Smoking Bishop

Recipe from Cedric Dickens

Adapted by Rosie Schaap

Smoking Bishop
Gentl and Hyers for The New York Times. Food stylist: Maggie Ruggiero. Prop stylist: Amy Wilson.
Rating
4(128)
Comments
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‘‘I’ll raise your salary, and endeavour to assist your struggling family,’’ Scrooge tells Bob Cratchit near the end of A Christmas Carol, ‘‘and we will discuss your affairs this very afternoon, over a Christmas bowl of smoking bishop!’’ This recipe, adapted from the book Drinking With Dickens, by Charles Dickens’s great-grandson, Cedric, reflects Scrooge’s new disposition and largesse perfectly: it’s warm and sweet and meant for sharing. (To Cedric Dickens’s recipe, I’ve added some fragrant cardamom pods, because years of drinking glogg have shown me how well they play with orange and wine, but you may omit them). 

If you’re unable to find Seville oranges—marked by a pleasant, pronounced bitterness — substitute five navel oranges, and add the juice of one lemon when you add the port to the pan (do not stud the lemon with cloves or roast the lemon with the oranges). —Rosie Schaap

Featured in: A Victorian Toast

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Ingredients

  • 6Seville oranges
  • ½cup Demerara sugar
  • 1bottle red wine (not too dry nor too sweet)
  • 1bottle Ruby port
  • 30cloves
  • 5dried green cardamom pods
  • Orange peel for garnish
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

454 calories; 0 grams fat; 0 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 0 grams monounsaturated fat; 0 grams polyunsaturated fat; 58 grams carbohydrates; 5 grams dietary fiber; 43 grams sugars; 2 grams protein; 23 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Prepare oranges for roasting: wash and dry them well, and stud each fruit equally with cloves. Roast the clove-studded fruits in the oven for an hour, then transfer them to a large glass or ceramic bowl.

  2. Step 2

    Add the sugar and the red wine (do not add the port yet) to the bowl. Cover the bowl and leave it in a warm spot in the kitchen for at least 12 hours, and up to 24.

  3. Step 3

    After the citrus-sugar-wine mixture has rested, cut the fruits in half and juice them through a strainer into the wine and sugar mixture. Discard fruits after they have been juiced. Strain the mixture again, this time into a heavy saucepan. Discard solids.

  4. Step 4

    Add the port, the cinnamon stick, and the cardamom pods to the saucepan, and heat very slowly—until it “smokes” (the vapors rise), hence the name; do not allow it to boil.

  5. Step 5

    Once the Bishop is as hot as you like, turn off the heat. Remove the cinnamon stick and cardamom pods. Serve in warmed, heatproof glasses, garnished with orange peel.

Ratings

4 out of 5
128 user ratings
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Comments

tabby

i cant believe no one has commented on this recipe. my husband made this for our holiday celebration last night. we only used 3 oranges but they were large ones. let me tell you. it was absolutely delicious and perfect for a winter night. we will definitely be including this as part of our punch rotation.

Bob

I made my shopping list for this and I'm glad I read all of the steps. Step 4 mentions cinnamon sticks which are absent from the ingredients list.

Tooty

I love, love Dicken's A Christmas Carol. I read it every holiday season. I have always wondered what a bowl of Smoking Bishop was. I wanted to make this, but it is too much for two and there are no parties with Covid. Decided to make the wine and fruit part as a base and store it in glass in the fridge. Then all we have to do is add about an equal amount of port, some cinnamon and cardamom, and heat up an amount that suits us for the evening. Delicious! Will make this for friends next year.

Greg S

This recipe is good, but a half teaspoon of ginger and nutmeg really sets the whole thing off.

bob

We make this every year, put I dont use sugar. great drink.

Cat

I need an idea for how to keep this hot during a party. Could this be made in a slow-cooker?

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Credits

Adapted from “Drinking With Dickens,” by Cedric Dickens

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