The Oscars - A Celebration of Food & Film: 2011 Nominee - True Grit, Pt. 5

Well, I can't think of a better way to close our culinary tribute to True Grit than with a dessert which features the alcohol of choice for most cowboys -- bourbon! Of course I also love the name of this dish, Drunk Berry Cobbler.

You can actually use most fruits for this dessert but the cowboys seems to prefer berries as they grew wild on the various landscapes of the ranges. Personally I love the combination of the sweetness of the berries marrying with the bourbon and the pungent buttermilk crust seems to bring it all together.

This recipe will be presented in two parts, leading off with the buttermilk crust. Regarding the crust, the original recipe called for lard (rendered animal fat) but since lard is not that easy to find these days, you can use shortening as I did for adapting this recipe. I would not, however, substitute butter.

Ingredients needed to make Drunk Berry Cobbler (serves 4):

The Buttermlk Crust:

• 2 cups flour
• 2 Tbs. sugar
• 1 Tbs. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/3 cup shortening
• 1 cup buttermilk

Steps:

1. In a medium bowl combine all the ingredients to form a dough (it will be sticky).
2. Set the dough aside.

The Filling:

• 6 Tbs. butter
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1 cup cream
• 1/4 cup bourbon
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1 pound blackberries (you can also use raspberries or boysenberries)

Steps:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a small Dutch Oven (or casserole dish that is flame-proof), melt the butter over medium heat.
3. Into the melted butter stir in all the ingredients, except the berries, until the sugars have liquified.
4. Add the berries and gently toss to coat.
5. Remove the Dutch Oven from the heat.
6. Place the dough on top of the berries and roughly smooth out.
7. Place in the oven and bake 25 minutes.
8. Remove from the oven and let cool before serving.

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