Key Lime Pie???

[FreeFlyNole]

I've seen a lot of subjects spoken about on her in terms of food at length. Cuban Sandwiches, BBQ, Brisket, Oysters, etc....

I don't think I've seen a Key Lime Pie thread. I am not much of a desert guy, but I love the stuff. I just wanted to know if any of you guys make your own? What do you do that's different, how do you make it your own?

I just made my first one today. I figured I'd just start with a pretty simple recipe and go from there. The only thing I did differently is I mixed ground pecans with the graham crackers in the crust.

I used fresh key lime juice and was surprised by how many of the buggers it took to make it.

The key lime pie at Publix is good in my book, the only thing that I've found to be different out in the world is the crust. I guess the actual pie filling is pretty standard.

Any tricks or tips from you guys that I'm missing?

 

[ericram]

Publix actually makes a pretty good key lime pie. Don't make it myself but whenever I am in the keys having some key lime pie is a must.

 

[F4Gary]

My favorite. My Mom learned how to make it when we lived in Key West. She actually tried to take a bag of key limes back to California when my dad retired in '72. Had to give them up and the California bug station. You couldn't buy key limes in the grocery store outside of the keys back then. Well, maybe in S. Fla, but that was it.

 

[TPANole]

I did a cooking school at Publix's Aprons in Tampa and although I had been making a great Key Lime Pie for years they taught us the "Pubix" recipe. Pretty easy and tastes great.


THE WORLD’S BEST KEY LIME PIE (EASY NO BAKE)

2 14 oz. Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk

1/2 c. Nellie & Joe's Key Lime Juice, more or less to taste. (Authentic Key Lime Juice)
pie crust ( graham cracker or regular, I will bake a frozen 9 inch crust)

Whipped Cream

Beat condensed milk and lime juice together on low until blended. Pour into pie shell and chill until firm enough to slice. Serve with whipped cream

 

[FSUTribe76]

I've seen a lot of subjects spoken about on her in terms of food at length. Cuban Sandwiches, BBQ, Brisket, Oysters, etc....

I don't think I've seen a Key Lime Pie thread. I am not much of a desert guy, but I love the stuff. I just wanted to know if any of you guys make your own? What do you do that's different, how do you make it your own?

I just made my first one today. I figured I'd just start with a pretty simple recipe and go from there. The only thing I did differently is I mixed ground pecans with the graham crackers in the crust.

I used fresh key lime juice and was surprised by how many of the buggers it took to make it.

The key lime pie at Publix is good in my book, the only thing that I've found to be different out in the world is the crust. I guess the actual pie filling is pretty standard.

Any tricks or tips from you guys that I'm missing?

My wife and I basically went on a Key Lime tour when we were in the Keys, Miami and the Everglades about a month or so ago. Basically, there are two kinds, those with a ton of toasted meringue and those with a little whipped cream. It seems like the meringue type is more common in the Keys than elsewhere where it's pretty rare.

After our five day tasting tour I ranked what we had as:

1) Blue Heaven
2) Hogfish Bar and Grill (made to their specs by the Key West Key Lime Pie Company)
3) Herbie's Bar and Chowder House
4) Kermit's Key Lime Pie Shop
5) Mrs Mac's Kitchen
6) Joe's Stone Crab

Joe's Stone Crab was fine in isolation but was nowhere near as good as those in the Keys.

Now my wife likes the whipped cream versions better than the meringue so in her list she swaps the Hogfish Bar and Grill for Blue Heaven as the winner.

But the important points to all of the best key lime pies were 1) use real key limes not Persian, Australian or Kaffir lime, 2) keep the curd tart, 3) keep the crust thin, and normally I'd say 4) the best recipes use sour cream in addition to condensed milk for the curd (but apparently blue heaven uses only condensed milk but gets its tartness solely from the limes).

Here's the Blue Heaven recipe

http://www.thedailymeal.com/recipes/blue-heaven-sky-high-key-lime-pie-recipe

I couldn't find the Key West Key Lime Pie recipe in a form I found reliable.

 

[F4Gary]

Back in '69-'72, the Key Lime pies we were eating in Key West did not have meringue on them. Just a dollop of whipped cream and a slice of key lime.

 

[FSUTribe76]

Back in '69-'72, the Key Lime pies we were eating in Key West did not have meringue on them. Just a dollop of whipped cream and a slice of key lime.

I won't pretend to know but I assume the meringue version spread as a result of the popularity (rightfully so) of Blue Heaven's version and Blue Heaven has only been around since 92. No facts on that just a SWAG.

