Cooking Lesson #139 Old Kentucky Home Pecan Pie

It’s Pie Week!

Old Kentucky Home Pecan Pie

How you doin’? Boy are you lucky--It’s Pie Week!  While I like to think of pie being the all-American dessert—it really isn’t. Pie has been around since about 2000 B.C. during the time of the ancient Egyptians. Between 1400 B.C. and 600 B.C., it’s believed pie was passed on to the Greeks and then spread to Rome around 100 B.C.
 
The first pie recipe was published by the Romans and was for a rye-crusted goat cheese and honey pie. They must have spread the word about pies around Europe as the Oxford English Dictionary notes that the word pie was a popular word in the 14th century.
 
The early pies were predominately meat pies. Pyes (pies) originally appeared in England as early as the twelfth century. The crust of the pie was referred to as “coffyn.” There was actually more crust than filling. Often these pies were made using fowl and the legs were left to hang over the side of the dish and used as handles. Fruit pies or tarts (pasties) were probably first made in the 1500s. English tradition credits making the first cherry pie to Queen Elizabeth I… she never looked lovelier than when she wore her apron with her crown.
 
Pies traveled to America with the first English settlers. The early colonists cooked their pies in long narrow pans calling them “coffins” like the crust in England. As in the Roman times, the early American pie crusts often were not eaten but simply designed to hold the filling during baking. It was during the American Revolution that the term “crust” was used instead of coffyn.
 
Over the years, pie has evolved to become what it is today “the most traditional American dessert.” Pie has become so much a part of American culture throughout the years, that we now commonly use the term “as American as apple pie.”
 
Making the crust is the hardest part of making a great pie. As an alternative you can use a store-bought frozen or refrigerated crust—I do on occasion, but I am usually disappointed. To that end, I’ve included a recipe for Ed’s Perfect Flaky Pie Crust below. I can judge the worth of a home-baked pie by the quality of the crust.  
 
This recipe for Old Kentucky Home Pecan Pie is worthy of your Thanksgiving table… or any time you feel like you need a southern hug!
 
Prep time:  15 minutes
Bake time:  1 hour
Yield:  5 to 8 servings / 1 (9 inch) pie
 
Ingredients
1 cup white corn syrup (Karo)
1 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, melted
3 large eggs, plus 1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon warm water
1-1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 recipe pie shell for two (2) 9-inch crust pies (see below)
 
Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 350⁰F.
2. Combine syrup, sugar, salt and melted butter.
3. Slightly beat the eggs and add to sugar mixture. Beat well.
4. Whisk the egg yolk with 1 tablespoon warm water.
5. Brush the bottom and sides of the crust with the beaten egg yolk.
6. Pour the mixture into an unbaked pie shell.
7. Sprinkle pecans on top.
8. Bake 50 to 60 minutes. Cover the edges of the crust with crust guards or aluminum foil for the first 40 minutes, then remove the guards or foil allowing the edges of the crust to brown.
9. When done, the center will be a bit jiggly but will firm up when cool.

ChefSecrets:  Here are a couple of neat options to dress up your pie.

• To make it a bourbon pecan pie, add 1 ounce of Kentucky bourbon to the pecan mixture.
• To make it a chocolate pecan pie, add 1/3 cup of chocolate chips to the bottom of the crust before adding the pie filling.
• Okay, throw caution to the wind and make it a Chocolate-Bourbon Pecan Pie by adding both!

                                            Ed’s Perfect Flaky Pie Crust
Prep time:  10 minutes
Chill time: 30 minutes minimum
Yield:  2 single or 1 double (9-inch) crust
 
Ingredients
1 cup (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, chilled
1/4 to 1/2 cup ice water
3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
1 teaspoon sea salt
 
You will need the following equipment: A food processor, paring knife, measuring cups and spoons, rolling pin, pastry or bench scraper, 9-inch pie plate, pastry brush.
 
Directions

1. Cut the cold butter into several small cubes.  Refrigerate the cubes while preparing the flour mixture.
2. Place a few ice cubes in a small measuring cup (1 cup) and fill with cold water.  Stir and set aside.
3. Combine the flour and salt in the chilled bowl of a food processor and pulse a few times to combine.
4. Scatter half the cubes of butter over the surface of the flour and pulse 15 to 20 times until the mixture resembles cornmeal with pieces of butter no larger than pea size. 
5. Remove the lid of the food processor and sprinkle about 1/4 cup of ice water over the surface of the butter-flour mixture.  Scatter the remaining butter cubes over the water-flour mixture.  Pulse 4 times to combine.
6. You can check to see if the dough is holding together by squeezing a bit in your hand; if it holds together and feels tacky, it's ready  If it breaks apart easily, add a little more water a tablespoon at a time as needed and pulse.  The final dough should have large clumps of dough, small pebbles of butter and should hold together when pressed.
7. Turn the pie dough out onto a clean work surface.  Divide the dough into two piles (about 13 ounces each). Use the palm of your hand to quickly gather and press each mound into a thick disk.
8. Wrap the disks in food film and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 4 days.
9. Unwrap 1 of the disks and place on a work surface dusted with flour. Sprinkle a rolling pin with flour.  Working from the middle of the dough outwards, roll the dough into a round 12 to 13-inches in diameter (a few inches larger than your pie pan).  Work the dough as little as possible. If the dough cracks when you first start rolling, let it stand for one minute to warm slightly before rolling again. Use more flour if the dough starts to stick. Use a pastry scraper to lift the pastry from the work surface and make sure it's not sticking.
10. Sprinkle the top of the pie crust and your rolling pin with a little flour.  Lay your rolling pin on one edge of the pie crust and begin gently rolling the pie crust over the rolling pin.  When it's all rolled up, move it to the pie pan and gently unroll.  Ease the pie crust into the corners of the pan.
11. Trim all but an inch or two of the pie dough from around the edge; use the trimmings to patch up any holes or tears.
12. Refrigerate the pie plate lined with dough for 30 minutes.
13. Remove the pie pan with crust from the refrigerator and fill it with the prepared filling. 

ChefSecret: Make it a really flaky crust, substitute lard or shortening for all or some of the butter in this recipe.

Covid-19 Quip of the Day: “Things have gotten so bad; mothers in Beverly Hills have fired their nannies and had to learn their children’s names.”
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To you and everyone dear to you, be strong, be positive, stay well, stay safe and be kind—that’s the American way.  If you have a little extra in your pocket to share with others at this difficult time, please consider donating to Feeding America. Thanks for reading.

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