Thai Terror

[blanikdog]

Thanks punkin. I'll buy some. I planted an 'Australian Lime' some time back but the fruit seems to be Meyer lemons and not much good for anybloodything.

blanik

[chefdaniel]

My kinda folks here. Had a helluva crop on the farm this year, so made a few gallons of Peach~Corn squeeze with a wee bit o' molasses and honey in the wash and big fist full of crushed six row...just shy of 70% after blending the cuts from second run. Have two Kafir lime trees, so I used the zest and juice from 4 of them, along with 4 of the leaves. Great chili crop too...Habaneros, Fatali, Thai Dragon, Tabasco and a few others. Used a dried chipotle, a Red Savina Habanero, lemongrass and galangal (aka 'Blue Ginger') and a sprig each of mint and royal basil from the garden. Let it sit in a half gallon mason jar until I remembered it. About a month. Added a pinch of sugar and some glycerine, strained, into the freezer. Didn't come close to green...more of a blush wine color.

Those little yellow limes sound like key limes.

Great recipe...sorry I took creative license with it.

[punkin]

Great recipe...sorry I took creative license with it.

That's what you're spossed to do with recipes.

You're a chef, i'm a cook, we know how this shit works. Usually only follow a recipe the first time you make something and most times not even then. Just a rough list of ingredients or a theme and a method in mind.

This hobby is even more inclined to interpretation, i think the only people you find refering to grain bills and trying to work out how JD or somesuch make theirs are those who are just begginning.


Glad i gave you some inspiration, anyway.


I woulda thought Holly Basil and coriander would be the natural herb choices, along with the mint.

[The Tippler]

I have had some great new tastes from you chaps here. I have a Tahiti lime here, then I read of using the leaves . Picked a couple and they would be very nice as a spice for a vodka.....Not bitter at all!!.Another thing I have learned here!!!. Punkin the lemonade in my fruit trees is the most productive tree I have. I just enjoy fresh squeezed lemonade and ice and when this concentrator (still) hits the heater I am going to use those tastes. I feel like a sponge ......Cheers....Tippler.

[chefdaniel]

Punkin-

Couldn't agree more re: recipes. Can't stand the damn things myself. Instinct and experience are the best tools...a good sniffer and palate come in handy too. It's been colder than a well digger's elbow here in Tennessee, so the Thai Terror straight out of the freezer is a real treat. Fire & Ice! Your idea gave me inspiration for another maceration based on my pure corn likker (almost pure, there's a bit o' malt in there, but no sugar). I'm going to call it 'SPF 5000'.

SPF stands for "Sphincter Pucker Factor".

[punkin]

Punkin the lemonade in my fruit trees is the most productive tree I have. I just enjoy fresh squeezed lemonade and ice and when this concentrator (still) hits the heater I am going to use those tastes. I feel like a sponge ......Cheers....Tippler.

I've used th lemonade fruit in quite a # of ways.

We always have some preserved in the fridge, i use the peels in soups, on salsds, in curries and pies...brings a beautifull freshness and sweet zing to cooking and salads. I have used the fruit in my Lime Vodka wash and it comes up a damn treat. As a potstilled vodka it'd be one of my most requested drinks at BBQ's here.

You can substitute the Lemonade fruits for the Limes in the Thai Terror, just pick em when they're smaller and the skins are still green but the fruit is still juicy.

One of the best trees i have access to, seems to only be a month or two from when the last fruit is picked till the new fruit is ready to start using early, and such a heavy cropper.





Be a little careful there Daniel, i broke a bloke one FridayNightGames round here, not telling him too much about the Thai Terror till it was on it's way down his esophagus.

He went all funny coulored and soft and wobbly, then went in and sat with the girls for a while before asking his wife to take him home (i think he might have been crying). Never seen that before from 3 beers and one shot.

Haven't seen him since, and that was about eight months ago???

Although he is due back for xmas drinks this fri night.

[chefdaniel]

Punkin-

'tis fun to watch the 'panty-mouth' types do a shot of this wonderful concoction. This Friday's cocktails should include some cream liqueurs or something pink and frothy for your friend. Don't forget the pastel colored little umbrellas. Maybe he should stick to white wine...properly chilled, of course. That way there's more Thai Terror for the rest of the crew.

My drinking team hereabouts are getting used to my shenanigans, and approach my squeeze, and a few of my curries, with extreme caution. Like little girls dipping a toe in the water to make sure it's not too chilly. I usually have 911 on speed dial and the ambulance parked out front when we get ready to Thai One On. I should probably have a cardiologist around just in case.

