Blood-Orange-Cello (Sous-Vide)

I've wanted to make Blood-Orange Cello for months now, but since they were not in season, I was forced to wait. What did I say? Yes, I had to wait, which is somewhat of a forgotten concept in our postmodern culture. The modernism of impatience and instant gratification and the need to experience fulfillment without delay have become foreign concepts. I've grown accustomed to instant gratification, and this delay made me ponder our societal choices. Why is this important? I think delayed gratification can be a powerful mechanism for forward-thinking. Ok, enough with my inner perceptions and on with the recipe or modus. 

Again my favorite ethanol to use is Everclear because it's a neutral spirit and its high ABV (95%). Starting with a very high ABV allows you more flexibility when dialing in the desired ABV after dilution. And because it's 190-Proof (95% ABV), you get more bang for your buck.

I find that shooting for an ABV (Alcohol by Volume) of 40%/80-proof is best for cocktails. The benefit of using Everclear is the ability to have more flexibility when calculating ABV. The high ABV lets you add all kinds of stuff without reducing the alcohol percentage. Don't forget whatever you add to the infusion dilutes the ABV. If you use, let's say, 100-Proof Vodka, your wiggle room is diminished, and you end up with an ABV of something like 25%.

If you are not into Geeky-Stuff- Geeky Math Calculations HERE.

Recipe

2-bottle of 750ml 190-Proof Everclear

14- Blood-Oranges. Zest and Juice only (See note below)

Estimated 500-600 grams of Sugar

Distilled Water

Nut-bag 

LINK TO OTHER INFUSIONS

Use your favorite Veggie peeler and remove Zest and try to avoid getting the pith. Cut oranges in half to reveal the inside of the gorgeous Blood-Orange.

Drape Nut-Bag over a huge container. I used a Citrus squeezer to extract the juice. In my past infusions, all I needed was 10-12 oranges to yield 1 liter, but even with 14 Blood Oranges, it fell a little short. I always shoot for 1-1.2 liters (if not a little more) of juice for every two bottles of Everclear. Having more juice means using less distilled water and less sugar. Note: Next time, I will purchase at least 20-Blood Oranges.

Note: I ran the juice through the Nut-Bag twice. Yes, you will need to manhandle the bag a little to extract all the juice. 

Some Geeky stuff and recipe development. I knew the total weight could not exceed 3562.5 grams and keep 80-Proof.

3562.5 (Everything combined) -1500 (Everclear = 2062.5 (Water, Juice, and Sugar). 

I dumped in the Everclear (1500 grams) + the Juice and 400 grams of sugar into a huge container.  I stirred vigorously and noted the weight, knowing that I can not exceed 3562.5 grams. I started adding Distilled water and more sugar until I liked the taste, and it reached 3563 (coming within a 1/2 gram is amazing considering that a 1/2 gram is 0.017637 oz). All done. This method is what I use for recipe development. In the end, I added 600 grams of sugar. The amount of sugar can change based on your preferences and the sweetness of oranges. Again I want to emphasize that I should have used 20 Blood Oranges instead of 14. 

If using the displacement method, make sure the Vac Bag is very long so you can drape the end over the SV-Container. If the bag floats a bit, you can use a trivet or something to weigh down. If you have a chamber vac that can accommodate huge bags that I would suggest using that. 

To the bag, add the zest and the mixture and process at 140f for 6-hours. Strain out the zest and again use the Nut-bag to strain out any particulates you might have missed earlier. 

BOTTLE IT ALL UP AND WHEN COOLED PLACE IN FREEZER. GIVE IT A SHAKE OR TWO BEFORE POURING. 

NOTE: I did not take into account the alcohol density. One bottle of Everclear is 750 ML., but in grams, it weighs 603 grams. The Proof is actually about 65 Proof.