Pur YAYs! Fresh Jalapeno Margs (CELEB POST)
I’ve been waiting for a long time for this. Like, a really long time. Someone in my family actually wanted to write something for TER and I’m suuuuuuuuuuper pumped it’s my sister, Natalie. Nat has celiac disease too, so tequila is our jam. She’s been crafting this fresh cocktail recipe for a solid 18 months, and now it’s totally perfect. I’m thrilled she wanted to share it with you!
This recipe will yield a fun and spicy concentrated “juice” (a pure-yay as I like to call it) for mixing with tequila, limes and soda for your lo-cal marg loving self. It also can be served with just soda and lime for a fun and festive mocktail (I know Anna hates the word mocktail so I had to incorporate it in here somewhere!). The best part of this cocktail is it looks like a green juice, and we use all organic fruits and veggies, so it’s basically a health food, right?
I loooove a good marg – give me a unique flavor combo, some quality tequila, perhaps a salted rim, and I am good-to-go. About a year and a half ago, I became OBSESSED with spicy margs, and I went on a mission to find the best one.
I started in bars and restaurants; I found some that were smoky, some that had chunks (ew!), and some that tasted like they came straight out of that sugary bottle of neon mix.
Next, I went on a mission to find a spicy mix at Whole Foods and specialty grocery stores so I could make my own; I was sure given how trendy make-at-home craft cocktails are these days, I was sure I’d find what I was looking for. Cue more sugary mixes…
I couldn’t find the kind of spicy marg I wanted, so I was on a mission to make my own. I figured I make smoothies all the time, people make juices and mixes and all sorts of goodies, why couldn’t I do the same incorporating my fave alcohol, TEQUILA, OLE?
Last Christmas, I burned out my mom’s food processor trying to perfect this spicy marg recipe – it was worth it. Since last year, I have played around with flavors, pulpy margs (for my weird brother-in-law who wants chunks in his marg), what to do with the leftover pulp, and more! I have seen that same weird brother-in-law (HI MRG!) drink the juice straight in a glass– talk about a sinus opener.
Overall, this recipe is pretty easy and customizable – you can add in as much kick as you’d like, and store in the fridge for a week full of green cocktails.
What You’ll Need:
Jalapenos
Lime Juice
Fresh Lime
Soda water
Other fun things you can add:
Pineapple- chunks or juice
Mint
Other berries you think would taste good in a spicy cocktail
What I Did:
Start by halving and de-seeding the jalapenos (wear gloves!!!); if you plan to use a heavy-duty blender or food processor, halving the jalapenos is fine. If you are using something lesser, you should cut the jalapenos into smaller pieces.
Next, put the jalapenos into your blender like object along with enough lime juice (I like fresh lime juice) to cover about half of the jalapenos.
Here is also where you would add mint, pineapple, or other berries; water heavy fruits work better than seeded fruits but, the strawberry jalapeno mix I made did taste AMAZING it was just a little chunkier and separated in the fridge.
In this case, I added both pineapple juice and fresh mint to the blender and blended until smooth. Make sure it’s as fine as you can get it with your blender.
Finer=more juice and less pulp at the end.
Next, strain the contents of the blender into a bowl or container leaving the pulp to the side (unless you like it chunky in which case, add a spoonful at a time once strained to get the chunkiness level you desire).
FINALLY, it’s time for the tequila!!!
Using fresh cut lime, rub the lip of your glass with a wedge. I set up a makeshift salt station by using kosher salt on a plate; it sticks well with lime, or even water on the rim! Add in ice and set to the side while we make your delicious craft cocktail.
Next, get out your cocktail shaker (blender bottles work well too!). Add ice, tequila (2 shots, ish…), and your puree (start with just a little, this stuff is SPICY) – I also like to add a bit of fresh lime juice or the squeeze of a lime, and in this case a splash of pineapple juice.
Shake it until well blended, pour into your glass with the salted rim and fresh ice, top off with a few splashes of soda water and ENJOY!
Now that you have all this pulp, lets ensure you aren’t wasting. Anna and I tried to think through some fun ideas for the leftovers, if you aren’t a chunky marg person.
- Jalapeno Cornbread – dry out the leftover pulp and add into a cornbread recipe for a kick!
- Barbacoa with a spicy side – add the pulp to your instant pot while cooking.
- Dehydrate the pulp for a spicy powder to use throughout recipes