Krista's Perfect Margarita
In case you missed it, today was National Margarita Day! Fun fact: many believe (including myself) that the first margarita was made here in El Paso, Texas.
"There are also claims that the margarita was first mixed in the El Paso-Juárez area at Tommy's Place Bar on July 4, 1942 by Francisco "Pancho" Morales.[6] Morales later left bartending in Mexico to become a US citizen, where he worked as a milkman for 25 years. Mexico's official news agency Notimex and many experts have said Morales has the strongest claim to having invented the margarita."
Check out the full history of the margarita here!
Living in El Paso, there is a tremendous pride when it comes to the margarita. We have so many places to grab a good margarita from Kiki's to Los Bandidos de Carlos and Mickey's. It would be an El Paso sin for a bar to open up in the area and not have some sort of margarita on their menu. We go from many different flavors from the classic margarita to the every growing in popularity, cucumber margarita (yum!).
So today, a Monday of all days, was the day to leave work, meet up with family or friends or your boo and hit up your favorite restaurant or bar and order a margarita.
Unfortunately for me, I have kids, and they have a fairly early bedtime. So the option of hitting up Carlos & Mickey's (yes my favorite margarita stop!) was out of the question.
But that wasn't going to stop me! I hit up the liquor store, grabbed the essentials and made my own perfect margarita. And I share it with you for not just National Margarita Day, but on days when you've just really earned it...or fuck it! When you haven't earned it!
First off: Always start off a margarita recipe with the perfect tequila shot:
Two serve two people:
1 oz lime juice
2 oz tequila
ice to chill all in a shaker
shake it to mix and chill
Line the edge of one side of the rim with lime juice (use the limes you squeezed to make your juice) and dip that same edge in salt.
Pour your shots. Salud!
Now we can begin!
Krista's Perfect Margarita
Ingredients:
• Your favorite tequila (I'm a hornitos kinda Chicana!)
• Agave syrup
• limes (I used almost 20 key limes to make the mix I made)
• oranges (2 medium sized will be fine)
• salt (optional to rim your glass; I prefer not to)
Step 1
Get to cutting up your limes. You're going to be squeezing alot! You can always use the store bought lime juice, but in my personal opinion, nothing tastes better than fresh!
Step 2
Juice the limes in a shaker with just a 2-3 cubes of ice. Then muddle them. According to Alton Brown, muddling the whole lime with the skin allows for the oils of the lime to mix in. Give it a zesty taste.
Step 3
Juice a half an orange and add it to your muddled limes and lime juice. Add the rinds of the orange and muddle it all together.
Step 4
Strain your mixture over a good sized mixing bowl or cup. I needed at least a full cup of juice, so I made sure my cup was at least that big. Use your muddler to gently squeeze out and mix any extra juice. The leftover is really great for compost!
Step 5
I had to repeat this process three times in order to get a cup mixed for my husband and I. But just take shots in between, put on some good toonage, and it's a fun activity!
Step 6
I filled up a couple of jars with some ice and poured half a cup in each jar. Then each jar for my husband and I, I poured in 2 oz of tequila and 1 oz of agave syrup. Mix it up and add a little bit of each to your own taste. I ended up adding another 1/2 oz of agave and another oz of tequila. I also added a spash of water (probably about 1 oz) because it was very citric. Adding water kind of balances it all out.
The perfect mararita has to go with your taste. My husband loved it as is, while I like mine a little stronger and a little less citric. This recipe is a great start, and then you can adjust to your taste after that.
And finally, you can enjoy! Add a pretty straw, go sunbathe, watch your favorite show, take another shot! Whatever you will! But these are so refreshing and great after a long hard day or on National Margarita Day! Enjoy lovelies!
If you try this recipe, take a picture and tag us on Instagram! Let us know what you think! Don't forget to share, please!
