Polish Krupnik Recipes

KRUPNIK, A POLISH HONEY LIQUEUR

Steps:

• Pour honey into a saucepan
• Add cloves, cinnamon, lemon zest, vanilla, and allspice
• Warm (enough to thin, but keeping under a boil) and steep for 10 minutes
• Add vodka
• Remove from heat and let steep for a couple of hours
• Pour through strainer
• Pour into bottles
• Seal bottles
• Serve warm, at room temp, or chilled

TRADITIONAL KRUPNIK: POLISH BARLEY SOUP WITH POTATOES AND PORK RIB

Steps:

• Wash the ribs and place them into a large (5 US qt / 5 litre or larger) cooking pot, together with chicken wings, bay leaves and allspice.
• Peel carrot and parsley root and chop them into large pieces. Pour about 4 liters (around 1 gallon) of cold water.
• Cook for about an hour, skimming scum from the surface.
• Next, remove the vegetables, cool them down and cut into smaller pieces. Continue cooking the ribs until they're tender.
• Peel and cut the onion in half, char it on a dry frying pan and add to the rib stock.
• When the ribs are soft & tender, pull them out of the broth and separate the meat from the bones. Tear the meat into smaller pieces.
• Peel & dice potatoes. Add barley and potatoes into the soup. Cook for about 30 minutes.
• Finally, add meat and vegetables. Season the soup with salt and pepper.
• Serve with chopped parsley.

POLISH HONEY-SPICED VODKA (KRUPNIK)

Steps:

• You can serve the krupnik hot immediately after making it. Or you can allow it to cool and serve it cold.

KRUPNIK

Steps:

• Add the chicken thighs and water to a large pot and bring to a boil. Simmer for 3o minutes while preparing the mushrooms and dicing the vegetables. Skim off any foam.
• Add the dried mushrooms to a small bowl or glass, add enough boiling water to cover. You might need to place another bowl or glass on top of the mushrooms to keep them immersed in the water.
• After 30 minutes, remove the mushrooms from the water; dice and add to the soup. Decant the mushroom water, adding it to the soup, but leave any sediment that has collected at the bottom in the bowl or glass. Add the onion, garlic, carrots, parsnip, celery, bay leaves, allspice, peppercorns, and 1 teaspoon salt. Simmer for an hour.
• Add the potato and barley. Simmer until they are tender, 20 - 30 minutes. Carefully, remove the chicken thighs, shred the meat and return to the soup (or use as dog treats). Taste and add salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with snipped parsley and dill.

KRUPNIK (POLISH MUSHROOM BARLEY SOUP)

Steps:

• Soak the cepes in a little water for 15 minutes, until they soften.
• Chop all the vegetables finely in 2 batches in the food processor and put them in a pan with the barley and all the water (including the mushroom-soaking water).
• Chop the softened mushrooms in the food processor, and add them to the pot.
• Bring to the boil, remove the scum, season with plenty of salt and pepper, and simmer for 1 hour, or until the barley is very soft and plump.
• The barley will thicken the soup.
• Add water if necessary, to thin it.
• Serve with sour cream, especially if the soup was made with water instead of broth.

LITHUANIAN KRUPNIKAS

Steps:

• Crack the cardamom seeds and nutmeg with a heavy skillet on a cutting board. Toss them into a saucepan with the caraway seed, cloves, allspice berries, cinnamon sticks, peppercorns, saffron, ginger, turmeric, orange zest and lemon zest. Pour in the water, and bring to a boil. Cover, and simmer until the liquid is reduced by 1/2. Strain out spices, and set the liquid aside.
• Pour honey into a large pot, and bring to a boil over medium heat. Skim off any foam from the top. Stir in the strained liquid from the spices and vanilla extract. Remove from heat and place far from the stove to avoid any flare-ups from the grain alcohol. Slowly stir in the grain alcohol. Place the pot back onto the burner over low heat and cover. Heat through, being careful not to boil or even simmer. Remove from heat and let stand overnight with the lid on.
• The following day, pour the liquid into sterile bottles, seal, and allow to settle for 2 weeks. The longer you let it sit, the clearer it will become and the better it tastes. Serve warm.

POLISH KRUPNIK - OLD FASHIONED HONEY AND SPICE LIQUEUR

Steps:

• Place vanilla bean, cloves, cinnamon, allspice, peppercorns, and nutmeg into cheesecloth and tie with string (like a big tea bag).
• In a saucepan, combine 3 cups of water with the spice bag and whole, unpeeled clementines and bring to a boil. Reduce mixture to a simmer and simmer for 30 minutes. Then set aside.
• In a second saucepan, combine 3 cups of water with the honey and brown sugar and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve honey and brown sugar. Reduce heat to medium, and continue to cook over the stove. As the mixture cooks, foam will form on the surface, and must be removed. The best way to do this is to use a large metal spoon to gather the foam to one side of the pot, allow it to accumulate and thicken, then skim off with the spoon. As the mixture cooks, it will thicken and continue to produce foam. Continue to remove foam as above, for about 5-10 minutes, until it stops foaming.
• In a large stockpot, combine grain alcohol and both mixtures. Place tight-fitting lid on stockpot, and allow to sit undisturbed overnight.
• The next day, remove the clementines and spice bag, and pour the mixture evenly into two 64 oz containers with lids (64 oz glass growlers work well, but so do 64 oz rubbermaid pitchers).
• The mixture should nearly fill each container. Add 1/2 oz of orange extract to each container. Then add just enough bottled water to each container to get a total of 64 oz of liquid in each container. Cover tightly.
• Allow mixture to sit in a cool, dark place for 6 weeks. During this time, the flavors blend and the krupnik becomes very smooth.
• After 6 weeks have passed, your krupnik is complete and ready to move to bottles or mason jars for storage and use. You will notice that there is sediment in the bottom of the containers. Use care when moving the containers, so as not to disturb the sediment.
• Use the siphoning technique discussed on http://homebrewmanual.com/how-to-siphon-beer-into-bottles/ to get a clear product into your final storage containers. It is worth the effort!