Alton Brown’s
Lemon Meringue Pie

Alton Brown shares his sage wisdom on how to make the most perfect Lemon Meringue Pie

Alton Brown goes all science with his picture-perfect recipe for delicious and airy lemon meringue pie.

Meringues are not for the faint of heart (or for those without a reliable stand mixer), but as per the usual, Alton Brown makes it look simple. Get all the details on making both a perfectly peaked meringue as well as a balanced lemon filling in the video below.

As is always the case in baking, exact adherence to the recipe is of the highest importance. Alton Brown provides a few tips and pointers that should make your piemaking efforts a little less painful. The simple addition of cream of tartar to the meringue allows the eggs to break down and fluff up a little easier, which saves your arm some effot when you start beating the eggs before putting them on the mixer.

By tempering the eggs with the filling, you assure that you are making a lemon filling that sets up properly in the oven and maintains a nice smooth consistency every time. As Alton points out, you really have to take your time once you’ve added the lemon juice so that the ingredients truly mesh together and you don’t end up with a filling that’s all runny or clumpy.

With all the Fall holidays coming up, nothing says “thanks for the invitation” quite like a home-made pie. While, as we said at the beginning of this blog, a lemon meringue pie is no small feat, and showing up with a delicious sweet-yet-tart home-made pie is not a gesture that is soon forgotten.

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