Yucca Flux

Yuccaflux is one of those urban myth sorts of recipes - everybody I know has heard of it and knows what it is, but nobody has actually tasted one. Even the name is totally odd - I know what yucca is, and I know what flux is and, believe me, yuccaflux has nothing to do with either an ornamental plant or surface flow rates. Yuccaflux is fruit soaked in alcohol, but I really think of yuccaflux as a variation on the plugged melon, where you cut a plug out of a watermelon or cantaloupe or honeydew, fill it with rum and let it sit in the fridge overnight. Slice and enjoy the boozy fruit. Once I even tried to inject oranges with vodka using 60ml syringes, which could be another variation on the recipe. Yuccaflux could also be a kind of sangria, with the booze to fruit proportions switched. Yuccaflux, however, is plugged melon, injected oranges and solid sangria on a gigantic scale, suitable for celebrations way, way, way out of town or seventies-style key parties.



Yuccaflux (Yukkaflux/Yuckaflux)

Fruit:
Watermelon, peeled and sliced
Oranges, quartered
Cherries, stemmed
Peaches, quartered and pitted
Cantaloupe, peeled and sliced
Bunches of green and red grapes
Strawberries, cored
Mango chunks
Pineapple chunks
Lemons, sliced

Sandwich bags filled with water and frozen

Fill up a container with fruit. It could be a quart jar, ice cream pail, cooler, or even a garbage pail. I prefer the cooler with a spigot at the bottom so you can drain off all the delicious booze and fruit juice when you are done. Pour over a lot of dark rum and white rum. I mean a lot - probably 4-5 forties of booze. Close the top and let sit for 12-24 hours in a cool place. Then throw in the sandwich bags of ice and have at it! Another, more communal variation on this recipe is for everyone just to pour in whatever alcohol they brought to the party. Anyhow, there's no way Thomas Keller can put a classy spin on this one.