Jalapeno Margarita
Want to spice up your cocktail hour this summer? Then mix up a Jalapeno Margarita or two!
Can we talk about food cravings? I get them. Quite often in fact. And I’m sure you do, too. And what happens when I get a craving for chocolate chip cookies and/or smoked brisket and/or pizza and/or mac + cheese? (This list could’ve go on for quite a while…) Well, I go and get said food to satisfy my craving. It might be a couple of days or even a couple of weeks. But I’ll eventually satisfy that craving. But what if said craving went on for 9 months?
Back when Laura was pregnant, she had all sorts of cravings. Some we could easily take care of. Pickles + ice cream? Done. Just kidding…she never actually craved pickles + ice cream. But other cravings? Not so much. I had no idea how careful women have to be when it comes to pregnancy and food. No sliced deli meat. No soft-serve ice cream. Limited caffeine. The list is surprisingly long. But Laura was a trooper, and she just took it all in stride. Except for the jalapeno margarita.
Near the end of her pregnancy, Laura was stuck at home with nothing much to do but watch tv. (Watching tv is such a foreign concept to us now that Robbie is here. We might get to watch 10 minutes of the news while we’re eating dinner. Might is the key word there.) Apparently jalapeno margaritas made an appearance in every show Laura watched. Either that, or her craving was playing tricks on her and creating margarita mirages. Needless to say, once Laura could drink again, jalapeno margaritas were on the list.
Truthfully, I had never really heard of a Jalapeno Margarita. But after consulting my friend Google, I discovered that these bad boys are actually pretty easy to make. So I hit the kitchen armed with a handful of jalapenos and my go-to margarita recipe. And I emerged with what I have to call one incredible cocktail!
So where does the jalapeno part of the jalapeno margarita come in? Contrary to my initial thoughts, it doesn’t get blended in or anything crazy like that. Nope, you just slice a jalapeno and let it sit in the tequila for about 20-30 minutes. Nice and easy. But here’s the thing. The longer you let the jalapeno sit, the spicier your tequila will become.
This isn’t one of those games where you see how hot you can make something. You know the game where you keep adding jalapenos or cayenne pepper until someone cries uncle? Oddly enough, guys love playing this game around other guys. If you’re into that kinda thing, then go for it. Heck, let that jalapeno sit in the tequila overnight. And leave the seeds in there. But don’t come crying to me a couple of weeks from now when your taste buds grow back.
For us, we found that about 25-30 minutes created a tequila with a noticeable hint of jalapeno flavor. But it wasn’t too much. Play around with the times and see what works for you. The Grand Marnier and agave nectar add a sweetness that balances the heat from the jalapeno. It took 9 months, but this Jalapeno Margarita has definitely earned its’ spot on our summer cocktail rotation. It’s 4:45 somewhere, right? Cheers!
Jalapeno Margarita
Ingredients
For the Lime Salt
- ¼ cup coarse salt
- 1 Tbsp lime zest ~3 limes
For the Jalapeno Margarita
- ¾ cup silver tequila
- ½ jalapeno pepper seeded and thinly sliced
- ⅓ cup Grand Marnier
- ½ cup fresh lime juice ~4 limes
- 2 Tbsp agave nectar can substitute honey
- ice
- 1 lime cut into slices
Instructions
For the Lime Salt
- In a small bowl, add the salt and lime zest; stir until well combined.
For the Jalapeno Margarita
- Using a cocktail shaker, add the tequila and sliced jalapenos. Let sit for ~20 minutes. (Note: The longer this sits, the spicier the margarita will become.)
- Strain out the jalapeno slices, reserving to use as a garnish later.
- Add Grand Marnier, lime juice and agave nectar to shaker. Shake until well blended; set aside.
- Place Lime Salt in a shallow bowl. Dip rims of cocktail glasses in water and then invert into bowl. Turn glasses right-side up and fill with ice.
- Pour margaritas into glasses. Drop sliced jalapenos into margarita; garnish rims with sliced limes.
Notes
Looking for more fun summer cocktail ideas? Check out these other favorites, too:
this is so perfect for Cinco De Mayo David! Love the pictures too and I love the new design of Spiced! 🙂
We just made another batch this weekend, Manali…it’s super delicious! Thanks so much for the kind words about the design, too. I definitely wasn’t planning on doing that last week…and it’s a work in progress. Stay tuned! 🙂
I’m so glad you can control the heat. At first I was imagining liquid fire, but a margarita with a hint of jalapeno heat sounds really nice.
