Seville Orange Marmalade with Whiskey and Brown Sugar

Last year, a dear friend of ours returned from a trip to Australia and gave us a fabulous jar of whisky marmalade as a gift. This is a perfect gift for me, because I LOVE marmalade, but it’s also risky. I am a woman who has some very strong opinions about marmalade. Luckily, the whisky marmalade was wonderful… so wonderful that I thought I should make a version of it myself. I based the recipe on what I consider to be the absolute gold standard of bitter marmalades. The only thing that could make this marmalade better is whiskey and a bit of brown sugar. If you are wondering what Seville Oranges are (or where to get them) read my full on marmalade rant from last year here. Then make this marmalade and enjoy it!

SEVILLE ORANGE MARMALADE WITH WHISKEY AND BROWN SUGAR

1 and 1/2 pounds of Seville oranges
3 pints of water
The juice from 1 lemon
about 1 and 1/2 pounds white sugar
1/2 pound brown sugar (muscavado if you’ve got it!)
3/4 cup whiskey

Simmer the oranges in water for about 1 and 1/2 hours or until the skin is tender and easily pierced.
Remove the oranges and let them cool. Measure out and save 1/2 pint of the orange cooking liquor.
Cut the oranges in to quarters and remove and save all of the pips (seeds). Sour oranges have lots of seeds! I also like to remove the tough membrane from the center of the oranges, so that there is only peel and pulp left. Tie all of the seeds and membranes up in a square of cheesecloth. They get boiled along with the marmalade so that their pectin will help to thicken the mix.
Slice the peels into strips of the size you like to find in your marmalade. Weigh the pulp and peels and measure out an equal amount of sugar (the 1/2 pound of muscavado sugar plus as much white sugar as you need to round it out). If you don’t have a scale, just use 2 pounds of sugar total and it’ll be about right.
Combine the pulp. peels and sugar in a heavy bottomed pot, along with 1/2 pint of the orange cooking liquor and the cheesecloth pouch of pips and membranes.
Stir the mixture over medium high heat, stirring frequently, scraping the bottom of the pot. It should simmer until the jam has reached 220 degrees and stayed there for one minute (that is the highest temp on a standard meat thermometer). If you do not have a thermometer, place a plate in the fridge to cool off while the marmalade simmers. When the marmalade has simmered for about 20 minutes put a small spoonful of it on the cooled plate and return it to the fridge for five minutes (you can keep the jam simmering meanwhile). After 5 minutes you should be able to tell if the jam is set. If it is still runny repeat the testing process in another 5 minutes.
Once the Marmalade is done, stir in the whiskey, remove it from the heat and allow it to cool for 15 minutes before potting (if you don’t wait all of the peels will sink to the bottom). Don’t forget to squeeze all of the pectin filled juice out of your pouch of pips and add it to your marmalade!
This recipe is small, so you may just want to put your marmalade in the fridge and eat it all up in the near future. It is good on buttermilk drop biscuits, gluten-free popovers, gluten-free buttermilk biscuits, gluten-free custard topped spoonbread, gluten-free pancakes, cornmeal, molasses millet muffins or gluten-free Irish soda bread inspired scones . If you want to save your marmalade, follow the directions below for potting your marmalade.

POTTING THE MARMALADE

On another burner, you can be sterilizing 5 half pint canning jars. Boil the jars and lids for 10 minutes in a canner or a large pot with some sort of rack in the bottom. Be sure to add the glass jars before the water is boiling (to prevent cracking) and start the timer only after the water has reached a full boil. Allow the jars to air dry on a clean rack.
Fill the jars, leaving 1/4 inch head space at the top. Wipe the rim of the jars with a clean cloth and seal the jars with the lid and the ring.
Drop the sealed jars into to a boiling hot water (don’t forget the canner or rack) and process for 10 minutes.
Remove the jars and leave them alone. The next day, tap the top of the can to make sure that the lid is sealed. If the lid gives at all, the seal is no good. Just put the unsealed ones in your fridge and eat them soonish.