Wassail

  • Level: Intermediate
  • Yield: approximately 3 quarts
  • Total: 1 hr
  • Prep: 1 hr
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Ingredients

6 small Fuji apples, cored

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup water

72 ounces ale

750 ml Madeira

10 whole cloves

10 whole allspice berries

1 cinnamon stick, 2-inches long

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

6 large eggs, separated

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. Put the apples into an 8 by 8-inch glass baking dish. Spoon the brown sugar into the center of each apple, dividing the sugar evenly among them. Pour the water into the bottom of the dish and bake until tender, about 45 minutes.
  3. Pour the ale and Madeira into a large slow cooker. Put the cloves, allspice, and cinnamon into a small muslin bag or cheesecloth, tied with kitchen twine, and add to the slow cooker along with the ginger and nutmeg. Set the slow cooker to medium heat and bring the mixture to at least 120 degrees F. Do not boil.
  4. Add the egg whites to a medium bowl and using a hand mixer, beat until stiff peaks form. Put the egg yolks into a separate bowl and beat until lightened in color and frothy, approximately 2 minutes. Add the egg whites to the yolks and using the hand mixer, beat, just until combined. Slowly add 4 to 6 ounces of the alcohol mixture from the slow cooker to the egg mixture, beating with the hand mixer on low speed. Return this mixture to the slow cooker and whisk to combine.
  5. Add the apples and the liquid from the baking dish to the wassail and stir to combine. Ladle into cups and serve.

Let's Get Cooking!

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Anonymous

We attended AB's holiday variant show, and this was one of the culinary regrets he talks about. Intrigued, we checked out reviews here and were surprised to see that is has as many stars and good reviews as it does for something that the man himself says he regrets. So we gave it a go, easily cutting the recipe in half since we weren't exactly hosting a party, and we were quite surprised at how good it was! Alton, you did a good job! It does seem kind of weird, and if you taste it before it's all put together, you will probably be disappointed, so be patient. I was afraid of things curdling or getting too hot in the slow cooker (and we used it for dinner that night, so it was indisposed anyway), so I just did it on the stovetop, and it worked out fine using very low heat. The spices don't seem to be in there very long, so maybe if you're able to let them sit for longer, do it. The taste from them is not strong. As another reviewer said, it's helpful to watch the episode (or clip of him making it--it's on this site) before making it. The egg whites look kinda like pond scum when you mix them in, but it tastes great. I suppose it would still taste basically the same if you leave out the whites, but don't leave the yolks out. We will definitely be making this again.

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