Making egg nog for the British

boing
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Growing up in Ohio, I had no idea that eggnog (or fruitcake) was something you added alcohol to; my Christmases were very Methodist. I just knew 'nog as a thick spiced sweet goo that was enjoyable in small quantities once a year. Wasn’t until years later that I realized, oh, it’s a carrier for booze.

As an experiment, I’ve made batches of the precursor to eggnog: Tom & Jerrys. It’s a thick nog-like batter that you add brandy and/or rum to, served hot. The thick mix separates and collapses within minutes; it’s not surprising that the more stable eggnog is more popular (except in Minnesota!)

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Well they should have suet in them. But yes, mince pies are no longer meaty.

Old fashioned recipes called quite often for sweet spicey meat fat food. A friend of mine has edited the oldest recipe book in Ireland. I have sampled some of these meals in her house: haggis type things with orange, rice pudding with ambergris, and they are so Christmassy I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this book as a Christmas gift.

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As a brit I never heard of eggnog. It wasn’t until I was an adult and finally decided to find out what this drink was that Americans associate with christmas that I found out. Egg and booze? Why not just go for the booze now and save the egg for a fry-up for the hangover tomorrow?
And you don’t have mince pies? Next you’ll be telling me you don’t have Fizzgobets or Hot Cross Buns either!
Mind you, from a culture that calls apple juice ‘cider’ I’m not expecting much.

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Having had both Salmonella poisoning and mincemeat pie, I’d choose the Salmonella if I have to choose.

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Advocaat is not egg nog. Egg nog has milk and/or cream in it and spices (cinnamon and nutmeg usually).

Heck, Advocaat is actually based on a completely different (now long lost) South American drink made with avocados.

Also, I’m unsure as to why an egg flip in England would have no alcohol in it. A flip is any drink with a spirit, eggs, sugar and spice but no cream/milk in it (again, not egg nog).

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Having tried both, I’m not a fan of either, to be honest. But, different tastes for all people, I say, and never let it be said that I don’t love a good Eggnog. So with that in mind, here’s my two recipes, exactly as I make them - or at least, as they appear in my little blue bar book, compiled over many years. Marginalia in brackets) There’s a story behind that book, but it’s for another time.

Came across it in a bar book god knows how long ago, with small tweaks for preference.

2 big eggs
Half teaspoon grated nutmeg (Fresh, you fucking philistine)
85 grams raw sugar (Or brown. I like brown)
60ml brandy (you like the taste of that doesn’t come out of a box or a gallon jug, but also isn’t expensive enough that you would be justified bragging about it.)
60ml spiced rum (Kraken is perfect,Small, poor drawing of a kraken or Bundaberg Mutiny, but most will do)
180ml whole milk (Skim poorly drawn thumbs down)
120ml heavy cream

Chuck the eggs in a blender for a minute on medium(make sure not one of those blenders w/ heat - BEFORE YOU START small drawn symbol I use to denote important, written heavily), then slowly add sugar and blend for another minute, then leave the blender running while you add your everything else. When you’re done, whack it in the fridge with a bit of plastic over the top to let it cool and let the flavors combine. Put extra nutmeg on top when you serve it. Fresh, where possible.

And here’s a gallon recipe for parties that I swiped from a bartender at Clyde Common in Portland

12 large eggs
18 oz granulated sugar
3 tsp freshly-grated nutmeg
12 oz anejo tequila
15 oz Amontillado sherry
36 oz whole milk
24 oz heavy cream

In blender on low speed, beat eggs until smooth. Slowly add nutmeg, and sugar until sugar is dissolved. Slowly add sherry, tequila, milk, cream. Fridge overnight, serve in small chilled cups. Dust with fresh nutmeg before serving.

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In Japan, the cuticle is not washed off, and the eggs are all pasteurized. Along with the seafood, I really miss the eggs in Japan, because they’re way better than any eggs you can get in a store in the states.

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I made 3 gallons of eggnog two weeks ago, it will be aged in time for Christmas festivities.

My recipe:
4 dozen egg yolks (do what you want with the whites)
4 lb sugar
1 gallon whole milk (preferably organic)
1 quart heavy whipping cream (preferably organic)
1 nutmeg (preferably ground fresh)
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1.75 L Maker’s Mark bourbon
1.75 L Crown Royal Maple whiskey
750 mL Myers’s Rum
750 mL VSOP Brandy
Canning jars to accommodate ~3 gallons of eggnog, I prefer 8oz. jars, for large single servings.

