Key Limes, and the Pie

I recently wrote a post about some items that I'd received from Melissa's Produce. 
I have a feeling this will be an ongoing theme in my blog. 
I really enjoy their products and, as they have supported my blog, I will continue to support them!




My brother was recently diagnosed with something that has caused him to rethink his diet.
He can no longer comfortably eat chocolate, tomatoes, or alcoholic beverages (the poor guy!)
I was talking to him about what he has been eating and he told me that one of his go-to desserts, now that he can no longer eat chocolate, is Key Lime Pie.

I occurred to me that I procured a bag of Key Limes from Melissa's Produce at the IACP Conference.
In that moment, I knew it was my duty to learn about Key Limes and make him the best damn Key Lime Pie he'd ever had.

I started by looking up some recipes. I wanted to create my own take, but I don't know enough about anything yet to write my own recipe. I looked in one of my favorite produce books, Melissa's Great Book of Produce to see what I could find on the topic. Here is what I learned, both from the book and some other online sources:

• Key limes are sometimes called "Mexican Limes." They have smooth, thin rinds that are greenish-yellow. 
• Key limes are intensely aromatic and very juicy. 
• Traditionally, key lime pies were not baked. The acid in the lime juice was acidic enough to thicken and set the eggs contained in the pie. 
• Key Lime Pie originated in Key West, Florida. 
• Many traditional recipes for the pie were written before the days of refrigeration, hence the use of canned milk. 

So with information and recipes in hand, I set out to create my pie. 

Here is the recipe I used:

Adapted from The GourmetSleuth and Melissa's Produce

For the Crust

16 Graham Crackers, crushed

1/4 lb butter, softened at room temperature

3 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp grated Key Lime zest

For the Filling

4 Egg Yolks

1/2 cup Key Lime Juice
(I had to squeeze the life out of almost 20 key limes in order to obtain this)

1 14oz can of Sweetened Condensed Milk

2 tsp grated Key Lime zest

Sidenote:

There are a lot of different ways to make the crust. I chose the easy graham cracker method, as it seemed to be the most appropriate for my brother and for his kids

Directions:

For the Crust

Place ingredients together in a bowl.
Using the tips of your fingers, mix them together to create a coarse texture.
Once everything is mixed, there should be no lumps of butter, and it should look like this:

When you have achieved the correct consistency, press the ingredients into a 9" pie pan.
Bake in a preheated oven at 350F for 12-15 minutes, until the top of the crust is lightly browned.  

For the Filling:
Using a tabletop of hand mixer, beat the egg yolks until lighter in color and slightly thickened.
Turn the mixer off and add the sweetened condensed milk.
Turn the mixer to low and add half the lime juice.
Turn the mixer to medium and add the rest of the lime juice and the lime zest.
Mix only until all ingredients are incorporated. Do not over mix.
Poor filling into cooled pie crust.
Bake at 350F for 12-14 minutes.
Let cool to room temperature before refrigerating and serving.

The final product was beautiful. My entire family really enjoyed it. I have yet to hear from my brother, who, as it turns out, was out of town the evening of our dinner. 

We shall see what he thinks.