Pecan Pie

Pecan Pie

1 recipe Basic single-crust Pie dough fitted into a 9-inch pie plate and chilled
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon table salt
3 large eggs
3/4 cup light corn syrup
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 cups pecans, toasted and chopped into small pieces

Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 375 degrees.  Line the chilled pie shell with a double layer of foil and fill with pie weights.  Bake until the pie dough looks dry and is light in color, 25-30 minutes.transfer the pie plate to a wire rack and remove the weights and foil.  Adjust the oven rack to the lower-middle position and reduce the oven temperature to 275 degrees.  The crust must still be warm when the filling is added.

Melt the butter in a heatproof bowl set in a skillet of water maintained at just below a simmer.  Remove the bowl from the skillet and stir in the sugar and salt until the butter is absorbed.  Whisk in the eggs, then the corn syrup and vanilla until smooth.  Return the bowl to the hot water and stir until the mixture is shiny, hot to the touch, and registers 130 degrees on an instant-read thermometer.  Off the heat, stir in the pecans.
Pour the pecan mixture into the warm pie crust.  Bake the pie until the filling looks set but yields like Jell-o when gently pressed with the back of a spoon, 50-60 minutes.  Cool the pie on a wire rack until the filling has firmed up, about 2 hours; serve slightly warm or at room temperature.