--heading out for some corriander roots to add to my diminishing supply of Thai Terror--

cheers

[chefdaniel]

Punkin-Tippler-All...

I'm going to preserve some Kafir limes and leaves in salt...like they do with lemons in the middle-east. Will let you know how they turn out in a few months. Will probably try in some pot stilled 'tater juice after I rinse the excess salt off 'em.

Oz is in the eighties and sunny. Tennessee is under an ice storm warning. Life's a flat bitch and then you get to die.

[punkin]

Punkin-Tippler-All...

I'm going to preserve some Kafir limes and leaves in salt...like they do with lemons in the middle-east. Will let you know how they turn out in a few months. Will probably try in some pot stilled 'tater juice after I rinse the excess salt off 'em.

Oz is in the eighties and sunny. Tennessee is under an ice storm warning. Life's a flat bitch and then you get to die.

We preserve limes and lemonades every year. the best way we found to do em is to just cut em into quarters, they fit into the jar better and are not somuch a pain as the four slits method.

Pack em into glass jars with a generous coat of salt with each layer. When the jar is fullish add juice untill the limes are covered.
Seal the jar and leave in a warm spot (kitchen bench) for a month to six weeks, topping up the juice as they settle. If they become exposed they'll mold. Then store in the fridge for as long as you want, they should be left for at least another month before use, but they are still good after a few years as long as they remain submerged.

We fillet the flesh away as we use em and just use the skins, don't wash em, they're fine as is, although i believe the tagine method uses the fruit as well, it can be pretty salty and doesn't add to the flavour (except for bulk i spose).

[eternalfrost]

i would say some terror chasers would go good with a good cajun battered herring

[violentblue]

Be a little careful there Daniel, i broke a bloke one FridayNightGames round here, not telling him too much about the Thai Terror till it was on it's way down his esophagus.

He went all funny coulored and soft and wobbly, then went in and sat with the girls for a while before asking his wife to take him home (i think he might have been crying). Never seen that before from 3 beers and one shot.

Haven't seen him since, and that was about eight months ago???

Although he is due back for xmas drinks this fri night.

Question is, Did he ever come back?

I'm going to put a batch of this on sometime soon (gotta get a little neutral first)

[punkin]

Nah, some excuse about a sick baby

[maoule]

Punkin,
Could you re-write this recipe with all the latest additions and revisions? Also... I'm trying to come up w/something along this line to use up some of my neutral; any ideas? Happy New Year!!!!

[punkin]

I haven't made any new stock this year yet mate, the limes are still small on the tree.

Chefdaniel has been twiddling it on Artisan , i'll ask him his twists and get back to you.

[junkyard dawg]

I tried dried chili pequin along with a couple of dried thai chilis. I'm still waiting to get over to little thailand and get some fresh lime leaves from Dick... Little Thailand is a Thai restaurant with a greenhouse behind it. They grow lots of ingredients there, one being a thai lime. Some family brought seeds over and he's managed to propagate it here and even sells them when he can. The smell and taste is so good... I think it will be a winner...

and uh, just for the record, a touch of fish sauce in this... not so good...

[eternalfrost]

so ive tried this recently and its still not coming out how i imagined.
the first times i tried i macerated the entire lime husk and it gave a horrible bitter taste because of the pith.
this last time i tried 'filleting' just the green part away from the white which i was only realy half succesful at but it really cut out that bitter taste.
but i still cant get that beautiful green color ive seen is some peoples pictures. its more like a orangy piss color. a mix between the habanero color and the light yellow of the juice...it is drinkable but i cant help feel its not hitting its potential...

i have 750 ml of 80%
juice of 4 limes
a few thai chilies
1tbs fresh grated ginger root
let sit 24 hours and strain

suggestions?

[punkin]

How much lime peel are ya putting in?

It's the peel that imparts the colour. If the peel is young and fresh and vibrant green you'll get the colour. As you say, alll the pith must be excluded.

In the end it's just one of those flavours you love or don't. There's a few here and on pints board who love it regular all the time sometimes and i've seen grown men go all quiet and wanna go home.

maybe you're just the wanna go home type?






That'sWhyIt'sTheTerrorPunkin

[eternalfrost]

i very much like where the flavor is heading but it surely isnt there yet...
the lime flavor just isnt coming through, and judging by the huge color difference something just isnt working right...

im adding all of the skins from the 4 limes i juiced. squashing them flat against the table with my palm then slicing under sideways with a knife. there is just the tiniest layer of see-through white left. I might try using a zester next time...
admittedly the limes arent the greatest, i live up north so in winter they are only like 95% solid green with some yellower spots.

how long do you leave your peels in? it just really has me buggered because the drink isnt green at ALL and the peels dont loose thier color either...

