice water

Filling:
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 pounds Granny-Smith apples, peeled, cored and sliced
2 pounds McIntosh apples, peeled, cored and sliced
1/2 cup suger
1/2 cup light brown sugar
Juice of 1 lemon
pinch of nutmeg
1 teaspoon cinnamon, or more to taste (I like a lot)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 - 1 cup pecan pieces
1/2 - 1 cup raisins

Mix the flour and salt in a mound on a pastry board or a marble surface; add the cold butter cubes.  Rub and pinch the butter into the flour with your fingers to coat the butter pieces evenly, forming small, pea-size balls.

Create a well in the center of this mixture and add the chilled water.  Mix together with your hands.  Gently scrape the moistened dough  and form it into a cohesive mass.  

Pull away walnut-sized pieces of dough and "smear" them with the heel of your hand (aka fraisage).  Form the flattened pieces into a ball and halve it.  Form two disks and wrap separately in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for 2 hours.

Roll out the dough using a floured rolling pin starting from the center to the edge, rotating the dough 1/8 of a turn until the dough is 1/8 inch thick.

Carefully transfer the dough to the pie dish and nestle into the bottom and edges.  Put in the fridge until the second crust is rolled out. 

Add the filling, brush water around the edge of the pie and top with the remaining disk of dough. Press down and seal the two crusts, then trim off the excess.  Crimp the edges and cut 3 slits into the the top to allow the steam to escape.

To make the filling:  In a large saute pan, melt the butter.  Add the apples and sauté for 3 or more minutes. Add the sugars, lemon juice and flour. Continue to sauté for 3 minutes. Season the apples with nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt. Add the raisins and mix thoroughly.  Cook until the apples are no longer crisp and hard.  Don't completely cook them but keep in mind that it's a deep dish pie so they should be 3/4 of the way cooked so the inside of the pie isn't raw when it comes out of the oven.  Remove the apple mixture from the heat. Mix in the pecans and cool.

Place the pie in the oven and bake for 45 minutes to an hour, depending on how soft your apples were going into the pie it may be closer to an hour.  If the top starts to get browned before the pie is done, cover with a foil tent.

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