 

[DFSNOLE]

We do a really simple pie.
1 can of sweetened condensed milk
3 egg yolks (only the yolks!)
1/3-1/2 cup of lime juice (depending on how tart you want the pie)
Whisk together. Pour into a graham cracker crust. Bake at 300° for 30 minutes. Let it cool then put it in the fridge. We add whipped cream upon serving.

 

[FSUTribe76]

Back in '69-'72, the Key Lime pies we were eating in Key West did not have meringue on them. Just a dollop of whipped cream and a slice of key lime.

So after a little research my guess was wrong and the meringue version is actually the historically original version of key lime pies. Apparently condensed milk was created in 1859 and prior to that very little to basically no milk was used in the Keys. Once the Conchs had steady access to the condensed milk they combined it with the easily accessible local eggs and limes to make the lime curd and meringue topping. It wouldn't be until the overseas highway and large trucking and shipping interests moved in the late 30d and 40s before the Keys had easy access to fresh milk and cream. So early on there would not have been fresh whipped cream and Cool Whip wasn't invented until 66.

 

[FreeFlyNole]

Making these pies today reminded me that sometimes the Latin guys in my infantry platoon would carry sweetened condensed milk in their rucks and add a spoon full to the god awful coffee we had in MREs. It would work miracles on cheap instant coffee. I did the same this morning with good coffee and it was out of this world. The stuff you forget.

I will be making fresh whipped cream tonight with the pies, I'm not a big meringue fan. I used the egg whites from the pies this morning for an omelet.

 

[Seminolejon78]

For a really good key lime pie, go to Jonah's Fish and Grits in Thomasville.

 

[FSUTribe76]

Making these pies today reminded me that sometimes the Latin guys in my infantry platoon would carry sweetened condensed milk in their rucks and add a spoon full to the god awful coffee we had in MREs. It would work miracles on cheap instant coffee. I did the same this morning with good coffee and it was out of this world. The stuff you forget.

I will be making fresh whipped cream tonight with the pies, I'm not a big meringue fan. I used the egg whites from the pies this morning for an omelet.

Condensed milk is great for coffee especially cold pressed coffee. And of course there is little better than a good NOLA satsuma Snoball (preferrably from Hansen's) topped with condensed milk.

And if you've never had it or heard of it, you can make an amazing "caramel"/dulce de leche pie simply by boiling cans of condensed milk in the can for three hours at a "simmer" and using it as a filling and then Topping it with whipped cream.

 

[TC Nole OX]

Fern Butter's Key Lime Pie recipe

http://ezinearticles.com/?Mrs.-Butters-Secret-Key-Lime-Pie-Recipe&id=60317

http://www.keysnet.com/2013/11/21/492699/ed-and-fern-butters-the-final.html


Key Lime Pie Recipe

Ingredients

1 Cup sweetened condensed milk

6 egg yolks [save whites]

½ Cup key lime juice [genuine key lime]

6 egg whites [I told you to save them!]

1 Tablespoon cream of tartar

1 Cup sugar

1 graham cracker pie crust [preferred-regular crust permissible]

½ pint secret ingredient

Procedure

Filling

Add yolks to condensed milk and beat 8 minutes

Add secret ingredient and beat until well mixed

Add key lime juice and mix well

Fold into pie shell

Place in freezer until well set. Keep unused portion in the freezer for up to a week [if it lasts that long!]

Topping

While pie sets beat 6 egg whites with cream of tartar for 5 minutes.

Add 1 cup of sugar and whip until meringue makes peaks when beater is removed from mixture.

Add to top of pie

Brown in 350◦ oven and cool in refrigerator for 15 or more minutes for a regular pie or in the freezer for an hour if it is frozen key lime pie.

Secret ingredient. ½ pint of soft vanilla ice cream.





Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/60317

 

[FreeFlyNole]

Fern Butter's Key Lime Pie recipe

http://ezinearticles.com/?Mrs.-Butters-Secret-Key-Lime-Pie-Recipe&id=60317

http://www.keysnet.com/2013/11/21/492699/ed-and-fern-butters-the-final.html


Key Lime Pie Recipe

Ingredients

1 Cup sweetened condensed milk

6 egg yolks [save whites]

½ Cup key lime juice [genuine key lime]

6 egg whites [I told you to save them!]