[punkin]

The maceration should be all over in a day or two certainly in a week. Must be the limes, i dunno.

[junkyard dawg]

a potato peeler is the tool for removing the green zest.

[eternalfrost]

a potato peeler is the tool for removing the green zest.

well i went out and got an actual 'zester' its sort of like a very fine cheese grater. worked wonders. zested them whole before squeezing them. dosent come up with alot of mass but its very potant!

this time finalllyyy got some nice results heres what i did differently then before:

used about 7 limes instead of 4
used the zester instead of a knife (no pith)
used fresh ground ginger root instead of the pink pickled sushi ginger
used less ginger
roasted the habanero instead of using a fresh one
shorter maceration, 24 hours
base liquor of 50/50 95% and water (ended up at about 35-40% after all the juice)

to roast it i halved them and coated them up with a splash of olive oil, some brown sugar, garlic powder, salt and if you like a dab of smoke sauce. baked in the oven at 250 for about an hour till the sugar starts to carmalize.

came out a nice green color finally. sushi ginger is often colored with beet juice so im betting thats what gave the nasty color before. finally getting the balance of flavors right. definitely had WAY too much ginger before. and the roasted habanero makes a huge difference. gave a nice smokey, carmely hint to the instead of just raw burning.
got a nice sweet, roasted, gingery, then the lime bitterness followed by the habanero glow. much much better then the bleach-in-your-eyes effect of my first attempts

its a bit of a tricky and exotic recipe but it has got my vote for the tried and true section

does this recipe do well with aging? most things do but i think im going to have to make one big old batch if theres ever going to be any left to age

[punkin]

its a bit of a tricky and exotic recipe but it has got my vote for the tried and true section

does this recipe do well with aging? most things do but i think im going to have to make one big old batch if theres ever going to be any left to age

Thank you AE.

Yes i think it does improve with age. i have an old handblown perfume bottle that i've cleaned out well and have filled with Terror siting on the bar. it's gotta be a year old by now and is often tilted for a shot or two by a couplea mates who are too fond of it.

I probably did use smoked habernero's, as i'm always chucking a few in with my jerky when the smokers going.

I'm glad you perservered and got it worked out to your liking. It's well worth having on hand, if only cause it's so different to everything else.

[XXXX]

This sounds like a goer, will have to try it out next time I run off some neutrals.

[Centimeter]

Tried it and loved it. Definitely something you either love or hate but I hereby vote this into tried and true.

Here’s what I did:

3 Habanero Peppers
5 Medium Sized Limes (Juice and Essence)
1Tbsp fresh grated ginger
1 Lemon Grass Stock smashed with the back of a knife

Macerated in 800ml 65% abv neutral alcohol for 3 hours and 30 minutes then filtered.

I kept it as is. No watering down or mixing with second soak. Very interesting shot with a hell of a lot of character to it. I like having something pickled as a chaser. It really mixes well with the drink. I’m thinking of tinkering with adding some pickled pepper juice to the concoction. I’ll let you guys know how it goes. I also, think this would go well in a bloody mary.

Thanks Punkin for the recipe. Good stuff.

[punkin]

You are very welcome.

[Centimeter]

So pickled pepper juice and Thai Terror is not exactly a good combo. I still stand by complementing a shot with a really spicy pickled pepper though.

This stuff is dangerous. So far I've started three nights out with some thai terror shots and every single time I end up getting completely clocked. Thai Terror + Kahlua + Gallons of Neutral = Sloshed.

[SuperDavid]

Tried and True! congratulations!
I'll give this one a shot once I've got my column up and running!

[kiwistiller]

This stuff is amazing. I made two bottles, and tried adding citric acid to one (just a pinch or two) in the thought that it would preserve the colour better, but I think I enjoy the acid flavour more. I love shots with a bit of bite

just thought I'd mention it...

[Centimeter]

Thai Terror + Club Soda = Centimeter's new favorite drink

I'm making mine so hot now that it's giving me hickups in shot form so I've been mixing it with club soda. Absolutely awesome! A dash of fresh lemon juice really sets it up just right.

[Djurmz]

This recipe is on my to do list. When I saw the club soda, I was wondering if anyone has tried it with tonic water. Anyone? just a thought....