Arancello

Alex's Arancello

The Limoncello recipe was just too good to not try with oranges. The process is the same, the cost is still about $15 for a liter end result and the taste is out of this damn world!

Ingredients
3 large organic oranges (navel, blood, whatever you want!)
750 ml grain (151 proof) alcohol
1 cu sugar
1 cu water

Procedure
Using the peeler, strip only the orange zest from the fruit as best you can, you will undoubtedly need to go back with a paring knife and remove the pith (white) later on - don't worry it happens. The pictures below demonstrate the process; the image on the right shows two strips, the one with less white is what we're looking for - the less, the better! If you're smart, you'll just upgrade to a solid microplane and zest this all the easy way.

Add small strips of the zest to a 1+ liter container and let it sit in a cool dark place for 30 days or more.

Once the color is essentially (get it essentials!) gone from the zest, strain the liquid with a layer or two of cheese cloth into a 1 liter, resealable bottle. While this drains, boil 1 cu water and 1 cu sugar until the sugar is completely in solution and let cool to room temperature. Add the sugar water (simple syrup) to the bottle, shake and throw the whole thing in the freezer. Enjoy tomorrow and remember, this is still right about 100 proof and is delicious, be wise how you drink it and save it for special occasions as an after dinner shot.