French Vanilla Ice Cream

Instructions

1. Combine the milk, heavy cream, and the scraped seeds of the vanilla bean along with the pod in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Heat until it just begins to simmer, then remove from heat and let steep for 15 minutes.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the sugar and fine sea salt until the mixture is pale and thick.
3. Remove the vanilla bean pod from the milk mixture. Gradually pour about half of the warm milk mixture into the egg yolk mixture, whisking constantly to temper the eggs.
4. Pour the tempered egg yolk mixture back into the saucepan with the remaining milk mixture. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly with a heatproof spatula, until the custard thickens enough to coat the back of the spatula and reaches 170-175°F (77-79°C). Do not boil.
5. Strain the custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean bowl to remove any cooked egg bits. Stir in the vanilla extract.
6. Cool the custard to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate until fully chilled, about 2 hours.
7. Churn the chilled custard in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions, about 30-40 minutes.
8. Transfer the churned ice cream to a freezer-safe container, cover, and freeze for at least 2 hours to firm up before serving.