Pecan Pie a la SOX

from Cook's Illustrated

I made Jim a Pecan pie for his birthday, but almost nothing about that pie impressed us. (I forgot to ask Kevin how he liked it, but I bet he didn't find it wonderful.) I used the recipe on the back of the Karo syrup jar, thinking that it was "the standard" for a traditional pie, and that that was what Jim was used to, wanted. It consisted of 1 cup of corn syrup, 1 cup of white sugar, 3 eggs, 2 tablespoons of butter, 1 teaspoon of vanilla, and 1 1/4 cups pecans, all mixed together and then baked for about an hour at 350 degrees. The pie turned out to be a mass of not-to-tasty pecan-laced jelly. Yesterday afternoon, while waiting for the event of the century (the SOX' win, of course), I noticed that I still had one pie shell in the freezer, so I thought, "Why not look for another--have you ever noticed that the reason ANOTHER is not preceded by an article is because it seems to have one built in (an + other)?--recipe and give it a second try!". (I guess SOX is plural, so the possessive would just need an apostrophe.)

I did, and what I came up with yielded a much different, and very much preferred product: a pie of the century appropriate for a SOX victory. NB: Do break the pecans up and toast them well. Also, if you don't wait the requisite 4 hours before consuming, your pie will exude a bit.

1 9-inch baked pie shell
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
3/4 cup light corn syrup
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups pecans (8 ounces), toasted and chopped into small pieces

Adjust oven rack to center position, and heat oven to 275 degrees. Place pie shell in oven if not already warm.

Melt butter in medium heatproof bowl set in skillet of water maintained at just below simmer. Remove bowl from skillet; mix in sugar and salt with wooden spoon until butter is absorbed. Beat in eggs, then corn syrup and vanilla. Return bowl to hot water; stir until mixture is shiny and warm to the touch, about 130 degrees. Remove from heat; stir in pecans.

Pour mixture into warm shell; bake until center feels set yet soft, like gelatin, when gently pressed, 50 to 60 minutes. Transfer pie to rack; let cool completely, at least 4 hours.