Pecan Pie Recipe

      I have known Jim Goode since he started Goode Company Barbeque in an old Hickory Hut location on Kirby Drive in Houston.  He was a burned-out commercial artist who liked to cook and decided to start a restaurant.  The large, ornate sign in front of the delapidated shack he bought demonstrated his artistic skill. I used to kid him that he had the biggest, fanciest sign on the smallest barbeque joint in the world.

     His sucess has been spectacular and one of the reasons for it is his signature dessert, Brazos Bottom Pecan Pie.  It is arguably the best Pecan Pie in the world.  He sells thousands each year and ships them all over the world.  I asked for his recipe once and he told me it was on the back of a Karo Syrup bottle.  I have tried for years to duplicate that pie and the recipe below represents the current evolution of my efforts.

     This is not the final, end all Pecan pie recipe, but more like where I’ve come to at this point in my quest for the best pecan pie available without having to order one from Goode Company in Houston.  Understand that this is my recipe, not Jim Goode's.  His is on the back of a syrup jar.  He won't even tell me where he buys his pecans.

Ingredients:

3 eggs

1/2 cup dark brown sugar plus 1/4 cup white sugar

1 cup dark corn syrup (Karo) plus ¼ cup blackstrap molasses (or use Steens Syrup)

3Tbls. Melted butter

1 ½ Tsp. Vanilla extract

3Tbls. Kentucky Bourbon  (I use Jack Daniels Tennessee Whiskey) (optional)

1Tbls. all purpose flour

2 cups pecan halves

     Method: 

     Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Prepare pie crust for a single crust pie in a 10 inch glass pie pan—set aside--do not bake.  (Use a store-bought pie crust or make your own.  I hesitate to get into a discussion of pie crust recipes.  That is an art form all its own.)  A nine inch deep dish pan will work also, but you might have to adjust the heat or time to make sure the pie gets done in the center.

     Beat eggs for a minute or so in a mixing bowl—do it by hand or use a mixer. Add sugars and syrups, mixing well with each addition.  Add melted butter, vanilla, whiskey (if using) and flour, mixing well until everything is incorporated.  Stir in pecans and pour into the prepared crust, put in oven and bake for about 10 minutes, then cover loosely with foil to keep crust from over-browning.  Bake an additional thirty minutes, then remove foil to allow crust to brown for last twenty minutes or until center is set.  Watch the pie closely and adjust this procedure to fit all the variables involved—oven temperature variations, thickness of pie pan, light or dark glass or metal pan, etc.  With a little care and practice, the pie will be done throughout and the crust will be nicely browned, but not burned.

     Use the best pecans you can find—obviously, the better the pecans, the better the pie.  I have spent a lot of time arranging the pecans perfectly in the bottom of the pie crust, and then carefully pouring the syrup mixture over all.  During baking, the pecans floated to the surface and everything was perfect and orderly and the pecans were lined up in concentric circles, but it didn’t taste a bit better and really didn’t look much better and it was a whole lot of trouble.  I sometimes place a bit of pie crust in the center of the pie for decoration—make an initial or a pecan or some type of medallion or something.  I did one this year with a pie-crust bow, centered, and gave the pie as a Christmas gift.

     For a more conventional and (in my mind) bland pie, use all white sugar and all corn syrup and leave out the molasses and whiskey.  A different texture is achieved when you use chopped pecans, or mix chopped pecans with pecan halves.  If you want to get one just like my Aunt Ola’s, just use all white sugar and light corn syrup and chopped pecans.  Aunt Ola grew up in Georgia and called it Pee-Can Pie.  That’s how much she knew.  (Daddy said he told Uncle Stoney not to marry her.)  Add more bourbon if you feel the pie needs it.  Use more or less sugar, depending upon your taste.  The same with the molasses.  As in most everything else, you are limited only by your imagination.   Enjoy!!