ToiletDuc's Vampire Journal

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Aged Eggnog
18:44 Oct 23 2009
Times Read: 643

Put a dozen egg yolks in a stand mixer with the whisk attachment or a large mixing bowl and whisk until lighter in color. Gradually add two cups of sugar and keep whisking until completely incorporated. Add 5 cups of some combination of cream, milk, and/or half and half depending on how thick and rich you want the final product. I probably would have used 2 cups cream to 3 cups whole milk, but all I had on hand was 1%, so I used one cup of cream, two cups half and half, and two cups milk. If your mixer is one of the smaller ones like mine with the 4.5 quart bowl, you'll probably have to drop the speed down to the lowest setting here to keep it from splashing out of the bowl. Toss in about a teaspoon of freshly grated nutmeg and a pinch of salt, maybe a little cinnamon and allspice. A little bit of vanilla probably would probably be pretty good too if you like. Now for the booze. The recipe calls for 4 cups of bourbon, 1/2 a cup of dark rum, and 1/2 a cup of cognac. You can definitely play around with this to suit your taste, just make sure you get the alcohol content about the same. For instance... I used whiskey that was about 160 proof, or 80% alcohol. Most whiskey runs around 40 proof, or 20% alcohol, so I only used about half what it called for. If you're a heavy drinker, you can go a little higher on the alcohol, but not too much. Don't go lower than what the recipe calls for, unless you're not going to let it age.

With the mixer still running, sloooooowly pour in the alcohol. If pour too fast, you can cause the dairy to curdle.

Once the alcohol is completely mixed in, you're done.

You can drink it then, but it will be a little sharp, especially if you didn't cut down the alcohol a good bit. The flavors blend and mellow as it ages.

Pour into clean GLASS containers. Sterilizing them as you would with canning isn't really necessary, but you can if you're paranoid. Most dishwashers have a hot wash/sterilize cycle option, works great for this. Or, you can use the empty liquor bottles... those are definitely sterilized. I've got part of the batch I did in an empty Crown Royal bottle... looks pretty nice for gifts or serving. Mason jars will work just as well. This makes right around a gallon, so keep that in mind to make sure you have enough bottles/jars to put it in.

Pour it in the jars/bottles, put the lids on, and put them in the fridge, preferably towards the back of the bottom shelf. Every week or two, turn the bottles upside down and back upright a few times to keep anything settling mixed back in. Don't shake them.

Let it age at least a month, preferably two, and up to about a year. To serve, traditionally you would mix half egg whites and half cream with a little sugar and beat to soft peaks and either fold into the eggnog or float on top and sprinkle with some grated nutmeg. I don't think the egg whites and cream add much, but some people like it. I'd rather have it either straight or on the rocks.

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*****************DISCLAIMER!*****************

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For one, there is about a 1 in 20 million chance of getting salmonella from eating raw or undercooked eggs. It's very rare, and nearly all recorded cases have involved time and temperature abuse of the eggs, and usually in large commercial operations. But for anyone with a compromised immune system, getting that 1 could be deadly. Personally, I'll stop eating raw eggs when they kill me. You can get eggs that have been pasturized in the shell if you're paranoid, or you can bring the dairy product up to a light boil before adding to the egg/sugar mixture and pour it in SLOWLY, mixing constantly. This will bring the eggs up to right about 160 degrees F, effectively pasteurizing them. This will also result in a thicker eggnog.

Secondly, you're leaving raw eggs and dairy product to age for significantly longer than they would keep on their own. This is why the alcohol is important, it kills the bacteria that would cause spoilage, along with denaturing the proteins and letting all the flavors blend together well. If everything is done properly, this recipe is completely safe. But things can go wrong, so again, there's a small risk that letting this age and drinking it could make you sick. Again, it's not stopping me. But I probably will take it out a few days before serving it to anyone else, make sure it smells alright, and drink a little bit to make sure it's fine.