1 Tablespoon cream of tartar

1 Cup sugar

1 graham cracker pie crust [preferred-regular crust permissible]

½ pint secret ingredient

Procedure

Filling

Add yolks to condensed milk and beat 8 minutes

Add secret ingredient and beat until well mixed

Add key lime juice and mix well

Fold into pie shell

Place in freezer until well set. Keep unused portion in the freezer for up to a week [if it lasts that long!]

Topping

While pie sets beat 6 egg whites with cream of tartar for 5 minutes.

Add 1 cup of sugar and whip until meringue makes peaks when beater is removed from mixture.

Add to top of pie

Brown in 350◦ oven and cool in refrigerator for 15 or more minutes for a regular pie or in the freezer for an hour if it is frozen key lime pie.

Secret ingredient. ½ pint of soft vanilla ice cream.





Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/60317

This looks legit.

 

[TC Nole OX]

This looks legit.

It is. That recipe was first at the Fern Inn until the 60s. Then at Manny & Isa's from the 60s until mid-2000s. Now the only place you can find it is at Midway Cafe in Islamorada.

http://midwaycafecoffeebar.com/

 

[321Nole]

Misnomer... originated in Tampa. All of your arguments are invalid.

 

[billanole]

I will dig thru recipe books at my mom's this weekend. She used to slay us with her version, but the "key" was the bag of limes that pops would bring back from his Uncle Richard's place near Arcadia, Fl. Tart little miracles of flavor...
Another pie this thread has me thinking about were her "chess pies".

 

[FSUTribe76]

I will dig thru recipe books at my mom's this weekend. She used to slay us with her version, but the "key" was the bag of limes that pops would bring back from his Uncle Richard's place near Arcadia, Fl. Tart little miracles of flavor...
Another pie this thread has me thinking about were her "chess pies".

Chess pie, buttermilk pie and vinegar pie are three very underrated historical pies. I'm all over all three.

 

[DFSNOLE]

Fern Butter's Key Lime Pie recipe

http://ezinearticles.com/?Mrs.-Butters-Secret-Key-Lime-Pie-Recipe&id=60317

http://www.keysnet.com/2013/11/21/492699/ed-and-fern-butters-the-final.html


Key Lime Pie Recipe

Ingredients

1 Cup sweetened condensed milk

6 egg yolks [save whites]

½ Cup key lime juice [genuine key lime]

6 egg whites [I told you to save them!]

1 Tablespoon cream of tartar

1 Cup sugar

1 graham cracker pie crust [preferred-regular crust permissible]

½ pint secret ingredient

Procedure

Filling

Add yolks to condensed milk and beat 8 minutes

Add secret ingredient and beat until well mixed

Add key lime juice and mix well

Fold into pie shell

Place in freezer until well set. Keep unused portion in the freezer for up to a week [if it lasts that long!]

Topping

While pie sets beat 6 egg whites with cream of tartar for 5 minutes.

Add 1 cup of sugar and whip until meringue makes peaks when beater is removed from mixture.

Add to top of pie

Brown in 350◦ oven and cool in refrigerator for 15 or more minutes for a regular pie or in the freezer for an hour if it is frozen key lime pie.

Secret ingredient. ½ pint of soft vanilla ice cream.





Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/60317

Really surprised you don't cook that at all given the raw eggs.

 

[62Nole]

My wife makes a really good one. As I posted once before, I can go for 1 spoon and a can of eagle brand condensed milk. It is necessary to open it.

 

[FreeFlyNole]

My wife's aunt makes Vidallia onion pie. It's more a dinner pie. But it is also a southern gem.

 

[FSUTribe76]

My wife's aunt makes Vidallia onion pie. It's more a dinner pie. But it is also a southern gem.

Yeah I've made that a couple of times. It's especially good with the giant sweet "strawberry onions" from Plant City.

 

[runkpanole]

One of the things I love about being married to a girl from Key West is access to great key lime pie.

 

[Formerly Rockymtnole]

We had a nice key lime tree in the yard growing up. Never did anything with the fruit except shoot them out of our slingshots. They were very aerodynamic.

 

[noleit]

I concur that the Publix's Key Lime pie is very good! Long gone but not the memories of The Cake Box Bakery in Marathon - THE best key Lime pie ever!

 

[Fijimn]

Little trick- use key limes for ceviche. It's closer to the Peruvian lime

 

[Bartdog]

should be yellow not green.

 

[DFSNOLE]

should be yellow not green.

Very true. A ripe Key lime is yellow not the green marbles you get in those bags at the grocery store.

