Five Fabulous Recipes You’re Sure to Love
Sure, everyone loves a whiskey sour or a gin and tonic, but did you know that you can use spirits to turn an every-day dinner into an extraordinary meal? You can! Using whiskey, vodka, absinthe, and other spirits to cook is the perfect way to take your dinner to the next level! Here are five amazing recipes that use sprits as a main ingredient.
Fresh Salmon with an Absinthe Beurre Blanc
This Salmon is served with a ridiculously easy-to-make butter sauce, but the flavor is anything but simple!
For the Beurre Blanc reduction:
· 2 ½ Tbsp. White Wine Vinegar
· 2 ½ Tbsp. Saint Lawrence Spirits Blanche Absinthe
· 1 Tbsp. Minced Shallots
· ½ tsp. White Pepper
· ½ tsp. Sea Salt
· 2 Tbsp. Butter
After the Beurre Blanc is removed from heat:
· 16 Tbsp. Chilled Butter; Cut into 16 Pieces
· 2 Sprigs of Fresh Tarragon, Stripped and Chopped
· Salt & Pepper to Taste
· Squirt of Fresh Lemon Juice
For the Salmon:
· 4 (4oz) Salmon Filets; skinned
· Sprinkling of Salt & Pepper
· ½ tsp. Coriander Seeds
· ½ tsp. Fennel Seeds
· 2 Tbsp. Unsalted Butter
Beurre Blanc:
1. Place all ingredients for the Beurre Blanc reduction into a medium (6-cup) saucepan and bring to a boil over medium high heat and reduce to a syrupy consistency (this won’t take long once it begins to boil).
2. Remove saucepan from heat and immediately beat in 2 pieces of chilled butter. As it softens into the liquid, add an additional piece. Put saucepan back over low heat and while consistently stirring, slowly add remaining butter slices one at a time after the previous one is almost completely absorbed. The sauce should be thick.
3. Immediately remove from heat as soon as all butter has been added. Stir in tarragon, and adjust flavor to your liking with salt, pepper, and lemon juice. Place saucepan at the back of the stove top (no heat underneath) to keep warm.
Salmon
1. Gently toast seeds and then grind them in processor or with a mortar and pestle. Add salt and pepper to the seed mix and lightly dust onto the salmon.
2. Place large skillet over medium heat and add butter. Once butter is melted and starts to bubble slightly, add salmon “good side” down. Cook without moving for two minutes. Carefully flip the salmon and cook for an additional 3 minutes or until done.
3. Remove from pan and immediately serve with the Absinthe Beurre Blanc.
Grilled Honey Bourbon Turkey
This grilled turkey is savory with a touch of sweetness. It’s so delicious that your family will beg for turkey all year long!
· 12 cups Water, Divided
· ½ cup Saint Lawrence Spirits Kentucky Son Bourbon Whiskey
· 1/3 cup Kosher Salt
· 1/3 cup Honey
· 3 Bay Leaves
· 1 (14 pound) Whole Fresh or Frozen Turkey (thawed)
· Cooking Spray
1. Bring 4 cups of water, bourbon, salt, honey, and bay leaves to a boil in a medium saucepan. Cook 2 minutes, or until salt is dissolved. Remove from heat and let rest for ten 10 minutes. Place this and the remaining water into a large Ziploc bag.
2. Place turkey (giblets removed), breast-side down on a cutting board. Using kitchen shears, cut along both sides of backbone, and discard the backbone. Turn turkey breast side up and press firmly against breastbone so that the turkey splays open and lays butterfly style. Place turkey in brine bag. Refrigerate 18-24 hours.
3. Preheat one side of your grill to 375 degrees. Remove turkey from brine and pat it dry.
4. Coat cooking grate with cooking spray. Place turkey, skin side up, on unlit side of grill’s cooking grate. Cover and grill 2 ½ hours. Rotate turkey 90 degrees every 10 minutes until cooked to temperature (160 degrees F). When it reaches temperature, place turkey on cutting board and cover with foil to rest 30 minutes. Serve and enjoy!
