There is a drink with origins in the British Virgin Islands called a Painkiller. Officially, it is made with Pusser’s rum, pineapple juice, orange juice, and cream of coconut, with grated nutmeg on top. They are mixed pretty strong–hence the moniker–and they are delicious. I was introduced to the Painkiller by my friend J.’s parents on a spring break trip with them, during our twelfth grade year. They chartered a 42-foot trawler, and J., myself, and four other friends basically just hitched a ride. That week still ranks very high on the list of Best Vacations Ever, and given what a spoiled life I’ve had as far as travel goes, that says a lot.
J. is getting married in September, and she was in town this past weekend for shower/bachelorette nonsense. Sometime during the week leading up to her visit, I posted something on Twitter about a sudden food-related brainstorm–I was going to make Hot Toddy sorbet. That is, I’d make a pitcher of hot Toddys and run it through the ice cream maker (inspired by some jasmine green tea sorbet I had at S.’s the weekend before). J. responded that she wasn’t sure about that, but she could go for Painkiller sorbet.
And so, when she arrived at my apartment last Friday night, that is exactly what I had waiting for her in the freezer.
I decided that since I didn’t need a whole carton of pineapple juice, and I like doing things from scratch anyway, and orange juice is insanely expensive these days, I’d just buy myself a pineapple and some oranges. Of course, this means I made things unnecessarily complicated, because I always think my food mill is going to work for this sort of project and it never does. (I think that’s because my food mill is of poor quality, though it could also be that I don’t know how to use it.) So I had to wash a few extra things, after realizing that the blender & a strainer were the best tools for this job, but it was worth it.
In any case, this recipe is as simple as chopping up some fruit and opening a can and a bottle of rum. If you are wary of dealing with a pineapple, just buy some pre-cut fruit. It’s going in the blender, anyway. It would also probably be great–and not as sweet–made with coconut milk, instead of cream of coconut. If you try it that way, use full-fat coconut milk, maybe add a little sugar or honey, and let me know how it turns out.
Cutting up a pineapple isn’t really hard, as long as you have a big knife. Chop off the top and bottom, so you have roughly an even pillar of fruit. Then, with the pineapple standing upright on your cutting board, cut away the skin in big strips, working your knife down the sides. You’re going to miss some of the funny little seeds, but don’t worry, they aren’t terrible to eat, and you’re going to strain the puree anyway. Or you can do another round with the knife to do a neater job. Then cut it into quarters and remove the core before you chop it into smaller pieces.
(Note: At the moment I don’t have a photo of the finished sorbet, because J. and I ate it too quickly and I forgot to get out my camera. I will probably update this post later, when I have my next helping.)
Painkiller Sorbet
makes 1 quart
2 1/2 c pineapple (about 3/4 of a pineapple)
1/2 c orange juice (about 1 large orange)
1/2 c cream of coconut
1/4 c rum (ideally Pusser’s)
1/4 tsp grated nutmeg
Puree the pineapple in the blender or food processor, then strain it through a fine mesh sieve. Mix in the other ingredients and chill.
Run the mixture through your ice cream maker for at least a half an hour, or according to the instructions. Note that the alcohol content will keep this sorbet from freezing solid.
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