Recipe: Sparks Family Eggnog
Several generations of Sparks ladies— who lived into their 90s— never refused a glass of this celebratory ‘nog.
This is half of the original recipe but still makes a nice sized batch for a small crowd of 10-12 people, with leftovers. The most important step is to let the eggnog mellow in the fridge overnight — there’s quite a bit of booze in here and it will taste a little too raw if not aged. You don’t need top shelf liquor for this either, just the basic brands will do nicely.
The second most important thing is to source really good local pastured eggs, cream and milk. The extra sourcing effort will really show up in the depth of flavor. And despite the rather high calorie and cholesterol load in this beverage, there have been several generations of Sparks ladies who lived into their 90s and never refused a glass of this celebratory ‘nog over the holidays!
Here's a step-by-step demonstration of this recipe from my YouTube channel:
Sparks Family Eggnog
Adapted from Sparks in the Kitchen, Katy Sparks and Andrea Strong, Alfred A. Knopf, 2006
9 eggs, separated, from pastured chickens
¾ pound of sugar (I use turbinado sugar but regular granulated is great too)
1 pint bourbon
1 cup rum
1 cup brandy
1 pint heavy cream from pastured cows
1 quart whole milk from pastured cows
Whole nutmeg for grating
Whisk the yolks and sugar together for about 5 minutes with an electric beater. Slowly drizzle in the combined booze while running the mixer. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Stir in the cream and the milk and scrape down the sides to make sure all the egg and sugar are incorporated.
In a very clean bowl, whip the whites to soft peak. Fold into the egg yolk base. Cover the bowl and let age at least overnight in the fridge before serving but the eggnog will continue to improve in flavor up to 3 days.
Grate fresh nutmeg over the eggnog just before serving.
