Recipes

To conclude the Whisky Christmas Dinner, I selected a variation of a classic Italian desert. Zabaione, or Zabaglione as it is sometimes spelled, is traditionally made with Marsala, a fortified wine from Sicily. Bue there is no problen in finding a single malt whisky that can replace it.

The Whisky

My suggestion for a Zabaione is the Bruichladdich 15yo. Unfortunatley it has been discontinued, and it might be difficult to find a bottle. With its Sauternes finish the Bruichladdich has sweet fruitiness that is not unlike the character of a marsala wine. But it is also possible to substitute it with any fruity malt that also has a certain sweetness.

The Ingredients (4 Persons)

6 egg yolks
1 egg white
100 g powdered sugar
2 drams of Bruichladdich 15yo

Preparation

Mix the eggs with the sugar and beat until creamy. Keep beating while carefully adding the whisky.

Heat a bain-marie (or just two matching pots, the lower one filled with water) until the water is just simmering and beat the mixture until it gets thicker and foamier.

In principle, the preparation is fairly simple. But it takes a bit of practice to get it right. If the Zabaione will not become fluffy enough, you can beat an extra egg white with a little sugar and stir it in carefully without breaking the foam (not on the bain-marie). The taste will not be delayed very much as most of the volume will be air anyway.

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The main course of my Christmas dinner will feature a venison roast. To underlinine the Christmas character of the dish, it will be accompanied by a gingerbread sauce with a bit of dark chocolate. Preparation is fairly simple.

The Whisky

To enhance the flavours of the gingerbread sauce, I chose a Glendronach Revival 15yo. It is a strongly sherried dram, not too fruity, with complex aromas and a dry character that will go well with the gingerbread and the dark chocolate. It can be substituted by any strong flavoured sherried whisky that is not too fruity but rather on the chocolate, toffee or caramel side of the taste spectrum.

Ingredients for 4 persons

1 kg leg of venision without bone
Some chopped pieces of venison bone
500 ml venison stock (beef or veal stock will do as well)
50 g plain gingerbread, German Lebkuchen or Printen
a few pieces of your favourite dark chocolate.
Powdered allspice and cinnamon, salt and pepper
2 drams of Glendronach Revival

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Meanwhile, season the meat with salt, pepper, allspice and cinnamon (about twice as much cinnamon as allspice). Heat a bit of oil in a pan that can stand the heat of the oven (cast iron works best here) and brown the meat on all sides over strong heat.

Put the pan into the oven and pour some stock over the meat about every 20 minutes. After 1 hour, turn down the oven to 150°C. Heat some oil in a small pot and thoroughly brown the chopped bones. Add the rest of the stock and let simmer with closed lid for 30 minute, then remove the bones.

Turn down the oven to 100°C, remove the meat from the pan, wrap into aluminium foil and place it in the oven again. Pour a dram of whisky into the pan, scrape off all residue from the bottom and add it to the stock. Break the gingerbread into small pieces and add the chocolate. Stir and let simmer for 15 more minutes.

Turn off the heat under the sauce and let cool down a little bit. Then stir in the second dram of the whisky. If needed, add salt and pepper. Unwrap the meat and slice it.

Serve with vegetables of your choice and fresh pasta or potato dumplings.

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Right in time for Christmas, I have prepared a three course dinner where whisky plays an important role as an ingredient. For each course I selected a single malt whisky that matches the character of the dish as well as possible.

The first course will be a classic oxtail soup. Because it’s Christmas, I propose to prepare the soup the classic way, including making a stock as base for the soup. This takes quite long, but most of it can be prepared in advance.

The Whisky

If there is one whisky that can be called “meaty”, it is Mortlach. Tasting notes repeatedly mention aromas like “beef stock” or “chicken broth”. Which whisky would be suited better for replacing the classic sherry or madeira that is commonly used for the preparation of oxtail soup?

As Mortlach is not always easy to get, it is possible to replace it by any full bodied whisky from a sherry or madeira cask. But the “beefy” character of Mortlach is almost impossible to replicate.

