Pecan Pie has been a Thanksgiving tradition in my family for as long as I can remember.
My dad said my great grandmother, “Granny” used to make the VERY BEST pecan pies. I’ve had them plenty of ways- with a ritz cracker pie crust, the traditional way, and this may be my favorite way just yet- with the addition of bourbon, smoke, and a hint of orange zest. So if you are looking to elevate your pecan pie game, this recipe is for you.
Note: There are a few ways you can smoke the nuts. You could put them on your smoker and smoke them on low heat (250 degrees) for a few hours. OR, you can get a Smoking Gun and smoke in about a minutes’ time. The Smoking Gun is a handheld smoking gun that adds cold smoke to everything- cocktails, veggies, nuts- get creative! It’s a cool gadget to get the foodie in your life for the Holidays.
Bourbon and Smoked Pecan Pie
Ingredients
- 1 Pie Crust/pastry dough
- 3/4 stick unsalted butter
- 1 1/4 cups light brown sugar
- 3/4th cup light corn syrup
- 2 tbsp bourbon
- 1 tbsp orange zest
- 3 eggs
- dash cinnamon
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 cups pecan halves
Instructions
- Soak your nuts for 10 minutes and then drain the water.
- Then go ahead and smoke your nuts. The water helps the smoke adhere to the nuts. I
- f using the smoking gun, put the nuts in a glass bowl covered with saran wrap and then insert the hose into the bowl.
- While using the smoking gun (you will need to fill with wood, turn on and light and it will produce smoke), insert the tube where the smoke comes out into the bowl of pecans.
- Keep it covered so the smoke is trapped. Do this until the wood chips burn out and then repeat a few times.
- Let the nuts stay in the smoker for about 10 minutes and then remove the saran wrap. Let the nuts dry out before baking with them.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Meanwhile, in a medium sized saucepan melt butter on medium low and add the brown sugar and corn syrup and stir to combine.
- Next, add the orange peel, bourbon, vanilla and cinnamon and remove from the heat.
- Beat the eggs in a bowl and add to the sugar mixture once it has significantly cooled.
- Roll the pie crust out into a 12” cast iron skillet slightly crimping the edges. Fill with the pecans. Pour the sugar mixture over the pecans. Bake for 50 minutes or until the mixture is set and the crust has browned.
- Remove from the oven and let cool. Excellent served with vanilla ice cream or homemade whipped cream.
Enjoy!
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Robyn,
Your recipe looks great! I was wondering which type of wood you use to smoke the pecans. I would guess pecan wood but I just want to make sure.
Thanks,
Pete
Hi Pete,
The Smoking gun came with apple wood and also hickory so I used a combo of those. However, you can buy all kinds of different ones for using with the gun on amazon: http://amzn.to/2fm3LeV Also, you can get creative and use things like chopped up cigars, tea… have fun with it! Let me know how it turns out for you!
I wonder what result would be from soaking the nuts in bourbon, then smoke them. Not for pie, but as a snack.
nice idea, if you give it a try let me know!
So sit back and read through and I hope you try this on your own smoker soon and let me know how it goes. When I make pecan pie, I usually have to tent it with foil the last few minutes to keep the crust from burning.
You are right Pete, you definitely need to use foil to ensure the crust doesn’t burn!