Video Bite: Making Limoncello with John DiRocco

I’m jumping-up-and-down thrilled to announce the first ever Miami Dish Video Bite! In Video Bites, I’ll explore the same array of food finds, recipes, and people that I do in this blog. In this first Video Bite, Boston transplant John DiRocco demonstrates how he creates homemade limoncello for gifts and parties. Special thanks to my friend, Brad Bryan, for the video production. (Full screen version here.)

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYj2I_UNWUQ]

Ingredient List:

12-16 lemons, preferably organic and unwaxed

1 bottle Everclear

1 bottle of water (use the Everclear one)

1-1 ½ cups sugar

Extra Bites:

? It takes about 30 to 45 minutes to do the initial preparation (mainly peeling the lemons and shaving out the bitter white pith.) You can also do the prep work gradually, doing two lemons at a time and tossing them in the alcohol, until all of the lemons are done. The peels should ferment a minimum of three weeks.

? The more of the white lemon pith that you leave, the more bitter the limoncello will taste.

? The type of sugar affects the color of the limoncello. For John’s “limoncello naturale,” use a darker raw cane sugar.

? If you can’t get a hold of Everclear, you can use ½ Grey Goose vodka and ½ Absolut. For a poor man’s version, strain cheaper vodka though your Brita pitcher 3 or 4 times.

? Store your limoncello in the freezer. It should be completely liquid. If it’s slushy, you used too much water. Discard that batch.