Butter Pecan Ice Cream

It was time to make ice cream again, so I asked my significant other for a suggestion. She decided on this one - butter pecan. This was the first ice cream I have made with stir-ins (not that they were difficult, but...).

Start by getting together 7 oz brown sugar. Split roughly in half so that you have 2 batches.

Take 2 oz (1/2 stick) butter and melt it in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Continue to heat over medium heat until it turns golden brown (do not allow it to get dark brown!). Turn down the heat a little and stir in 1 batch of brown sugar. Next, add 2 cups of half-and-half, stirring to make sure the sugar is dissolved. Continue to heat, but keep an eye on it, and do not allow it to boil.

Meanwhile, whisk the other batch of brown sugar with 5 egg yolks in a medium bowl. Set up another medium-large bowl on ice, with a strainer sitting on top of it. Once the half-and-half mixture is close to a boil (you can see tiny bubbles forming around the edges of the pan), ladle some of this mixture onto the yolks and whisk in. Tip the entire contents of the yolk bowl back into the saucepan, and stir constantly with a wooden spoon, continuing to heat the mixture, until it coats the back of your spoon (a line drawn in the mixture on the back of the spoon does not fill in). Once you reach this point, immediately pour the mixture through the strainer into the chilled bowl. Stir it a little to help it cool down. Transfer to the refrigerator to chill once it has cooled a little.

While your 'base' is cooling, toast 1/2 cup of pecans (I prefer to buy whole pecans, but you can use pieces - just check them sooner in the oven). Spread the nuts on a baking sheet and bake at 350 F for about 7 minutes, until lightly browned. Allow to cool completely, and cut into bite-sized pieces.

Once the 'base' is chilled, pour into an ice cream maker and churn. Once almost solid (or as close to this as your ice cream maker gets), transfer into a bowl. Stir in the nuts, trying to distribute them evenly through the ice cream. Transfer your ice cream back into a freezer-suitable container (I use plastic quart size yogurt containers) and freeze until hardened. Enjoy!

Note 1 - For those outside North America, half-and-half is half milk, half cream.

Note 2 - Be careful not to let your half-and-half mixture boil, even before adding the yolks. Mine did the first time, and it curdled, so I had to throw it out and start over.

Note 3 - Metric Info: 7 oz = 200g; 2 oz = 55g; 2 cups = 475 ml; 1/2 cup = 120 ml; 350 F = 175 C.