Limoncello Adventures

So a couple of friends and I decided to make limoncello for Christmas gifts this year. The only problem with a gift like this is that you definitely can't wait until the last minute. We chose this past Saturday to start and we'll have nearly four months for the entire process, which is plenty of time. I made limoncello once before, maybe three years ago, and I was pretty pleased with how it turned out. There are only three steps in the process - the rest of the time is waiting, waiting, waiting. I'm only going to post the first step tonight, but if I feel inspired before two months elapses, I'll go ahead and post the full recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 gallon jar with a tight-fitting lid (preferably a screw-on lid)
• 20 ripe, bright yellow lemons
• 2 bottles (750 mL) decent vodka (you don't need to splurge and get Grey Goose, but don't be a cheap ass and get Popov or some equally hideous excuse for vodka)
• Vegetable peeler or paring knife.
  

The booze is where many recipes differ. The first time I did this, I used one bottle of vodka and one bottle of Everclear. Some recipes call for all Everclear. This time, I went with all vodka.

Step One:

Be sure to wash and dry your gallon jar. Even though the alcohol will probably kill anything in there, you want it to be clean. Pour the two bottles of vodka in the jar.

Then, painstakingly peel the skin from the lemons using a peeler or paring knife. Be sure you don't get much or any of the white pith. Too much in your liqueur and your final product can turn bitter (the picture below shows how the strips should look from the bottom). We learned as we went along last weekend that new peelers and most knives tend to cut too deep and you ended up spending more time scraping off the pith from the rind. If you have a dull peeler lying around, it'll probably work perfectly. I try to make long strips of the lemon peel because it will make it easier to fish out when straining the final product in Step Three.


This mixture will need to sit in a dark, cool place for two months. Mine is in a kitchen cabinet. DON'T put it in the refrigerator. As long as the lemon peels are fully submerged, the alcohol will keep them from going rancid. If you think about it, give the jar a shake every week or so, just to make sure all of the lemon peels are exposed. Now you're good to go.