I’m guessing that it’s the margarita mix. I’m not sure exactly what would be in it, but there’s obviously something in it that’s stopping the eggs from setting. Some sort of enzyme dealie, like how Jell-O won’t set if you stick pineapple in it.
If you really want to use the margarita mix, you could try making a filling more like lemon meringue pie - thickened with both eggs and cornstarch. There doesn’t seem to be much standardization in Key Lime Pie, and I’ve been served this style in restaurants sometimes. It’s not exactly the same, but it thickens through a different process, so it might work with the margarita stuff. You shouldn’t have any trouble finding recipes - the filling will use cornstarch and egg yolks and you cook it on the stove and pour it into a baked pie crust and let it cool.
If you’re concerned about using up the mix, try a margarita pie. I have a cookbook that has a recipe for one (packed, sorry), but google also coughs up a lot of hits for “margarita mix pie”.
Here’s the first hit I got, which is fromThe Jalapeno Cafe. I have no idea how good it is, but it might be fun.
The recipe I have is for use with the mix- I tasted it at william sonoma. Is it just that I’m not rich enough to recreate william sonoma recipes in my own kitchen?
However, I will point out to anyone up North that if they order Key Lime Pie somewhere and the filling is “lime” green , it was made by someone who’s never had a proper one (no matter what recipe you use). If it’s got real key limes, the filling is white to slightly yellow. Not green. Ever.
And one more thing…if your local supermarket has “Edwards” brand frozen pies, their Key Lime is nearly as good as homemade.
I took a 2nd look at the recipe you are using. I would recommend the following steps:
Beating the egg yolks prior to adding the sweetened condensed milk and then adding the margarita mix.
May seem insignificant, but it may make a big difference.
If the filling is green, some weirdo added food coloring to it. I wouldn’t know what it was if someone served me a slice of green key lime pie. The couple times I’ve made it, I added fine threads of lime zest to it (I hope that’s not an unpardonable sin :)) and it made it sort of chartreuse in color - yellow with a faint tinge of green. Nothing short of artificial color would make it “lime green”.
So have you followed the recipe exactly, then? Using the same margarita mix and stuff? Because that’s really weird. It’s possible maybe your oven is the wrong temperature (it happens a lot) but you shouldn’t need a very precise temperature to make a key lime pie set. This is just a very weird situation.
Tell me about it. I’m going to try flickster’s suggestion. I’m in a rental, so I assume the oven is off. Any suggestion what to set it to, since I don’t have an oven thermometer? Also, in the last two tries, the crust has ended up soggy. Any clues if it’s just cause the pie is not setting?
When I make my own graham cracker crust with crushed graham crackers, butter & sugar, you need to bake the crust for about 12 minutes than take it out and let it cool prior to pouring in the key lime filling. Not sure if that is required with the pre-made/store bought variety.
I looked quickly in three books regarding recipes for Key Lime Pie (Friborg’s Professional Pastry Chef, Heatter’s Pies and Tarts and Beranbaum’s Pie and Pastry Bible) and all agree that the recipe should use four eggs with the can (14-ounces) of sweetened condensed milk and between 4 and 6 ounces of lime juice.
Also, since the key to the recipe is that the lime juice cooks the eggs, in much the same way as making ceviche, it may be that your margarita mix is low on lime juice and heavy on fillers. In a pinch I’d suggest going to the store and using ReaLemon Lime Juice (in place of key limes or key lime juice) and forget the margarita mix (better uses for it?).
Several other tips/pointers:[ul]
[li]Though you haven’t said, I’m assuming you are using a pre-baked graham cracker crust.[/li][li]There is universal agreement that the zest of key limes should not be used in key lime pie as it is too bitter and will give an off taste. Recipes that call for lime zest specify using persian (or green) lime zest.[/ul] [/li]Good luck and I hope these tips help!