I’m not ashamed to admit that the first thing I ever cooked in my crock pot was mulled wine. Hey, it’s kind of a meal! Either way, it quickly became one of my favorite cold-weather drinks. It is so stinkin’ easy, but super tasty, with the flavors of Christmas infused into the wine! It’s also the PERFECT thing for a party because you can leave it warming in the crock pot and guests can help themselves as they come and go. I made this for big Thanksgiving we attended a few years ago and it was a HUGE hit, gone before dinner even started.
Ingredients
2-3 oranges/clementines (additional for garnish)
1 lemon
1 cup raw sugar
6 whole cloves
2 sticks cinnamon (additional for garnish)
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 spoonful of anise
1 tablespoon of honey
3 bay leaves
2 bottles Chianti, Cabernet or other Italian red wine
1 cup brandy or spiced rum*
1. Peel large pieces of zest from one of the oranges and lemon.
2. In a saucepan, place the sugar, orange peel, lemon peel, nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon sticks. Squeeze out the juice from one orange onto the sugar.
3. Pour just enough wine onto the sugar to cover it. Bring this to a simmer, allowing the sugar to dissolve. Let is simmer for about 10 minutes. This is why it’s important to only use the amount of wine needed to cover the sugar, because the heat will cook off most the alcohol. But the process of simmering this all together helps to create an amazing flavorful base for the mulled wine.
4. Strain the aromatics out of the base and pour it into your crock pot with the rest of the wine, 2 cinnamon sticks, a quartered orange and the brandy/rum. Cook on low for 1 hour, or until warm.
5. Serve in thicker or tempered glass glasses.
