Best Brown Butter Pecan Bourbon Ice Cream Recipes

BUTTER PECAN ICE CREAM

Steps:

• In a small skillet over medium heat, cook pecans in butter until lightly browned and fragrant, stirring constantly, about 3 to 5 minutes. Set aside.
• Whisk eggs in a mixing bowl; set aside. Combine brown sugar and half and half in a saucepan and mix well. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat; remove from heat. Gradually pour hot mixture into the eggs, whisking constantly. Return custard to saucepan and cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture coats the back of a spoon (see Editor's Note). Remove from heat and stir in cream, vanilla, and pecans.
• Pour into ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturers' directions.

CONTEST-WINNING BUTTER PECAN ICE CREAM

Steps:

• In a small skillet, toast pecans in butter for 5-6 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool., In a heavy saucepan, heat half-and-half to 175°; stir in the brown sugar until dissolved. Whisk a small amount of hot cream mixture into the eggs; return all to the pan, whisking constantly. Cook and stir over low heat until mixture reaches at least 160° and coats the back of a metal spoon., Remove from the heat. Cool quickly by placing pan in a bowl of ice water; stir for 2 minutes. Stir in whipping cream and vanilla. Press plastic wrap onto the surface of custard. Refrigerate for several hours or overnight. Stir in toasted pecans., Fill cylinder of ice cream freezer; freeze according to the manufacturer's directions. Allow to ripen in ice cream freezer or firm up in the refrigerator freezer for 2-4 hours before serving.

BUTTER PECAN ICE CREAM

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Toast pecans in a shallow baking pan in middle of oven until fragrant and a shade darker, 7 to 8 minutes. Add butter and salt to hot pecans and toss until butter is melted, then cool pecans completely (they will absorb butter).
• Whisk together brown sugar and cornstarch, then add eggs, whisking until combined. Bring milk and cream just to a boil in a 3- to 4-quart heavy saucepan over moderately high heat, then add to egg mixture in a stream, whisking constantly, and transfer custard to saucepan.
• Cook custard over moderately low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until thick enough to coat back of spoon and registers 170 to 175°F on an instant-read thermometer, 2 to 3 minutes (do not let boil).
• Immediately pour custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl and stir in vanilla, then cool, stirring occasionally. Chill custard, its surface covered with wax paper, until cold, at least 3 hours.
• Freeze custard in ice cream maker until almost firm. Stir together ice cream and pecans in a bowl, then transfer to an airtight container and put in freezer to harden.

BOURBON BUTTERSCOTCH ICE CREAM

Steps:

• Prepare the bourbon butterscotch. Place the butter in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Cook until the butter melts, sizzles, and begins to take on a brown, nutty color. When it's richly browned but not burnt, add the cream, brown sugar, bourbon, and salt. Cook the sauce, stirring occasionally to help dissolve the sugar, over medium-high heat until it comes to a boil. Transfer the sauce to a bowl and put it in the refrigerator to cool below 100°F, or body temperature.
• Prepare an ice bath. Fill a large bowl two-thirds of the way with very icy ice water and place it in the refrigerator. Boil the milk and glucose. Put the milk and glucose in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan, and place it over medium high heat. Cook, whisking occasionally to discourage the milk from scorching, until the mixture comes to a full rolling boil, then remove the pot from heat.
• Temper the yolks and cook the custard. In a medium bowl, whisk the yolks. Add ½ cup of the hot dairy mixture to the yolks while whisking so the hot milk doesn't scramble the yolks. Pour the tempered yolks back into the pot of hot milk while whisking. Place the pot over medium-low heat and cook, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pot constantly with a rubber spatula to avoid curdling.
• Chill. When you notice the custard thickening, or the temperature reaches 180°F on a kitchen thermometer, immediately pour the custard into a shallow metal or glass bowl. Nest the hot bowl into the ice bath, stirring occasionally until it cools down.
• Mix the butterscotch into the custard and strain. When the custard is cool to the touch (50°F or below), remove the bowl from the ice bath and add the chilled butterscotch sauce, whisking until evenly combined. Strain it through a fine-mesh sieve to remove any bits of egg yolk. (Straining is optional, but will help ensure the smoothest ice cream possible.)
• Cure. Transfer the cooled base to the refrigerator to cure for 4 hours, or preferably overnight. (This step is also optional, but the texture will be much improved with it.)
• Churn. Place the custard base into the bowl of an ice cream maker and churn according to the manufacturer's instructions. The ice cream is ready when it thickens into the texture of soft-serve ice cream and holds its shape, typically 20 to 30 minutes.
• Harden. To freeze your custard ice cream in the American hard-pack style, immediately transfer it to a container with an airtight lid. Press plastic wrap directly on the surface of the ice cream to prevent ice crystals from forming, cover, and store it in your freezer until it hardens completely, between 4 and 12 hours. Or, feel free to enjoy your ice cream immediately; the texture will be similar to soft-serve.