Monday, January 23, 2012

Infused Vodkas for the Superbowl


































So this year we are hosting a Superbowl party and my boyfriend Val has been eagerly awaiting such an occasion so he can infuse some vodka for Bloody Marys. Val's passion for Bloody Marys started when we went to a local bar in Japantown for a Niner's party bus over a year ago. He has been stuck on finding/creating the BEST Bloody Mary ever since. When we were in Chicago last year we happened to stumble on a sports bar after Sunday brunch that had a Bloody Mary BAR. Basically it was build your own Bloody Mary complete with 6 different homemade infused vodkas, over 20 different hot sauces, 5 different custom tomato juice blends, and ample toppings--bacon, sausage, cheese cubes, pickles, celery, artichoke hearts, peppers etc. Val wants to recreate this for our Superbowl party but on a smaller scale. Hence our post about infused vodkas. First off, I have to give credit to the boyfriend since he was the one actually prepping and cooking this time. I was just the photographer. :)

We ended up deciding on 2 different flavors--bacon and cucumber. When we looked up instructions online we found a couple tutorials which were really helpful and I'll give credit below for each type of vodka.

Cucumber Infused Vodka -- original tutorial by Shutterbean found here

 Ingredients

- 750 ml vodka (we used Stoli vodka)
- 1 large English cucumber, peeled & seeded
- air tight container (we used a tall mason jar from IKEA -- $5 super cheap!)



 











Preparation

1. Peel, seed & chop cucumbers and place in a seal-able container large enough to contain it all.










2. Add the vodka on top and seal.
















3. Store in a cool, dark place (like your pantry) for 3 days, or up to a week, agitating daily. TIP: Apparently any longer and your vodka will develop a bitter taste.


<-- my boyfriend "agitating" the cucumbers ;)











4. Strain with coffee filters or cheesecloth. Store and serve well chilled.

Note: Apparently this recipe was originally from Sean Timberlake of Punk Domestics

Bacon Infused Vodka -- original tutorial and recipe found on ManMade.com 

Ingredients

- 6 slices of bacon (normal thickness is fine)
- 750 ml of vodka (we used Stoli again)
- air tight container (we used a tall mason jar from IKEA -- $5 super cheap!) 















Preparation

1. Cook the 6 slices of bacon in a frying pan. Don't throw away the grease!










2. Carefully pour the grease in the mason jar. Add the bacon strips standing upright. (Some tutorials chopped the bacon up before hand.)















 3. Pour the vodka over the bacon, making sure to completely immerse the bacon strips. (Ours obviously wasn't covering the bacon so we had to use a long wooden spoon to push down the bacon a bit--see final picture. We might add some more vodka tomorrow once we get to the store.)












4. Seal the jar and put in a cool, dark place for 2-3 weeks.
















5. After the time allotted passes, place the mason jar in the freezer. The vodka will not freeze but the fat from the bacon will solidify. (pictures to come--sounds gross!)











6. Remove the jar from the freezer, remove the bacon strips and strain the solidified fat through a coffee filter or cheese cloth. 













7. Your end result will be a clear, pale yellow vodka that tastes like bacon!

(Cucumber vodka on the left and bacon vodka on the right.)

See how we used these vodkas for Bloody Mary's during our Superbowl party



4 comments:

Grace said...

Yum! I don't even like Bloody Marys but I could totally see using the cucumber vodka in other drinks, probably with mint or berries! And can you ever really go wrong with bacon?

I wanted to make limoncello for Christmas, but ran out of time. Plus, I need someone who has done it and tells me how and why I should do it! Want to take on that challenge?

-Grace (LaMont's girlfriend)

See Dani Bake. said...

Yes! Cucumber vodka over ice with a couple cucumbers floating in it should be yummy and refreshing. Have you ever had a cucumber gimlet? It's gin and muddle cucumber and some lime. They make the best ones at Single Barrel, downtown SJ. But I digress... I would LOVE to take on that challenge of making limoncello. (I honestly had to Google it before I knew what it was. Haha) I am thinking that I'll use this recipe unless you have a different one:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/limoncello-recipe/index.html

The L said...

2 Words!

Bacon... Jam

Grace has made this and it was awesome... now its your turn Dani!

See Dani Bake. said...

Oooh. That sounds interesting. LoL My bf is a big bacon fan. I'm not a hard core bacon person but maybe I can make it for him. Do you or Grace have the recipe still?

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