Too many pecan pies are mostly goo without enough pecans, making them far too sweet. The secret to the success of this pie is that its pecan-to-goo ratio is just right. As a child, I helped Mama make this pie. It was my job to help her coarsely grind the nuts. She still uses a hand-held grinder; it has a crank that forces the nuts through two opposing forklike blades and a glass jar to catch the nut pieces. The metal top that screws into the glass jar is bent and dinged, but the tool still coarsely cuts the nuts just right.

　　

Ingredients

makes two 9-inch pies

　　Double recipe All-American Pie Crust (page 258)

　　3 large eggs, slightly beaten

　　1 cup sugar

　　1 cup light corn syrup

　　2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

　　1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

　　1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

　　3 cups coarsely chopped pecans

　　

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prepare 2 unbaked 9-inch pie shells.

　　

Step 2

To make the filling, combine the eggs, sugar, corn syrup, butter, vanilla, and salt in a bowl; stir until blended. Add the pecans and stir to combine. Pour into the chilled pie shells.

　　

Step 3

Bake the pies, rotating once, until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean, about 55 minutes. Remove the pies to a wire rack to cool. The pies can be stored wrapped tight in aluminum foil or in a pie safe (at room temperature) for up to 1 week.

　　From Bon Appétit, Y’all: Recipes and Stories From Three Generations of Southern Cooking, © 2008 by Virginia Willis. Reprinted by permission of Ten Speed Press. Buy the full book from Amazon or Abe Books.