5.30.2010

Salted Caramel Ice Cream and IPC Annual BBQ


Memorial Day weekend is the beginning of our summer fun at IPC. Our Sunday evening service is moved to Point Pleasant on Talahi Island (15 minutes from downtown) where breathtaking view of the marsh is visible where ever you sit during evening service.


Too often during service, my mind drifts as I see through the windows the beautiful marsh grass gently swaying in the cool afternoon breeze. After the evening service follows a fellowship meal. And our children inhale their food so they can run off with their friends to swim in the pool, swing on a gigantic rope swing, to explore the Coon Island, or catch fiddler crabs!


Each year, our Grill Meister Tim and his right arm, Alton make our summer kick-off meal very special indeed with their barbecue pork and ribs. I tell you that you will not find better barbecue anywhere in town. Tim truly knows his stuff when it comes to grilling.

His ribs were perfectly seasoned and grilled. Absolutely the best tasting ribs in Georgia, if not the whole country!


To add to this wonderful meal, several year ago, Tim's wife, Tricia started the yearly tradition of homemade ice cream for dessert. She recruits dozens of families to make their favorite flavored ice cream. It is so fun to see what families bring to impress their friends. And my family's flavor this year was Salted Caramel Ice Cream.


First, the caramel made with sugar and heavy cream.


Then custard is added to cooled caramel. 18 eggs was needed for 6 quarts. Absolutely the creamiest and most luxurious texture I have ever tasted, borderline sin of gluttony!



Salted Caramel Ice Cream
Makes 2 quarts

For Caramel:

2 cups sugar
2 1/2 cups heavy cream, divided
1 teaspoon flaky sea salt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For Custard:

2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups whole milk
6 large eggs

Equipment: an ice cream maker

Heat 2 cup sugar in a dry 5-quart cast iron dutch oven over medium heat, stirring with a fork to heat sugar evenly, until it starts to melt, then stop stirring and cook, swirling skillet occasionally so sugar melts evenly, until it is amber. Be careful, sugar can easily burn!

Add 2 1/2 cups of heavy cream (mixture will bubble violently!), but hold tight! Caramel will clump up as though you made a terrible mistake. Continue to cook until all of caramel dissolves. Take the pot off the heat carefully and stir in sea salt and vanilla. Cool to room temperature.

Meanwhile, bring 2 cups milk, 2 cups cream, and 1/2 cup sugar to a point of steaming in a heavy saucepan, stirring occasionally.

Lightly whisk eggs in a medium bowl, then in small increments add a ladle-ful of hot milk mixture in a slow stream, whisking constantly. Do this until egg mixture is somewhat warm. Pour back into saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until custard coats thinly on back of spoon and registers 170°F on an instant-read thermometer (do not let boil). Pour custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a large bowl, then stir in cooled caramel.

Chill custard, stirring occasionally, until very cold, 3 to 6 hours. Following your ice cream maker's instruction, freeze custard in ice cream maker (it will still be quite soft), then transfer to an airtight container and put in freezer to firm up.


Note: this ice cream is best when it is made the day before and has been completely firmed up in the freezer.

3 comments:

  1. Those ribs look awesome! I almost drooled when I stared at the photo. Haha! Did you use charcoal barbeque? For me, nothing beats the flavor that charcoal brings to pork. It's just so heavenly that it's sinful at the same time. My family and I also have an annual barbecue event at our house. We invite our relatives over to dine with us and eat the scrumptious grilled feast my husband is famous for. That's why every Christmas, he always gets bbq tools as a gift!

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  2. Roxanna, I used to grill on gas only for the sake of convenience but now I only grill on charcoal. Yep, no comparison on flavor. :)

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  3. WOW!!! I am definitely trying this ice cream!

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