Smoked Bourbon Cherry Ice Cream

1. Soak cherries in bourbon overnight. Strain, keep liquid.

2. In a medium sauce pan, heat milk and cream until just steaming.

3. Whisk together egg yolks, 2/3 of the sugar and a pinch of salt in a separate bowl. Add hot milk and cream to whisked eggs in a slow steady stream, whisking continuously. Add the custard mixture back into the sauce pan on medium heat. Bring custard to 170F/76C, stirring constantly, or until the custard coats the back of a wooden spoon (takes up to 20 minutes). Strain custard into a large bowl and cover with plastic wrap.

4.  Add apple wood chips to the burn chamber of the Breville Smoking Gun. Place hose under plastic wrap with the opening sitting above the custard. Seal the plastic wrap.
5. Turn smoking gun on to HIGH SPEED and ignite wood chips. Switch to LOW SPEED and smoke for a few seconds until the bowl is filled with a dense smoke. Remove hose and reseal plastic wrap. Let infuse in the refrigerator for 5–10 minutes. Repeat smoking process one more time, stirring custard between each smoking session.
6. Refrigerate custard mixture overnight.
7. Melt butter in a large frying pan on medium heat. Add cherries and sauté until softened, about 8 minutes. Add bourbon and cook on medium high heat for 2 minutes to cook off alcohol. Add remaining sugar and lemon juice. Continue cooking on medium heat for an additional 5–8 minutes, crushing cherries to release juices. Strain liquid from cherry mixture. Place both cherry juice and cherries into refrigerator.
8. Churn chilled custard in the Breville Smart Scoop Ice Cream Maker, following manufacturer’s instructions.
9. Add cherries and cherry liquid to ice cream machine 1 minute before ice cream has finished to get a marbling effect. Freeze mixture in a freezer-safe container to harden.

Note: This recipe is from Jordan Roots, US Masterchef/Season 4 contestant.