Post #423074 by The Gnomon on Wed, Dec 10, 2008 12:53 PM

Well, as a kid I used to guzzle store-bought eggnog as soon as it would appear in stores after Thanksgiving and was sorry to see it disappear from the dairy case after the New Year. But in those times, just about all store-bought eggnog tasted pretty much the same and was of decent quality (pre-HFCS days).

Over the years it has become increasingly cheap and crappy. No problem. It's easy to make, especially, if you can get someone else to whisk the eggs. That's the biggest chore and not really all that bad (unless you whisk it manually which takes about a half hour).

You can make batches of any size, from individual servings (sort of) to enough for entertaining lots of guests. Caveat is that the ingredients are raw, so the longest it should sit around before being consumed is probably about 24 hours or so refrigerated (make it on one evening, let sit in the fridge overnight and through the day, then serve that evening).

The following is a general recipe. Variations usually are in the area of the number of eggs (percentage of eggs in the concoction), amount of sugar, the kind amount of liquor used, the kind and quantity of cream and milk, and the kind and quantity of spices. Among the spices, nutmeg is always dominant. A dozen eggs recipe will turn into about a gallon or so of eggnog, so if you don't want that much around, alter the recipe accordingly. The recipe here is for a half dozen.

6 eggs
1 cup sugar*
2 cups heavy whipping cream
2 cups whole milk
3 cups distilled spirits (traditionally rum, bourbon, and/or brandy)**
1 whole nutmeg seed
1 whole Ceylon cinnamon stick (or cassia if real cinnamon is unavailable)
1 whole vanilla bean
1 pinch sea salt

The traditional recipes call for heavy cream and whole milk, but these can be modified for health and nutrition purposes, though the heavier the better for taste and consistency. Historically, in the Colonies, the distilled spirit of choice was rum, but throughout the early history of the US, bourbon and brandy were used. Even the father of our country had a recipe that included sherry. Nutmeg and vanilla can overwhelm some people, so if that is a possibility, start with half the recipe amounts and then adjust them up to taste if need be. If you reduce the nutmeg and vanilla the eggnog will be noticeably bland. To compensate for this you'll probably want to increase the amount of cinnamon or other spices you might be using.

Separate eggs and let them sit for a while to reach room temperature.
Whisk the yolks until their volume doubles.
Grate 1/3 of a nutmeg seed (about 2 tbsp grated; maybe 3/4 tbsp powdered), grate about 1/2" of cinnamon stick (about 1 tsp grated or powdered), scrape out the contents of 1 vanilla bean pod, and toss them into the yolks.
Grind and toss in the salt, then gradually stir in a little more than half of the sugar.
Gradually stir in the distilled spirits.
Gradually stir in the cream and the milk, then set aside.
Whisk the egg whites until soft peaks begin to form and it becomes a meringue.
Whisk the remaining sugar into the meringue until soft peaks begin to form again.
Thoroughly fold the meringue into the yolks.
Put into a container and chill for a couple of hours.

After sitting a while a foam head will rise to the top. Sitting overnight, the head can become 3-6" deep depending on its container. Shake or stir it back together and it's ready to go. If you drink it as soon as it's made, you'll probably see the foam slowly form on top while you're drinking it.

For an additional jolt add a shot or a jigger of your preferred distilled spirit after serving. Stir it in or float it. It doesn't have to be the same spirit as is in the eggnog itself. I make my eggnog with rum but often float something else at serving. Typically, I use Appleton Estate VX in the recipe and AE Extra for the float. Lately, though, I've been floating Crown Royal Canadian blended whiskey.

Garnish with a dusting of grated or ground nutmeg on top.

• The sweetness of this concoction reaches its peak after it has had a chance to sit for a while. If you drink it right after making it, the sugar content should seem a bit low, so you might think you need to add more. If you do add more so it appears to have the right sweetness just after you make it, once it has had the chance to sit a while it will be super sweet, maybe too sweet, plus you'll get a sugar rush like you just ate a box of candy. I generally start drinking mine as soon as it's made, so I accept the more subtle sweetness and fight any urge to immediately sweeten to taste.

** The quantity of distilled spirits needs to be adjusted according to personal preference, of course. This recipe amounts to about 10 servings. 4 cups renders about two jiggers per serving; half that (2 cups) renders about 1 jigger. The more spirits you use the thinner the consistency of the eggnog. Regardless of the amount you use (unless it's none) these drinks go down so smoothly you can get messed up very quickly, so beware.

[ Edited by: The Gnomon 2008-12-10 13:04 ]

Oops! I can't believe it has taken me five years to get around to correcting the errors in this recipe. I've been making eggnog quite a bit this season so I thought I'd take a peek a the recipe I posted here and found it had a few things that needed correction. It should be okay now. Originally, I called for the maximum amount of spirits (4 cups) when it really has a range of 2-4 cups (I use 3). With 2 cups the eggnog is thicker and you taste a hint of the spirits. With 4 cups the eggnog is rather thin and the spirits jump out and slap you in the face. Also, I said to 'grate' the vanilla bean rather than scrape, so that made no sense, and I completely left out the cinnamon. Hopefully, it's in good shape now and I can ignore it again for another five years.

[ Edited by: The Gnomon 2013-12-07 14:36 ]