Ladies and gentlemen: It's eggnog time.
We wrote about it in January; we teased about it last week.
Finally, this weekend, we popped open the eggnog that had been sitting in our fridge for nearly a year.
Raw eggs, dairy, sugar, booze. No cooking. No heating. Just mix together, stash in the refrigerator for a year, open and drink.
So how'd it taste? To capture our initial reactions, we decided to tape ourselves sampling the nog.
Check out the taste test!
After the jump, some more thoughts on the nog, along with the recipe!
Just moments after we shot that video, we had some friends over for a little nog-tasting party.
As you can see from the video, we liked it! It was indeed a tad on the boozy side (read: don't drink this eggnog near an open flame).
But mixed with some whipped cream and topped with grated nutmeg, the nog was a huge hit! Everyone who was brave enough to try it said they loved it. Even a couple of our friends who don't typically like eggnog raved about this old-fashioned recipe.
It was different from eggnog we're used to: less thick and cloying and vanilla; more smooth and milky and caramel. Delicious!
And, most importantly, it's been 72 hours since the party, and none of our guests have died! If that's not a sign of a successful holiday fête, we don't know what is.
We're definitely going to do this again next year -- you should, too!
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.
