I Need Pecan Pie Help

[Dash]

Maverick2272: I think that it makes more sense to just let the pie crust come to room temperature.

I think that the kind of pan you use depends heavily on what it is you're baking. I know that shiny metal pans reflect the heat thus producing a lighter more golden brown. So I don't think it's true that a shiny pan will cook a pie too fast. I know that you shouldn't use shiny pans for bundts because they don't get hot enough! And an older worn metal pan doesn't always heat uniformly so I always use glass plates for most all my pies (I agree with AndyM that the bottom gets nicely browned in glass) and stone pie plates for deep dish pies.

This was fun. But now my sweet tooth is wanting a piece of pie!

 

[Lisar]

I've always mixed my nuts in with the filling...they still seem to rise to the top...

I do the same thing with mine and they have never came out burnt tasting and they always rise to the top. As for the pie crust I am no help there mine hasnt stuck yet.

 

[Maverick2272]

Thanks Andy, UB, and Dash, that helps me out. I have all three so it helps to know which to use on what. Don't have a stone pie plate though. Maybe I should pick one up as I do like deep dish pies.

 

[PieSusan]

One little trick is after to place the nuts in concentric circles around the pie is to push them under the gooey filling.

As for the store bought crusts, I never use them. I guess you could lightly spray the pie pan with a little butter flavor crisco. It would assist the bottom of your pie to bake, too.

One can also make a pie shield using heavy duty tin foil--you just cut a square, fold it in quarters and cut out from the inner part where all the folds meet an arc. When it is unfolded you will have a pie shield. This is mainly to protect the edges of the crust from burning.

Sorry that I didn't answer sooner, I was thinking about the best way to deal with your question.
Susan

 

[Andy M.]

Thanks, guys.

I knew I could count on you to come to the rescue.

I have some good ideas to try next time.

 

[Andy M.]

Pecan Pie Update

Well, I made this pie again this Thanksgiving. I took your suggestions and did the following:

Dusted the pie plate with flour before adding the store-bought crust.

Chilled the plate and crust before filling so they would be the same temperature.

Made a 'lid' for the pie out of HD foil. I covered the pie after about 45 minutes.

RESULTS:

The crust still stuck to the plate-back to home made crusts to see if that makes a difference.

Other than that the pie was excellent. No burned taste to the nuts.

I think I'll make another for Christmas to test the homemade crust.

Thanks to all of you again for your help.

 

[Uncle Bob]

Early Christmas present from SO or Santa...New pie plate!

Prolly should make a trial run before Christmas too!!! Would be a shame to have a stuck pecan pie for Christmas....

 

[Randy_]

Thanks for this thread, Andy. I have the same problem and just asked the same question on another thread.

Since you have used this recipe before and it has worked just fine, I suspect you are just at the very top edge of time and temp for cooking and maybe this year you got some pecans with a little less moisture content and they singed just a hair. Any of the suggestions previously mentioned would probably solve your problem. The easiest, of course, would be to just cut back a few minutes or a few degrees on the cooking.

In my question, I speculated that pre-baking the crust might help with the sticking problem; but have not seen any response to that idea.

P.S. Yes, pecan halves will rise to the surface and give you a fairly uniform distribution pattern; but not quite so pretty as the pie you pictured where the pattern was hand-arranged. That being said, your recipe has a lot of ground and chopped nuts that will make your filling a lot thicker than most and that "MIGHT" retard the pecan halves from rising to the top at all or in a nice pattern?

Might be interesting to do a trial and see what happens!!

 

[Andy M.]

...In my question, I speculated that pre-baking the crust might help with the sticking problem; but have not seen any response to that idea....

I suspect pre-baking the crust would cause it to burn by the time the filling cooked enough to set.

 

[jabbur]

I have never had a pecan pie not stick. Didn't matter if it was homemade crust or not. Made the crust with lard, made the crust with shortening, made the crust with butter, bought different crusts frozen or refrigerated. Always sticks. I just accept it as long as it tastes good.

 

[Andy M.]

I have never had a pecan pie not stick. Didn't matter if it was homemade crust or not. Made the crust with lard, made the crust with shortening, made the crust with butter, bought different crusts frozen or refrigerated. Always sticks. I just accept it as long as it tastes good.

My experience has been the opposite. I started making this pie in 2003. The first time the crust stuck was last Thanksgiving. The second time was last week. That's why I'm frustrated. I had success for several years.

 

[Randy_]

Just thinking out loud.

I wonder if putting parchment paper under the crust would help??

 

[Andy M.]

You could have a hard time forming the crust into the pan ith parchment paper there.

 

[Randy_]

Not sure why that would be true; but I am not a big pie baker so maybe it is just my lack of experience??

 

[Andy M.]

Not sure why that would be true; but I am not a big pie baker so maybe it is just my lack of experience??

Parchment paper is stiff and does not hold creases well. If you try to fit a rectangular piece of PP into a round pie plate you have to make a number of pleats in the paper around the plate so it will fit properly. You also have to get the pp to conform the contours of the plate. When you place the crust onto the paper, the crust won't conform to the shape of the plate but to the creases in the pp. After baking, if you try to separate the paper from the pie, it will probably break or you will find that the crust has baked into the creases of the paper. If you try to cut and serve the pie from the pp lined pie plate, that presents a whole other set of problems.

 

[Randy_]

I really don't mean to be a ; but I learned to use a pair of scissors to cut a round shape out of a square in first or second grade.

 

[Wyogal]

The parchment would just be a circle on the bottom of the pan, it wouldn't go up the sides.
I also think that sprinkling the pan with flour would contribute to sticking (when used with a pie crust).

 

[Andy M.]

Thanks for the thought but my pies stick on the sloping sides of the pie plate. That's why I visualized papering the entire pie plate.

 

[Alix]

Andy, I read through this a bit and just read your bit about shaping the crust in the pan. Perhaps you are pressing it into the pan and that is causing the sticking? When you put the pastry into the pan, could THAT be the issue? My only other thought would be that the pastry is leaking and letting the sticky pecan goodness seep through. When you blind bake, do you prick the pastry or do you use pie weights? Could that be part of it?

 

[Andy M.]

Andy, I read through this a bit and just read your bit about shaping the crust in the pan. Perhaps you are pressing it into the pan and that is causing the sticking? When you put the pastry into the pan, could THAT be the issue? My only other thought would be that the pastry is leaking and letting the sticky pecan goodness seep through. When you blind bake, do you prick the pastry or do you use pie weights? Could that be part of it?

Alix, that's a possibility. I lay the crust on the pie plate and work around the edge lifting the edge of the crust and gently pressing it into the bottom edge of the plate. I'm careful not to tear the crust but I suppose I could have pressed too hard. When I look at the bottom of the cooked pie, I don't see any visible filling leaks.

I don't pre-bake the crust. It's never been necessary. You can see it's nicely browned.