One of the BBQ sauces I make calls for spiced rum to add a a nice kick in the sauce. After using Captain Jack's and a few others it seemed that these rums were not really that flavorful. So I looked into making my own to impart of better flavor into the end sauce. What I discovered is that this is really not that difficult. Reminds me of my wife making sun tea back in Virginia.
This is the basic recipie I settled on:
The spices
1 whole star anise
1/2 cinnamon stick, broken into pieces
2 whole cloves
3 allspice berries
2 cardamom pods
1/4 ounce (1/2 tablespoon) freshly grated nutmeg
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
Strips of peel from 1 whole orange (no pith), finely chopped
Rum
1 liter of rum
Rum comes in several grades. A decent quality silver, light, or white rum is what is needed here. Appleton is a good quality rum.
Steps
Sterilize using boiling water a 1 quart glass mason jar, lid, and ring. Cool to room temp. Do not use chemicals.
Using a morter/pestle (or coffee grinder) coarse grind the star anise, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, cardamom, and nutmeg. Grinding too fine will make it virtually impossible to remove the solids later.
Put vanilla bean and scrapings, orange, and spice mixture in mason jar.
Pour rum into jar leaving a little space at the top. A liter is a bit more than a quart. A good excuse for a quick cocktail.
Save the rum bottle
Seal jar and put on window sill.
Let sit for 5 days, giving a good shake each day.
After 5 days strain with a fine mesh strainer. Then strain again to make sure all traces of the spices are eliminated. Discard solids and return the rum to its bottle.
Enjoy in a drink, a shot, or in a BBQ sauce.
This is the basic recipie I settled on:
The spices
1 whole star anise
1/2 cinnamon stick, broken into pieces
2 whole cloves
3 allspice berries
2 cardamom pods
1/4 ounce (1/2 tablespoon) freshly grated nutmeg
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
Strips of peel from 1 whole orange (no pith), finely chopped
Rum
1 liter of rum
Rum comes in several grades. A decent quality silver, light, or white rum is what is needed here. Appleton is a good quality rum.
Steps
Sterilize using boiling water a 1 quart glass mason jar, lid, and ring. Cool to room temp. Do not use chemicals.
Using a morter/pestle (or coffee grinder) coarse grind the star anise, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, cardamom, and nutmeg. Grinding too fine will make it virtually impossible to remove the solids later.
Put vanilla bean and scrapings, orange, and spice mixture in mason jar.
Pour rum into jar leaving a little space at the top. A liter is a bit more than a quart. A good excuse for a quick cocktail.
Save the rum bottle
Seal jar and put on window sill.
Let sit for 5 days, giving a good shake each day.
After 5 days strain with a fine mesh strainer. Then strain again to make sure all traces of the spices are eliminated. Discard solids and return the rum to its bottle.
Enjoy in a drink, a shot, or in a BBQ sauce.
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