Ingredients for 4 to 6 persons

1 kg chopped veal or beef bones
1 kg oxtail copped into segments
1 large onion
1 large carrot
a piece of celery root
2 laurel leaves,
10 allspice berries
1 tablespoon tomato paste

For clarification:

2 egg whites
100 g finely chopped or minced beed with as little fat as possible

A dram of Mortlach single malt whisky

Preparation

The Stock

Heat some oil in a frying pan and fry the bones until they are nicely brown. Put them into a pot, cover with water, add a little salt and slowly heat up. Let simmer at minimal heat without a lid for at least 3 hours. Remove any scum that collects on the surface as soon as possible. Add more water if the level has dropped too much.

The Soup

Heat a bit of oil in a pot, cut the onion in halves and brown the flat sides in the oil. Remove and add the oxtail segments to brown them on all sides. Place the tomato paste on the bottom of the pot so it can brown as well a bit.

Carefully fill up with the stock; add some water, if the meat is not fully covered. Add the carrot and the celery, both diced or chopped, as well as the browned onion. Season with the laurel leaves and the allspice berries and a bit of salt.

As with the stock, let simmer for 3 hours and remove any scum as soon as possible. Then strain the broth through a sieve land let cool down. Save the oxtail pieces. Remove any fat by laying strips of kitchen paper onto the surface and removing them carfully. The fat will stick to the paper. You can also put the soup into the freezer until the fat becomes solid.

To remove any impurities, the soup has to be clarified. Stir two egg whites into the soup, add the minced meat and slowly bring to a boil and let simmer for half an hour. The coagulating egg will trap all the solids and so clear the soup. Because also some aromatics are lost, the minced meat will replace them. Strain and then let run the soup through a coffee filter placed inside a sieve. If needed, remove any remaining fat with kitchen paper.

Slowly reheat the soup but don’t let it boil. Cut some oxtail meat into small strips or dice and place in soup bowls. Add the dram of Mortlach to the soup, stir, fill the bowls and serve.

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Here is an easy recipe that profits from the addition of whisky.

You need (for one person):

1 slice of salmon (steak or fillet as you prefer)
2 bell peppers coloured to your liking
100 ml liquid 30% cream
salt, pepper, thyme (fresh or dried)
olive oil
a dram of heavlily peated whisky.

Dice the peppers and fry them in a bit of olive oil until the skin starts to turn brown. Add salt and thyme and move the pepper dice toward the rim of the pan. Salt the steak on both sides. Add a little more oil to the center of the pan and add the salmon. Fry on medium heat for 2 minutes per side. Put a lid on the pan, reduce heat a little and let cook for a few minutes. Then remove the lid and add the cream to the peppers, do not cover the fish. Turn up the heat to medium again and let reduce the cream until almost all liquid is gone. Then add a generous dram of your favourite peat monster (I would prefer a non-sherried one), mix well and serve after adding some freshly ground pepper.

This is the low-carb version of the recipe. You can of course use only one bell pepper and serve the dish with rice or pasta as well.

At Richard Paterson’s blog you can find more whisky recipes.

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Whisky is not only good for drinking, it can also be used in the kitchen. In this recipe, whisky is used to give the final touch to a BBQ sauce.

Ingredients:

4 parts pureed tomatoes
1 part molasses (or sugarbeet syrup for our friends in Europe)
1 part wine or cider vinegar
1/4 part Lagavulin 16
Salt, pepper, sweet paprika powder, cumin powder, and tabasco or cayenne pepper to your liking

Preparation:

Put tomatoes, melasses, vinegar and spices into an approriate pot and let simmer for about 15 minutes. Add the whisky after the sauce has cooled down.

Remarks:

The proportions of the ingredients are only approximate. Feel free to adjust them according to your own taste.

The whisky adds a smoky flavor to the sauce. In industrial products this effect is achieved by a substance called “liquid smoke” whick basically is condensed and diluted smoke from a wood fire. But as whisky lovers we know how to add smoke to a dish, don’t we? I suggest a whisky that is not too medicinal. I think Lagavulin 16 is the best choice, but also an Ardbeg will do nicely. If you can smell smoked ham or bacon in the whisky, then you can use it.

I actually prefer sugar beet syrup over molasses because it adds a slightly sour bitterness that blends very well with the other ingredients.

The sauce is suitable for any kind of grilled or BBQ-ed red meat, like steaks, brisket or ribs.

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