[Updated: Check out our video taste test of this eggnog after aging it for a year!]
Hey look -- we made eggnog!
The hitch? We're not going to drink it for a year.
That's right -- these bottles are going to sit in our refrigerator for 12 months, at which point we're going to beg some friends to come over and try it.
Why, you ask, would two well-adjusted people voluntarily make and drink a dairy-based drink that's a year old?
Let us explain.
A little over a year ago, we were listening to Good Food with Evan Kleiman from KCRW, one of our favorite podcasts, when she brought on an editor from Chow.com to discuss an eggnog recipe that had recently been published on the site.
The recipe, picked up at a party in Shanghai in the 1920s, calls for egg yolks, cream, milk, sugar and booze to be mixed together, placed in jars, and then aged anywhere from 3 weeks to 12 months.
We first heard about this recipe in December 2008 and were dying to try it, but we never got around to making it. This year, we were determined to whip up a batch, so we did this week.
How's it going to taste? We have no idea. But we'll report back in December. Unless, of course, we drink this eggnog and then expire shortly after.
Just kidding -- Chow.com explains why raw eggs in eggnog are safe, and we're taking their word for it.
In fact, why don't you play along at home?
Mix up a batch this weekend, and we'll compare notes in December!
Best Eggnog Recipe
via Jonathan Hunt at CHOW.com
(This photo: Chow.com)
Total: 10 mins, plus 3 weeks for aging
Active: 10 mins
Makes: About 1 gallon
Game plan: It’s good to give the eggnog a full 3 weeks of aging or up to 1 year, but you can drink it right away; however, the flavor will be less rounded.
INGREDIENTS
For the eggnog:
• 12 large eggs
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 quart (4 cups) whole milk
• 1 liter (about 4 cups) bourbon, such as Jim Beam
• 1/2 cup Myers’s dark rum
• 1/2 to 1 cup good Cognac or other brandy
• Pinch kosher salt
• 1 whole nutmeg
To serve (optional):
• 10 egg whites
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
INSTRUCTIONS
For the eggnog:
1. Separate egg yolks and whites. (Reserve the whites for another use, such as serving this eggnog, or for our Egg-White Frittata with Shrimp, Tomato, and Spinach.) Combine yolks and sugar in a large mixing bowl and whisk until well blended and creamy.
2. Add cream, milk, bourbon, rum, Cognac (use the good stuff), and salt, then stir.
3. Bottle it right away and refrigerate it until it’s ready. (An old liquor bottle works great, as do 22-ounce bail-top bottles, available in brewing supply stores. My grandfather keeps the eggnog in the garage for 3 weeks, stirring occasionally, then bottles it—but aging in the garage is not recommended because the temperature can fluctuate.)
4. It’s traditional to wrap the bottle in aluminum foil, shiny side out, together with a fresh nut of nutmeg tucked into the foil for grating later. Keep refrigerated for at least 3 weeks, or up to a year if you can.
To serve (optional):
1. I serve aged eggnog on the rocks with some freshly grated nutmeg on top. If you want to serve the eggnog in the traditional way, pour it into a punch bowl. In separate bowls, whip 10 egg whites and 1 1/2 cups heavy cream to soft peaks and fold them into the eggnog. Serve in punch cups, garnished with freshly grated nutmeg.
