Preheat oven to 325–350°F.

Wash, hull, and halve or quarter 2½ pounds strawberries.

Place them in a large shallow baking dish or on two parchment-lined rimmed baking sheets.

Add:

⅓ cup sugar

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

½ teaspoon salt

Toss well.

Roast for 35–50 minutes, stirring once or twice, until the strawberries are soft, glossy, syrupy, and reduced.

They should look jammy and concentrated, but not dry.

Remove from the oven and cool completely. Refrigerate until cold.

In a large saucepan, combine:

4⅔ cups heavy cream

4⅔ cups whole milk

1½ cups of the sugar

¾ teaspoon salt

Heat over medium-low heat until hot and steaming, but not boiling.

In a large bowl, whisk together:

10 egg yolks

Remaining ¾ cup sugar

Whisk until lighter in color and slightly thickened, about 2 minutes.

Slowly pour about 1½ cups of the hot dairy mixture into the egg yolks while whisking constantly.

Add another 1½ cups hot dairy mixture, still whisking constantly.

Pour the tempered egg mixture back into the saucepan.

Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until the custard reaches 170–175°F and lightly coats the back of a spoon.

Do not boil.

Remove the custard from heat.

Add the chilled roasted strawberries and all their syrupy juices.

Blend with an immersion blender until smooth.

Stir in:

2 tablespoons vanilla bean paste

3 teaspoons lime juice

Taste it cold or at least room-temp if possible. Add more lime juice ½ teaspoon at a time, up to about 5 teaspoons total, only if the strawberry flavor tastes flat.

Add ½ teaspoon lime zest only if you want the lime to be slightly noticeable.

For a smoother ice cream, strain through a fine mesh strainer.

Transfer the base to covered containers.

Refrigerate for 12–24 hours.

Overnight is best. The colder the base, the better it churns.

About 30 minutes before churning, finely chop or mash ¾ pound fresh strawberries.

Mix with:

3 tablespoons sugar

1 to 2 teaspoons lime juice

Let sit for 20–30 minutes.

Then mash very well or pulse briefly with an immersion blender.

You want a loose strawberry sauce with tiny bits, not large chunks. Big strawberry pieces will freeze hard.

Stir the fresh macerated strawberries into the chilled custard base.

You should be around 13 to 13½ cups total.

Since your max fill is about 13.7 cups, this should be very close to a full batch.

Pour the chilled strawberry custard into your ice cream maker.

Churn according to the machine’s instructions until it looks like thick soft serve.

Transfer to freezer-safe containers.

Press parchment paper or plastic wrap directly onto the surface.

Freeze for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.

One small caution: this is a big custard batch, so use a large enough pot and keep the heat gentle. With 10 yolks, it will thicken nicely, but boiling it can scramble the eggs.