Oven-Roasted Ribs with an Orange Bourbon Glaze
These fragrant ribs are full of flavor and simple to make! You can also cook them on the barbeque, too!
· 1 Rack of Ribs
· 5 Ounces of Orange Marmalade
· 2 Tbsp. Dark Brown Sugar
· 5 Ounces Saint Lawrence Spirits Kentucky Son Bourbon Whiskey
· ½ Cup Orange Juice
· 2 inch Piece of Fresh Ground Ginger Root
· 5 Tbsp. Ketchup
· 2 Tbsp. White Wine Vinegar
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place ribs in a large roasting pan and barely cover with cold water. Bake them for one hour to tenderize them and remove some of the fat.
2. While these are cooking mix together the rest of the ingredients in a saucepan and heat gently, stirring occasionally, until the marmalade has dissolved. Bump up the heat a little until the mixture bubbles and reduces by one quarter.
3. Remove the ribs from the oven. Increase oven temperature to 425 degrees. Drain the ribs of the water. Return the ribs to the roasting pan and pour glaze over them, coating them evenly on all sides. Roast for 50 minutes. Turn and baste the ribs at least twice, until they are covered in a sticky glaze. Serve and enjoy!
Lemon, Gin & Ginger Chicken Wings
If you’ve never cooked with Gin before, you are missing out on the extraordinary flavor it can lend to your dishes! These lemon, ginger, and gin chicken wings will be talk of the party!
· 4 pounds Chicken Wings, Room Temperature
· Juice and Zest from 1 Lemon
· ¼ cup Saint Lawrence Spirits New York Dry Gin
· 1 cup Brown Sugar
· ¼ cup Olive Oil
· ¼ cup Soy Sauce
· 2 teaspoons Fresh Ground Ginger
1. Whisk all ingredients (except wings) into a large mixing bowl.
2. Add wings and toss in mixture, make sure they are completely coated. Let them sit and marinate for 30 minutes.
3. While your wings are marinating, preheat oven to 425 degrees.
4. Place wings on a foil-lined baking sheet.
5. Bake for 35 minutes, or until done.
Empire Cream Brownies
These ultra fudgy brownies are extra delicious topped with an Empire Cream ganache!
For the Brownies:
· ¾ cup All Purpose Flour
· 2/3 cup Dutch-Process Cocoa Powder
· ½ teaspoon Salt
· ½ teaspoon Baking Powder
· ¼ cup Unsalted Butter
· 1 cup Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips
· 1 cup Granulated Sugar
· ½ cup Saint Lawrence Spirits Empire Cream
· 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
· 1 Large Egg
For the Ganache:
· 1 cup Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips
· ¼ cup Saint Lawrence Spirits Empire Cream
· ¼ cup Whipping Cream
1. Preheat the oven to 350 °F and line an 8"×8" pan with parchment paper.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, stir together flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking powder. Set aside.
3. In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat while stirring frequently, melt the butter and chocolate chips.
4. Remove the pan from the heat. Add the sugar, Irish cream, and vanilla and mix until well combined. Stir in the egg just until incorporated. Do not over mix.
5. Fold in the flour mixture just until no more streaks of flour remain. It will be very thick.
6. Scoop the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 15-17 minutes or until the top no longer appears wet. A toothpick inserted into the sides will come out with some moist crumbs on it, but not wet batter (the brownies continue to bake as they sit in the pan).
7. Once the brownies have cooled, prepare the ganache.
8. Place the chocolate chips and Irish cream in a small bowl.
9. In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, warm the cream just until steamy and on the verge of simmering. Remove from the heat.
10. Pour the cream over the chocolate chips and Irish cream and stir until all the chocolate chips are completely melted. Let cool for about 15 minutes before pouring over the brownies.
11. Cover and store at room temperature for 2 days or refrigerate for up to 4 days.