Through his business Big Fish Cider located in Highland County, Virginia, Kirk Billingsley is an enthusiastic promoter of the Blue Ridge Mountain’s heritage apple and crabapple varieties. So it’s no surprise that he is a fan of the Roxbury Russet which originated in Roxbury Massachusetts in the 1640s and likely found its way into our region sometime in the 1700s.
“The Roxbury Russet is a really good pie apple,” Billingsley says. “I would rank it with the Northern Spy and the Baldwin as being the best in that category. The Roxbury has really nice tartness, which you need to balance out the sugar that goes into a pie. To get that perfect amount of tartness, I like to pick this variety before it’s fully ripe.”
The Roxbury, which ripens in September and October depending on elevation, rarely makes appearances even in country stores these days as it is decidedly not a “pretty apple” by modern standards of beauty. The skin is an unassuming pale green and features a rough yellow/brown russet exterior… definitely not what a supermarket would place next to bins of insipid red delicious apples. Besides being a sublime tasting pie apple, the Roxbury has another appealing trait.
“This variety is one of my favorites for cider,” Billingsley continues. “Some apples, like the Virginia Hewes Crab, are great one apple variety ciders. However, I don’t make cider just from the Roxbury. It’s really good when blended with less acidic varieties where we can create a complexity of flavors. In fact, the Roxbury Russet is one of the apples that often goes into two of the most popular ciders we sell: the Allegheny Gold and Elevation.”
Below, Kim Billingsley shares her favorite pie recipe for the Roxbury Russet – and other varieties as well.
Roxbury Russet Apple Pie
Ingredients:
- Two flat pie crusts
- 6 cups thinly sliced, peeled apples
- ¾ cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons flour
- ¾ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Directions:
Mix ingredients to coat the apples. Place one pie crust in pan (dust bottom with flour). Pour in apple mixture. Place second crust over filling. Fold edge of top crust over bottom and flute edges. Slit crust. Bake at 425 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes. May need to cover pie with foil after 30 minutes to prevent over browning.
For more information: bigfishcider.com
Bruce and Elaine Ingram co-wrote Living the Locavore Lifestyle, a book about living in a sustainable fashion off the land through hunting, fishing, and gathering for food. For more information, contact them at bruceingramoutdoors@gmail.com.
