I discovered Smoking Bishop via Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. At the very end, a reformed Scrooge tells Bob Cratchit:
“A merry Christmas, Bob!” said Scrooge, with an earnestness that could not be mistaken, as he clapped him on the back. “A merrier Christmas, Bob, my good fellow, than I have given you, for many a year! I’ll raise your salary, and endeavour to assist your struggling family, and we will discuss your affairs this very afternoon, over a Christmas bowl of smoking bishop, Bob! Make up the fires, and buy another coal-scuttle before you dot another i, Bob Cratchit!”
Ingredients
- Six Seville oranges (a bitter-sweet orange available in Europe, often used for orange liqueurs like Cointreau) or four or five oranges (navel oranges work well) and one large grapefruit
- Whole cloves
- 1/4 pound of sugar
- One bottle of robust red wine
- One bottle of port
- Friends to share the Smoking Bishop with you.
Procedure
- Bake the oranges in a moderate oven (350 F / 176 C or so) until much of the orange skin turns pale brown.
- You don’t want the fruit to be cooked; you merely want to encourage the oil to emerge since it will add flavor and aroma to the Smoking Bishop.
- Turn the fruit at least once.When you can smell the oranges, or see or feel the orange oil on the rind of the fruit, they're probably browned enough. You don't want to smell something vaguely like burned toast.
- Remove the oranges from the oven, and let them cool for a few minutes. Insert five or six whole cloves in the peel of each orange.
- Place the oranges in a warmed glass or porcelain baking dish, with a quarter pound of sugar, and a 750 ml. bottle of a robust red wine. (We are using a Spanish La Granja 360 Tempranillo Garnacha Cariñena blend from Trader Joe’s, but Gallo Hearty Burgundy or a similar basic hearty red would work quite well.)
- Cover the dish, and leave it in a warm place for 24 hours.
- You might check it every few hours and stir the sugar gently to encourage it to dissolve.
- Remove the fruit from the mixture, cut the citrus in half or quarters and squeeze them to remove the juice, adding it to the sugar and wine.
- Pour the mixture into a saucepan (or crock pot) using a sieve and add a 750 ml bottle of port.
- Heat the mixture gently, without allowing it to boil, and serve in warmed glasses or mugs.
