THGL

On Thanksgiving, my great-uncle drove up from Florida and brought with him a bushel or so of key limes from his grove. I got my fair share and juiced enough for 8 pies.

I've had an idea rolling around my head for some years now, I'd like to see if I can add a little alcohol to the recipe. I do bake mine (350 for 10 min.) instead of the traditional no-bake style.

Would adding an ounce or two of alcohol change how the pie sets? If so, how would I go about getting it to set properly?

Thanks!

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noodle

I've had trouble getting things to set that involve alcohol if the proportions are off.
Anything gelatinous (e.g. jello shots, etc) will not set if the amount of alcohol passes some little tiny ratio that I'll be damned if I can pinpoint.
I know that the chefs around here enjoy their beverages, and I'll bet one of them will have a better idea.
As a Floridian, I can tell you hat key limes require a very delicate balance of alcohol to keep the taste from shifting from losing the flavor to becoming bitter... good luck, sounds like an awesome idea!

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wooÐs

Triple Sec would be good with key limes. Maybe a bit of tequila.

I never had problems making Jello shots so I'm not sure of any ratio or what not. And I'm afraid I can't help further with suggestions on how to add the liquor to the pie. But if you bake it, I'm thinking that might actually cause the alcohol to evaporate making the addition pointless.

12Packaday

I've had the best luck with the following procedure: Make your recipe as you normally do all the way to the step when you slice it for serving. Now go to your liquor cabinet, retrieve the proper number of tall shot glasses and a bottle of chilled citrus vodka. you may garnish as you like (lime peel twist maybe) or not. If you want to get really "Martha", try infusing your own vodka with fresh key limes. I've read the process and it sounds pretty easy. Have fun!!

THGL

Woods, you dead on! My idea is to change Key Lime Pie into a "Margarita" Pie if you will.

My recipe calls for 5 oz. of lime juice. I was thinking about replacing 2 oz. of juice with 1 each of tequila and triple sec. I'd hate to waste the lime juice, so I'm curious if it'll work or not.

Anyone else?

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wooÐs

Great minds, etc.

Wish I knew more about cooking to help you out more. There's always trial & error lol.

Charlatan

I really don't know if this would work but...

Most key lime pies are a custard that uses eggs and milk (usually a sweetened condensed or an evaporated milk) with limes, etc. Using the condensed or evaporated milk means that you don't have to thicken or reduce the custard on the stove top first. You just mix it together and pop it in the oven. The custard gels in the heat.

If you can figure out how to make your custard on the stove top first I would think that you could add the alcohol at that stage and it would cook off the alcohol while leaving the taste and should let it set properly.

Again, this is just a theory and will likely involve a little trial and error before getting it right. Instead of making a whole pie just make small tartlets.

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PonyPotato

I was just going to suggest what Charlatan did at the end of his post - experiment by making small tarts at various ratios/adding the alcohol at different steps and see what comes out the best!

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