 

[DFSNOLE]

For those in the panhandle where the climate is not conducive for growing a key lime tree, try finding a limequat. It's a hybrid of a key lime and a kumquat. The taste is very similar, especially in a pie, and it's a lot more cold hardy.

 

[TC Nole OX]

For those in the panhandle where the climate is not conducive for growing a key lime tree, try finding a limequat. It's a hybrid of a key lime and a kumquat. The taste is very similar, especially in a pie, and it's a lot more cold hardy.

I wonder which of these, limequat or key lime tree, would do best in Tampa.


Edit: according to this page, limequat does best from growing zones 8b-10. Tampa is either 9a or 9b.

https://www.justfruitsandexotics.com/JFE/product/lakeland-limequat-2/

 

[RunRonnieRun]

I've seen a lot of subjects spoken about on her in terms of food at length. Cuban Sandwiches, BBQ, Brisket, Oysters, etc....

I don't think I've seen a Key Lime Pie thread. I am not much of a desert guy, but I love the stuff. I just wanted to know if any of you guys make your own? What do you do that's different, how do you make it your own?

I just made my first one today. I figured I'd just start with a pretty simple recipe and go from there. The only thing I did differently is I mixed ground pecans with the graham crackers in the crust.

I used fresh key lime juice and was surprised by how many of the buggers it took to make it.

The key lime pie at Publix is good in my book, the only thing that I've found to be different out in the world is the crust. I guess the actual pie filling is pretty standard.

Any tricks or tips from you guys that I'm missing?

I've never found much value in making my own crust. Looks cooler, but store bought tastes ok to me. I made one once in a saltine cracker crust that I made. It was delicious but atypical.

When adding the juice to the SCM it's best to pour it painfully slowly while whisking. It usually takes me 5 minutes or more to add four and a half ounces of key lime juice.

I mix in a big dollop of cool whip before I pour the filling into the crust. Makes for a nice creamy texture.

 

[RunRonnieRun]

And this thread inspired me to make a pie for dessert tonight. So thanks, Free!

 

[DFSNOLE]

I wonder which of these, limequat or key lime tree, would do best in Tampa.


Edit: according to this page, limequat does best from growing zones 8b-10. Tampa is either 9a or 9b.

https://www.justfruitsandexotics.com/JFE/product/lakeland-limequat-2/

Is your climate really that much different than Lakeland?

 

[TC Nole OX]

Is your climate really that much different than Lakeland?

Notice the word "edit." I answered my own question and included the growing zones for anyone else to look to see if they can grow in their area.

 

[FreeFlyNole]

Mine was a little tart. But the fresh whipped cream cut it a bit. I'm going to try that one with ice cream next. I figure I'm going to make this a hobby for a while until I think I've got it down.

I've only been interested in a few deserts in the past, creme brule, flan... I'm just not a desert guy, but I like this one, so I may as well beat it to death for a year or so.

 

[TC Nole OX]

I need to find a good source for real key limes. I will try making this with the mexican/persian limes that they pass off as key limes at the grocery store. I can find very little in the way of resources to have real key limes shipped.

 

[Lemon Thrower]

there is an outfit in suburban Atlanta called Kenny's that makes very good key lime pies. He's made 5 million pies.

he supplies a lot of restaurants. I've only had a few pies that were better than his.

http://www.ajc.com/news/business/the-key-lime-pie-kingof-smyrna/nQbxY/

 

[TexSkills]

Recently, my in-laws bought a Key Lime Pie from a place in St Augustine called Kyle's Seafood Market on US1. We compared it to the pie from Publix and the Publix pie was no where in the ballpark compared to this one.

I've always liked Publix Key Lime Pie but something about homemade graham cracker crust gets me. The filling on the seafood market pie was a hell of a lot more tart.

 

[DFSNOLE]

Recently, my in-laws bought a Key Lime Pie from a place in St Augustine called Kyle's Seafood Market on US1. We compared it to the pie from Publix and the Publix pie was no where in the ballpark compared to this one.

I've always liked Publix Key Lime Pie but something about homemade graham cracker crust gets me. The filling on the seafood market pie was a hell of a lot more tart.

Which I like. To me that's the best thing about them. Sweet key lime pie are for tourists.

 

[FSUTribe76]

Which I like. To me that's the best thing about them. Sweet key lime pie are for tourists.

Very true. And what is equally as good or even better than key lime pies but something you don't see nearly as often is satsuma and/or Seville orange pies. Just as tart but with a great sour orange flavor.