3 Margarita Recipes

Many “origin” stories circulate regarding how the margarita was invented and who did the inventing. Bottom line, the drink arguably is the most popular Tex Mex drink.

That said, we’ve decided to offer your three terrific recipes for different margaritas. We hope you – and your guests – enjoy them!

We’ll start with a traditional margarita recipe, courtesy of SeriousEats.com.

You will need:

• Cocktail shaker and strainer
• A wedge of lime as well as two lime wheels (for garnish)
• One tablespoon of coarse salt (for the glass rims)
• Four ounces of high quality white tequila
• Two ounces of Cointreau
• 5 ounces of fresh juice from two limes

To make:

• Run the lime wedge around the rims of two rocks glasses and then dip the rips in the salt. Set the glasses to the side.
• Take the cocktail shaker and combine the tequila, lime juice and Contreau. Fill the shaker with ice and then shake until the ingredients are chilled thoroughly (you’ll know things are chilled when the bottom of the metal shaker frosts over).
• Fill the glasses with fresh ice and strain the margarita into both glasses. You may then garnish the glasses with the lime wheels.

Next, we thought we’d spice up the margarita a bit and therefore offer you this cucumber jalapeno margarita, courtesy of Michael Symon at CookingChannelTV.com. (By the way, this recipe takes a lot longer than your typical margarita recipe -- 70 minutes – because it needs to be chilled for at least an hour.)

You will need:

• One-half cup of fresh lime juice
• One-half cup of white tequila
• One-quarter cup of orange liqueur (Symon recommends Grand Marnier)
• One-quarter cup of simple syrup (or more, if needed)
• Four slices of cucumber (thin)
• One jalapeno (halve it lengthwise)
• Ice, for serving
• Optional: salt for your glass rims

To make:

Mix  the tequila, lime juice, orange liquer, syrup, jalapenos and cucumbers in a large pitcher and then chill for at least one hour. (The longer it chills, the more the flavors of the jalapeno and cucumbers will permeate into the drink.)

For our third recipe, try this Jamaica margarita, courtesy of MyRecipes.com

You will need:

• One cup (about two ounces) of dried hibiscus blossoms
• Three cups of water
• Three-quarter cup of sugar
• 25 cups of tequila
• One-half cup of fresh lime juice
• One-third cup of Triple Sec or another orange-flavored liqueur
• Eight slices of lime
• A strainer

To make:

• Place the hibiscus blossoms in a strainers and then rinse under cold water.
• In a medium saucepan, combine the blossoms with the water and sugar and bring to a boil.
• Reduce heat and then simmer for 10 minutes.
• Strain and discard the blossoms.
• Cover and chill the mixture and then combine it with tequila, Triple Sec and the juice.
• Serve over ice and garnish with the lime slices.

When you want an icy –cold and delicious margarita, visit the Mattito’s location nearest you. We look forward to serving you!

Image by Cocktailmarler (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 ], via Wikimedia Commons