I put my fat (half butter, half shortening) in the freezer for about 20 minutes before I make my crusts and I use a food processor to work the fat into the flour. I make lovely flakey crusts, however, I can’t roll out properly. My crusts shrink every time and I know it’s my technique.
By the way, there really isn’t a need to render your own lard. Most grocery stores sell it still. It’s in the baking aisle near the shortening or it’s in the Hispanic foods section.
Well I appreciate everyone’s contributions… but sadly, none were at all new to me. Been all there, done all that. I’ve had my handling technique in particular wired since forever. My mother had the most wonderful solid marble breakfast table that was the first place I ever made crust… it was perfect! It was also the first place I made croissants, danish pastry, puff pastry and brioche… loved that table.
The only thing I’ve never tried is leaf lard, the reputation of which is well-known to me.
My super-taster palate was very sad about the vodka, because I definitely tasted it. Bigtime. I’m amazed that anyone doesn’t, and of course I found it completely repulsive. Love the theory, though, and this thread is the first time I’ve ever made the connection with the vinegar - I think Cooks itself addressed the question of why vinegar shows up in so many pie crust recipes and never came to the conclusion that it was a replacement for some of the water in the same way vodka is. But then again, all the liquid in vinegar IS water, isn’t it? (Unlike vodka, which is partly alcohol of course). I wonder if there are any other liquids that could fill in that have even less taste? (My crazy brain goes to hydrogen peroxide… just a tablespoon or two over a whole crust…I bet it works. That stuff is almost entirely tasteless straight from the bottle.)
It also dawned on me that my resistence to using egg yolk may be misplaced.
I’ve been wondering if anyone has ever tried making pie crust with clarified butter? Or knows of any other way to remove the water from butter? Maybe it would work to use clean floursack cotton to squeeze the butter when it is cool, massaging it gently in the cotton to absorb as much of the water in it as possible…
I guess I’ll have to experiment and make a crust with a super low-moisture European butter (flavor) blended with leaf lard (tender), vinegar & hydrogen peroxide, egg yolk and a pastry flour blend…
I usually use frozen crusts, since I can’t be bothered to take the time to make my own, but when I do make my own, the best recipe I’ve found is this one. Not sure if you’ve tried it or its equivalent yet, but it’s worth looking at. I remember it as being pretty easy to make and extremely tasty: Perfect Pie Crust Recipe
There is no substitute.
Back in times of yore, I brought my then girlfriend, soon to be fiance, later to be wife, now ex-wife home for Christmas. It was her first British Christmas. At the time she was a vegetarian, and was repeatedly clear that she didn’t want any special efforts made for her. That of course doesn’t work with my mother, who fussed the whole time about it.
What amused me was walking into the kitchen where Mum was making mince pies. She was so proud that she had gone to the effort of getting vegetarian mincemeat for said pies. I felt almost guilty explaining to her that the effect would be somewhat nullified by the lard she was currently rubbing into flour to make the pastry. Not guilty enough not to laugh at her about it every Christmas since, though.
I’ve tried using clarified (and browned) butter a few times. Once it was a bust, as I substituted the clarified butter tablespoon-for-tablespoon for regular butter in my usual recipe; this didn’t work for the (should have been) obvious reason that 10 tbsp of regular butter does not equal 10 tbsp of pure fat. The dough felt completely wrong while I was putting it together and turned into a greasy, slouchy mess after blind baking 
It worked fabulously the other times. Great flake and crispness, and a nice flavor from the “brownness” of the butter. However, I find the difference in quality between regular- and clarified-butter crusts small enough that I don’t usually bother with the latter unless I have all day to fuss about it. (I normally use European-style butter, low in moisture anyway, pounded with a rolling pin so it’s easier to rub into the flour.) I think you should try it once or twice, if only to see if your problem is in the fat+flour stage of putting the dough together.
Jeffrey Steingarten’s book The Man Who Ate Everything has a chapter in it about pie crust; Marion Cunningham “advises” him. The recipe and technique he describes require some practice to get right, but it is my favorite way to make crust. Basically you rub the fat into the flour with your fingers and add the ice water all at once, and if you work fast you don’t have to worry about chilling the dough afterwards. Best part is that the recipe doesn’t need any special ingredients (butter, flour, water, salt, and possibly sugar is all) and the technique doesn’t involve freezing anything or using a food processor or any special tools.
One more thing—I see you mentioned pastry flour. I like AP better because the resulting crust has crispier flakes. If you like your crust more on the tender side, pastry flour may work better for you.
If you want to give clarified butter a test-drive, but you aren’t interested in going to all the fuss, visit an Indian/Pakistani ethnic market and buy GHEE.
And in reference to the legion of pie crust personal failures, many desperate women (because it’s usually women) resort to the oil pie crust recipe found in most cookbooks. Oil pie crust is damned near foolproof, but the texture is mealy, not flaky.
Desperate women don’t care, though. And they give terrifying dirty looks to anyone who complains about oil pie crust.
~VOW
I freeze my shortening, I like butter flavored Crisco, and then shred it with a coarse cheese grater into the flour mixture. It seems to keep semi-frozen slivers of shortening from totally melting until the last bit. It’s how I make my crusts now, the pinnacle of my pie crust making.