Lemon Meringue Pie

Recipe courtesy Alton Brown, 2003

Show: Good EatsEpisode: I Pie

Rated: 4 stars out of 5Rate itRead users' reviews (195)

RECIPE
COMMENTS & REVIEWS(195)

Cook Time:
12 min
Level:
Intermediate
Yield:
6 to 8 servings

Times:

Prep: 30 min
Inactive Prep: 2 hr 0 min
Cook: 12 min
Total:: 2 hr 42 min

Recipe Tools:

Select a Card Size

Add To My Recipe Box

Success

This recipe was added to your Folder_Name folder.

Do not show this message again

Add To My Recipe Box

Please sign in to add this recipe to your Recipe Box.

Ingredients

Lemon Filling:

4 egg yolks (reserve whites for meringue)
1/3 cup cornstarch
1 1/2 cups water
1 1/3 cups sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
1 (9-inch) pre-baked pie shell
1 recipe Meringue, recipe follows

Directions

Adjust the oven rack to the middle position. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Whisk egg yolks in medium size mixing bowl and set aside.

In a medium saucepan, combine cornstarch, water, sugar, and salt. Whisk to combine. Turn heat on medium and, stirring frequently, bring mixture to a boil. Boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat and gradually, 1 whisk-full at a time, add hot mixture to egg yolks and stir until you have added at least half of the mixture.

Return egg mixture to saucepan, turn heat down to low and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 more minute. Remove from heat and gently stir in butter, lemon juice, and zest until well combined. Pour mixture into pie shell and top with meringue while filling is still hot. Make sure meringue completely covers filling and that it goes right up to the edge of the crust. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until meringue is golden. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack. Make sure pie is cooled completely before slicing.

Meringue Topping:

4 egg whites
1 pinch cream of tartar
2 tablespoons sugar

Place egg whites and cream of tartar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat egg whites until soft peaks form and then gradually add sugar and continue beating until stiff peaks form, approximately 1 to 2 minutes. Use to top lemon filling.

Yield: topping for 1 (9-inch) pie

Next Recipe

More recipes? Try these recommendations:

Similar Recipe

Lemon Chess Meringue Pie

Photo: Lemon Meringue Pie

Similar Recipes

Recipes Like This

All About…

Comments & Reviews

recipe Lemon Meringue Pie
Julie Brighton, CO 02-09-2010
Flag

Lemon Meringue SOUP!
Rated: 1 stars out of 5

Flavor was awesome, but we don't enjoy eating our pie via a straw! Very poor directions and they need to be re-tested and... certain sentences don't make sense.Read more
recipe Lemon Meringue Pie
Guillaume New York, NY 02-06-2010
Flag

gave it a little twist, graham crumbs pie crust
Rated: 4 stars out of 5

This recipe is great! However, I've gotta agree with a few folks on here, this recipe needs some sort of improv to make it... work, that is, to make it thick so it can hold together. Just a few extra minutes of boiling after adding the lemon juice, butter and zest will do just fine. Also, on a different note, instead of using a regular pie crust, I made my pie using graham crumbs as the crust, and it's just so good!Read more
recipe Lemon Meringue Pie
Jenny Perris, CA 01-20-2010
Flag

Not sure what others did or didn't do
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

I made mine following Alton Brown's instructions and it turned out wonderfully! The only thing I did different (due to the... pie crust I used that was refrigerated) was bake the pie crust for 10 mins. before adding the mixture. Everything else I did based on the instructions and it turned out beautifully! I've followed other instructions for Lemon Meringue and they never turned out quite right.Read more
recipe Lemon Meringue Pie
A Jersey City, NJ 01-20-2010
Flag

A pie you can sip
Rated: 1 stars out of 5

Not what I expected. It was soo runny, we knew we couldn't eat it like a conventional pie and decided to have fun with it... and used straws. It tasted ok, lol. I think the directions might have to be changed; after adding the lemon juice bring back to a boil/heat till it gets thick. Read more
recipe Lemon Meringue Pie
Sharon Frederica, DE 01-17-2010
Flag

Soupy mess
Rated: 2 stars out of 5

The directions leave the lemon part a runny mess. I might try again with some suggestions from reviews such as boiling... longer or cooking longer. It had a good taste, almost like a key lime pie, but NOT the right consistency.Read more
recipe Lemon Meringue Pie
Mary Sacramento, CA 01-14-2010
Flag

AMAZING!
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

If I could give this 10 stars, I would! With some small changes (such as other reviewers), this came out wonderful! I baked... the pie shell for 15 min at 375 deg (doesn't say in the main recipe). I boiled the first liquid mixture until it got very thick and shiny (a few more min than it says). I also put the lemon curd back on the stove after mixing in the lemon, butter, zest for a few min and brought it back to a boil. I noticed that after a few minutes at 375 (when the whole pie was baking), the meringue started to burn a bit. So, I turned it down to 350 and it came out perfectly. Next time, I might keep it at 350 so it doesn't burn. I also used 5 eggs (5 yolks and 5 whites) and the zest of as many lemons as it took to get 1/2 cup of lemon juice (5ish?). The filling was THICK and not runny at all. The meringue pulled away from the crust in a few places, next time I will cover 1cm+ of the crust with the meringue so it doesn't pull away. Delicious recipe. I brought it to work and everyone was raving about it. FANTASTIC! I can't wait to make it again!Read more