Atlantic Beach pie

Atlantic Beach pie

Type	Pie
Course	Dessert
Place of origin	United States
Region or state	North Carolina
Created by	Bill Smith
Invented	2011

Atlantic Beach pie is a type of lemon curd pie which uses a saltine crust and whipped cream topping sprinkled with salt. ^{[1] [2]}

Development

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] [3]} 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] [4]} 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

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. ^[3]

Preparation and ingredients

The pie uses a crust containing saltines, butter, and sugar and a curd containing lemons or limes, condensed milk, and egg yolks. ^{[1] [5]} 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. ^[6]

Preparation

• 
  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

Southern Living called the pie "the best dish of summer". ^[4]

See also

• List of lemon dishes
• List of pies

References

1. Laskey, Margaux (2018-07-20). "A Pie to Cut Through Summer's Heat". The New York Times . ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2024-06-30.
2. Foster, Sara (August 6, 2018). Pie: A Savor the South Cookbook. University of North Carolina Press. ISBN   9781469647135.
3. "North Carolina Chef Bill Smith Shares The Story Behind His Famous Atlantic Beach Pie". Southern Living. Retrieved 2024-08-27.
4. Laperruque, Emma (2018-02-27). "Legendary North Carolina Pies: Atlantic Beach Pie". Our State . Retrieved 2024-06-30.
5. Theoktisto, Anna (10 June 2024). "Atlantic Beach Pie". Southern Living . Retrieved 2024-06-30.
6. "A North Carolina Pie That Elicits An 'Oh My God' Response". NPR . 11 April 2013.