Sanitize jars and lids in boiling water and set aside. Separate egg yolks from whites and whisk yolks until blended; reserve whites for another purpose. Whisk in sugar until well mixed. Whisk in milk and cream, then liquor. Add in kosher salt and fresh ground nutmeg to your preference, I use approximately 1 whole nutmeg. Mix thoroughly, fill the jars, secure the lids and refrigerate for three weeks before consuming or gifting. Note that the longer this ages, the more the flavors mellow. It has very high alcohol content, so consume with care. Cheers!

Note that the Crown Maple is new to my recipe this year. In early tests, the maple flavor is really standing out. If you’re not a fan of that flavor, just substitute more bourbon.

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I helped a friend make Egg nog from scratch a few years ago, it was wonderful but really heavy and rich. We used mainly half & half, and also gently heated the nog to make sure it was safe to drink (we made a ton of the stuff so we wanted to avoid problems days down the line). A good way to make sure to intergrate the eggs is to beat the egg whites with an electric beater into a really fluffy airy consistency, and then slowly mix that with the cream. The yolk you also mix into the cream but i can’t remember if you beat it with the whites or not… i don’t think so, may have been intergrated separate step but i did like that my friend’s recipe used the whole egg. Some recipes will only have you use the yolk only. Also if i were to try making nog again i’d cut down on the half & half and would mix in almond milk or coconut milk so it’s not so heavy on the stomach… maybe substitute the half & half entirely for something else. That Brandy cream sounds real nice, though i have seen other alternatives that would be just as delicious :slight_smile:

Also i’m from Venezuela and we have our own version of xmas drink thats a bit similar to egg nog, though it’s always alcoholic. We call it Ponche Crema, and my mother in law who is american says it tastes kind of like white chocolate. Though that’s from a popular brand, if its homemade people always have their own variations on it that are also wonderful… i’ve seen a coffee and also chocolate Ponche Crema.

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The folks at Dub Pies near where I live seem to be doing a good job of it, at least from what I’ve heard.

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More boozy custard plz.

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Brit here, never heard of fizzgobets. Are you just trolling our American cousins? Or is this a regional thing?

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You can get good eggs in the US if you live near a farmers market. I buy the best eggs I can find and use them raw in all sorts of old fashioned cocktails, including a simple, old school version of egg nog. For each drink, add one raw egg, a shot of booze (I prefer half spiced rum and half whiskey,) cream, ice, and a little sugar and nutmeg into a cocktail shaker. Shake until frothy and cold and strain into a glass. Best and easiest egg nog I have ever tasted.

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Even in 1990, only 1 in 20,000 eggs had salmonella, and that number is expected to be significantly lower now with better salmonella prevention practices. And even if an egg is infected, if it remains at or below a temperature of 45 degrees, the salmonella bacteria will have no opportunity to grow, and a small amount of salmonella can generally be dealt with by the body’s immune system.

I probably eat products containing raw eggs ten or twenty times a year, including egg nog. At that rate, over the course of 20 years I’ll have a 1% chance of consuming an egg with salmonella.

I’m ok with that.

N.B.: I have had salmonella before, which turned into a gangrenous appendix and typhoid fever. Not nice at all. However, that was from eating bad meat – a much more likely source of salmonella than raw eggs.

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Ok, I might have made the fizzgobets up, or I might have pinched them from a Roald Dahl book.

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My solution has always been to make the eggnog at least half liquor by volume and age it for a year in the fridge. I’d be seriously surprised if anything managed to live in a concoction with that much alcohol for that long, and I used to work with sporulating anaerobic bacteria. Just remember to use good rum or it’ll come out tasting metallic.

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Cook’s Illustrated published an improved version of this recipe last year (incidentally, if you like good food and enjoy recipes that approach cooking like it’s a science experiment, you could do a lot worse than signing up with these guys).

Basically, mix the booze and the eggs, stick it in the fridge to age and mellow for a couple of weeks, then at serving-time mix in the dairy and some spices (nutmeg or whatever). This way the alcohol content is much higher while its aging which makes it sterilize more quickly. They also have you use a blend of cognac, bourbon, and dark rum which gives a much more rounded flavor than bourbon alone.

This is my favorite eggnog recipe - the premade stuff from the grocery store is disgusting and most of the cooked or custard-type recipes are so thick I feel like I ought to just go ahead and either bake them or turn them into ice cream - this one produces a very drinkable and tasty nog and can be prepared very quickly as long as you remember to do it in advance.

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I like this step of pre-mixing the booze and eggs, wouldnt’ve thought to do that so thank you for the tip. I’m not particularly worried about bacteria in the eggs, but it is a good step to take. Plus it gives the eggs a chance to dissolve or breakdown a bit so it intergrates better into the eggnog.

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The yolk is crucial here. It contains natural surfactants that help form and stabilize the emulsion.

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Basically came here to say this. I always assumed it WAS English.