Atlantic Beach pie
Atlantic Beach pie is a type of lemon curd pie which uses a saltine crust and whipped cream topping sprinkled with salt.[1]
Development
[edit]The recipe was developed by Bill Smith, then chef at Chapel Hill, North Carolina, restaurant Crook's Corner, who had as a child in the 1950s and 1960s vacationed in Atlantic Beach, North Carolina, where local lore held that only citrus-based desserts could be safely eaten after eating seafood.[1][2] When asked to develop a dessert for a Southern Foodways Alliance event in 2011, he developed a pie inspired by the lemon meringue pies typically offered in area seafood restaurants.[1][3] Unlike lemon meringue pies, which typically use a shortcrust pastry base and are topped with meringue, Smith's recipe calls for a saltine cracker crust and a whipped cream topping and is garnished with finishing salt.[1]
Origin of the name
[edit]Before being added to the Crook's Corner menu, the pie needed a name. According to Bill Smith himself, he "sort of offhandedly" named the dessert after the nearby beach town of Atlantic Beach.[2]
Preparation and ingredients
[edit]The pie uses a crust containing saltines, butter, and sugar and a curd containing lemons or limes, condensed milk, and egg yolks.[1][4] The curd is topped with a sweetened whipped cream and then finishing salt and/or lemon zest.[1] The pie is notable for the speed and ease with which it can be made.[5]
-
Saltines are crumbled -
Butter is worked in -
Saltines and butter are pressed into a pie pan -
The crust is baked and allowed to cool -
Egg yolks are added to condensed milk and lemon juice -
Mixture is whipped into a custard -
Custard is poured into crust and baked -
Baked custard in crust -
Finished pie, topped with whipped cream
Reception
[edit]Southern Living called the pie "the best dish of summer".[3]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f Laskey, Margaux (2018-07-20). "A Pie to Cut Through Summer's Heat". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-06-30.
- ^ a b "North Carolina Chef Bill Smith Shares The Story Behind His Famous Atlantic Beach Pie". Southern Living. Retrieved 2024-08-27.
- ^ a b Laperruque, Emma (2018-02-27). "Legendary North Carolina Pies: Atlantic Beach Pie". Our State. Retrieved 2024-06-30.
- ^ Theoktisto, Anna (10 June 2024). "Atlantic Beach Pie". Southern Living. Retrieved 2024-06-30.
- ^ "A North Carolina Pie That Elicits An 'Oh My God' Response". NPR. 11 April 2013.
