Pecan Pie Perfection (& the Accidental Boneless Turkey Affair)

It’s the morning after Thanksgiving, my favorite part of the holiday.  I’m going over the post-food highlights the way the guys go over the after-football game highlights.

The absolute funniest and surprisingly tastiest part of our meal was the turkey.  I gave it a good massage with oil and butter and seasonings, stuffed the cavity with celery and garlic then tucked it into a cooking bag. Finally I put the who shebang into an electric roaster. (By the way, a wonderful purchase to free up your ovens on holidays.)  Several hours later I asked my husband to turn off the roaster.  He did not hear me and I was busy with guests… and well, that turkey roasted itself an extra 2 hours at 325.

When it was time to “deal with the bird” my sister-in-law Gail and I positioned ourselves so that I could lift the turkey out of the pan and juice for “carving” with a pair of heat-proof rubber gloves. But when I lifted the turkey…. to our shock, all the meat literally fell off the bone.

And I mean, ALL the meat.

Both breasts slid off in chunks, like a landslide, and then almost cartoon-like — the wings and thighs dropped off — plop, plop, plop, plop– into the broth.  And there I stood, my eyes wide as saucers, holding nothing but a meatless turkey carcass.

The second biggest hit was, at least for me, the pecan pie!  I culled together all the best advice I could get and came up with what will be my go-to pecan pie recipe from now on!   The best part is that there isn’t much “eggy-goo” — just a  delicate, buttery, rich praline-like filling chocked full of pecans. By making a layer of chopped pecans, and then arranging pecan halves over the top of the pastry,  you end up with a beautiful and crunchy pie!

So before I forget how I made it, here’s the recipe!

Pecan Pie Perfection

1 unbaked pie shell

3 large eggs

1 cup dark Karo  (corn) syrup  (I don’t like using or eating much corn syrup, but once a year, it is worth it!)

1/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup brown sugar

6 T. salted butter (if you don’t use salted butter, then add 1/4 t. salt)

1/2 t. vanilla

1/2 t. brandy flavoring

1 cup chopped pecans

about 1/2 cup of pecan halves or enough to decorate the top 

Directions:

In a medium mixing bowl crack and beat the eggs, then add the sugars, the butter and flavorings and stir well with a whisk.

Into prepared, uncooked pastry shell, spread the chopped pecans.  Now, over the chopped pecans, arrange the halves in a pretty pattern, side by side.  Very slowly and carefully pour in the filling and the pecans will rise to the top, and surprisingly, won’t shift around much — so the pattern will stay beautiful.   Bake at 325 for about an hour or until the crust is is deep golden brown and the filling is set.  I like my pies to lean a little on the extra brown side as the crust does not get soggy.