How to Chef-ify Pecan Pie

As a British guy living in the states it took me a few years to understand Thanksgiving, but now it’s one of my favorite holidays – if I’m not working!

Pumpkin and pecan pies are not very common in the UK so I had to try a lot of them to work out what they should really taste like. I enjoy pumpkin pies, however, I tend to taste too much fall spice, which overwhelms the pumpkin flavor. Similarly, many pecan pies that I have tried are so sweet, you can only have a small slice, which is a shame because the flavor is so good. Apple was my favorite pie for many years, but I converted to pecan after I altered some traditional recipes.

For my version, I add orange to cut through the richness and smoked salt to help balance the sweetness and give a slight smokiness, which really works well with the pecan flavor. I smoke my own salt to control the strength of the saltiness and how that affects the final dish. The idea for this recipe is to enhance the existing flavors and not overpower them with the taste of smoke. This can be done in larger batches and stored in airtight containers for future use, but over time it will lose some of its smokiness.

I use Maldon sea salt, the Breville smoking gun, hickory wood chips and a canning jar. I fill the bottom of the jar with the sea salt, add the smoke via the handheld smoking gun, smoke it for around 10 minutes and then remove the nozzle and seal the lid. I leave this for around an hour (longer is okay but will result in a stronger flavor) before use.

For an optional elevated garnish, peel an orange and remove any excess pith from the skin. Julienne it into fine strips, blanch in boiling water three times to remove some of the bitterness and then reheat gently in a simple syrup.

If you want to bring something a little different to the table this year, try this recipe from my new cookbook, "BAKE."