Coquito - Ponche De Navidad
Coquito is to us, what Eggnog is to other cultures. It is a punch that is made with fresh coconut milk and rum for those of you that don't care for alcohol don't despair, just leave the rum out . You can be sure that there are very few Puerto Rican households that do not have a bottle or two in the refrigerator during the Christmas season. Although I have tasted some made from the processed coconut milk in a can. Believe me it is like comparing night and day, so if you can spare the time and effort use the fresh coconut milk you won't be disappointed.
Ingredients
a- Eight large coconuts.
b- Six egg yolks.
c- Two cans of condensed milk.
d- Half a gallon of white rum.
A - Drill or punch a small hole into the bottom of each coconut. (Do this one at a time) Allow the coconut water to drain into a large bowl and set a side.
B - With a hammer, gently tap the shell until it cracks. Do this to all the coconuts.
C - Place the coconuts on a roasting pan and put into an oven that has been pre heated to 350 degrees. Leave in oven for approximately 15 minutes.
D - Once you have removed the coconuts from the oven, use a pair of pot holder mittens to hold and hit the shells with a hammer once again until it breaks completely into pieces. This would be a good time to have someone else helping you. With a small paring knife you should be able to remove the coconut meat from the shell without to much trouble. That was the reason I had you place the coconuts in the oven.
E - Peel off the brown skin remember you want only the white coconut meat. Once you have finished peeling all of the coconut rinse under cold water, pat dry and set aside.
F - Now comes the fun part. If you are using a blender set it to grate add a few pieces of coconut at a time and run the machine once you see that you have a shredded texture remove from the blender and place in a large clean bowl or pot. Continue until you have grated all of the coconut.
If you are using a food processor try using the grating disk, if not then use the metal blade. And continue as explained above.
For those of you that are lucky enough to have a juicer your almost finished. Place a few pieces of coconut in the machine at a time and just catch the milk as it flows.
F - For the blender and food processor group, place about a hand full of shredded coconut in a piece of clean linen or cheese cloth and squeeze out the milk into a clean bowl or large pot. Once you have done this put the shredded coconut you have just squeezed in a separate bowl, and continue this process until you have used all of the coconut.
G - If you were lucky enough to get the most milk out of your coconuts you should have about 6 cups of milk, if not don't worry we will fix that right now.
Do you remember the coconut water you saved, the first thing I want you to do is taste it if it is sweet to the taste we will use it if not, we'll go to plan "B".
Check to see how much liquid you need to make up the 6 cups needed for the recipe.
If the coconut water is good pour it into bowl that has the shredded coconut you used and mix it well. Now place it back into the cloth and squeeze it for all it's worth this should make up the difference. If you find that the coconut water is to bitter to use, boil a little more water than you need to make up the difference. Allow to cool a little, but while still hot pour over the shredded coconut and follow the same procedure as above.
H - Place egg yolks in a blender and blend at medium speed. Now add the condensed milk and blend at high speed. If there isn't enough room in the blender blend the mixture in two separate stages.
I - Place the coconut milk along with the egg mixture in a large bowl and with a whisk or electric hand mixer beat until you have a nice creamy mixture .
J - For those of you that prefer not to add alcohol, you can taste the mixture for sweetness and if you feel it needs a little more you can add sugar to taste. I have found that the sweetness from the condensed milk is usually enough. Pour mixture into clean glass bottles that have sterilized in a pot of boiling water and allowed to cool and refrigerate. Allow to reach room temperature before serving, and make sure to shake well.
K - At this point you can add the rum a little at a time while you continue beating with the mixer. Now is the time to taste the mixture for its alcoholic strength if you feel that it needs more, keep adding until you feel that it is strong enough. When you have completed mixing the coquito follow the bottling steps in section "J".
I hope that you enjoy this recipe and that you have enough left over to toast in the New Year. Oh I almost forgot to tell you, this drink will sneak up on you so don't get carried away with the taste.
If you don't have the time to prepare our traditional Coquito try this recipe. It will take less work and time. I think you'll be happy with the final result.
4 Egg yokes
1 Cup of white
granulated sugar.
12 oz. can of
evaporated milk.
1 1/2 teaspoons
of vanilla extract.
1 cup of white
rum.
1- Place egg yolks
in a pot large enough to hold the above ingredients. Add sugar Blend until
smooth and creamy.
2- Slowly add
milk and continue mixing. Once you have added the entire can of milk place a
metal wire Whisk over the burner of your stove and allow to get red hot and
remove.
3- Place the
pot on the burner over medium heat and use the hot whisk to continue mixing.
Whisk the mixture until it is nice and foamy, be careful not to let it come to
a boil. This should take from 2 to 3 minutes.
4- Remove from
heat and add the rum and vanilla extract.
5- Allow to
cool to room temperature and then pour into a glass bottle and place in the
refrigerator.
6- Serve cold
in small glasses.
As I said at the beginning of this recipe this is a quick way to prepare a nice Christmas Punch, and I'm sure that your guests will enjoy it.
Merry Christmas And A Happy New Year
Johnny El Hijo De Flora