Today is National Coffee Day and to jump start the facilities we are debuting one of the latest Grillocracy creations -- smoked coffee and chocolate chip ice cream.

The secret to this recipe is the coffee which has been cold smoked in order to bring a totally unexpected, but welcomed, layer of flavor to homemade ice cream.  While the process might sound daunting at first, it really couldn't be more simple as long as you have a couple hours to smoke the coffee and a couple of ingredients on hand for making the ice cream.  

SMOKED COFFEE AND CHOCOLATE CHIP ICE CREAM

Ingredients

2 cups heavy cream

2 tbsp. sugar

1.5 tsp. vanilla extract

2 tbsp. smoked ground coffee (recipe follows)

1/4 cup roughly chopped chocolate chips

Additional Tools

Ice cream maker (note: many home ice cream makers require freezing a metal insert prior to making ice cream so plan accordingly)

Instructions

Pour heavy cream into a large mixing bowl and slowly whisk in the sugar.  Once the sugar has completely dissolved, whisk in the smoked coffee grinds and chopped chocolate chips.  Place the bowl in the freezer for 15 minutes to chill then pour the mixture into an ice cream maker and use according to manufacturer's instructions.  Remove ice cream from the ice cream machine and serve immediately or place in an airtight container and store in the freezer until ready to use. 

SMOKED COFFEE

Ingredients

1/4 cup ground coffee

Instructions

Preheat 2-3 charcoal briquets.  Place briquets in a small pile on one side of the grills charcoal grate and top with a handful of your favorite smoking wood chips (I prefer pecan for this recipe).  Replace the grill's main cooking grate on the grill.   Place ground coffee in a ramekin or other small heat resistant dish and place on the main grill grate on the opposite side of the charcoal.  

Cover the grill with the vent directly above the coffee.  Allow the ground coffee to cold smoke for 2 hours, stirring periodically until it has taken on a smoky aroma.

Remove the ground coffee from the grill, place it into a coffee grinder, and grind into a fine powder.  Place smoked coffee into a container and seal the top.  The ground coffee is ready to use at this point, though letting it to sit for 5-7 days will allow the smoke flavor to mellow.