We’ve all been there. The Thanksgiving meal is over; your whole family stares at you, eagerly awaiting their slice of apple pie. Pressure mounts as you dig into the crust with a knife, and you pull up that first slice, only for it to break apart, flop everywhere, and send saucy apples flying all over your parents’ nice tablecloth. The first slice of pie is always like the first pancake: Not pretty, but still delicious. But what if we told you there was a simple trick to getting that first slice of pie out perfectly every time, and that it doesn’t require any special pie prying equipment? It’s true.
All you need to get a perfect first slice of pie is a knife and maybe a spatula to lift your slice out of the pie dish. There are a lot of hacks for cutting the perfect slice of pie, but perhaps none are as simple as making one extra cut with your knife before attempting to lift the first slice. We’ll explain.
In essence, this hack involves making the two cuts of your ideal first pie slice, then moving over and making an extra cut to loosen a second slice right next to your first. This gives you a little more horizontal wiggle room to shimmy that first slice out of the pie tin without damaging the crust or the filling. It really works; there will be no more disastrous incidents at your holiday dessert table!
How to cut perfect pie slices every time using standard kitchen equipment
You could invest in special tools like pie scorers or pie servers in order to optimize your slicing experience, but there are so many tips and tricks that only require supplies you already have in your kitchen. In addition to making that extra cut for a little more room, we recommend warming your knife by running it under hot water before slicing through your pie or running a fan over your pie to cool it sufficiently before slicing, which will prevent it from falling apart.
Try using a serrated knife to more easily cut through your baked crust, and cut through the crust multiple times to make sure you’ve really gone through all the layers before attempting to lift the first slice out. If you’re short on patience or time, you can cut a small sliver out of the pie initially and get that messy first slice out of the way. The bonus to this method is that you can try the pie before anyone else!
Of course, if extracting your pie from the tin seems like too much work, you can make a crostata for an easier treat. But if you’re committed to wowing your loved ones with a delectable pie this Thanksgiving, never fear. We have 16 tips for making the best apple pie. Between those and your pie-slicing hacks, you’re as golden as your perfectly baked pie crust.