I was totally thinking liquid fire, too, Jeff. I was actually a little afraid to take my first sip. But totally not bad. Like a delicious ‘regular’ margarita with just a hint of something else in there. Perfect for a Monday afternoon, right? 🙂
Love the new design, David! And these jalapeno margaritas have it going on! They look so gorgeous. Just look at that colour!! I love spicy things so this is a total winner in my books. I totally know what you mean about cravings. I don’t crave stuff that often, but when I do I can obsess over it until I eat what I’m craving and then it goes away. Like, ok, that’s done. Know what I’m saying? Pinning this beauty to try soon. Have a great weekend!
Thank you so much, Dawn! The new design is a work in progress…so stay tuned. (And feel free to provide feedback if you have thoughts/ideas!) And as far as the Jalapeno Margarita…it was amazing! We had friends over this weekend and made a double batch for the festivities…and it didn’t last long at all! Hope you had an awesome weekend! 🙂
Wow, I had no idea it was so simple to make a jalapeno margarita! That’s great to know that you can easily customize the heat level – my boyfriend likes his food super spicy (I’m pretty sure half his taste buds are dead) but I can only handle a limited amount of spiciness. Also, no soft-serve ice cream?! I had no idea!
Tell me about it, Mara! I was totally expecting this one to be complicated and hard (i.e. annoying) to make. But not at all. Just let the jalapeno soak in the tequila for a bit, and you’re all set. (But for your boyfriend, you might want to soak the tequila overnight…hah!)
And yes…no soft-serve! Apparently, those machines can lead to listeria. Adults can usually handle listeria, but it can be deadly to kids. There’s so much stuff I didn’t know about when it comes to kids!
Hi David! I don’t know how you do it…we bought tequila yesterday for margaritas!! For us they are a seasonal thing, when the weather warms up we always turn to margaritas. This jalapeno idea is brilliant! Have you had hard root beer? We picked up some to try…sounds good! Have a relaxing weekend!
Haha! Pretty soon you’re going to figure out who that strange guy is who sneaks around behind you on your trips to the grocery store! 🙂 Just kidding. And yes, I have tried that hard root beer. It’s pretty tasty…which means it could be pretty dangerous if you aren’t careful! Now they have hard orange soda and hard ginger ale, too, but I haven’t tried those yet. Hope you and Gary had an awesome weekend!
I must say, when I read your title, I figured – oooh this is gonna be a scorcher – but letting it sit instead of blending it is the way to go – even though I do love me some spicy stuff! Hey, wonder how this would be with a habanero? Guess the agave would have to be upped way high!
Cheers to you and Mrs and Robbie – hope y’alls weekend in Margaritaville is a great one!
Yeah, surprisingly enough, this one isn’t a scorcher at all, Shashi. It’s got just a hint of something earthy/spicy…but not over the top at all. (I know you don’t drink, so you’ll just have to trust me on this one. Or maybe you could whip up a non-alcohol drink with a jalapeno infusion?) We had an awesome weekend up here in the northland…I hope you and lil Shashi had a great one as well!
Wait, jalapeno margaritas are a thing?! I’m so intrigued, even moreso that it was on TV….or Laura’s mind 😉
I’ll need to give it a go as I can go to town on jalapenos…in savory dishes.
They are so totally a thing, Arman! You watch the housewives, right? I’m pretty sure that’s where Laura saw these. Or some other reality tv show. You know…the ones that drive me nuts and send me scurrying off to my man cave (i.e. office in basement). Give these bad boys a shot. We just made a double batch for friends this weekend, and they didn’t last long at all!
Housewives? Me? Never. I watch…football and beer commercials.
Love to try this ! Pics are beautiful and I love how you have garnished the margarita with a whole Jalapeno. Since I eat a lot of spicy food… I think I’ll make the jalapeno sit overnight 😉 Thanks for sharing David.
Haha! More power to you, Ruwani. Let that jalapeno soak overnight, but promise to come back and tell me how it turned out??
Food craving during pregnancy is what i suffered to the core as i was banned from lots and lots of my favorite. So i realyy can understand. Iam completely new to margaritas. But the tropical color of the pictures is what i was admiring. You are a great food stylist. Jalepenos and lime and all together is an eye treat. Have a wonderful weekend
Why thank you so much for the kind words, Smitha! I don’t know how you women do the whole pregnancy and food craving thing. I mean I can usually hold off on a craving for a couple of weeks…but 9 months!?! I hope you had an awesome weekend…and an even better week ahead!
Wow! I had to do a double take…love the changes you’ve made to Spiced! This margarita looks great and totally spicy! I’d be a little afraid of that whole jalapeno on top!
Haha…thanks, Kathy! I totally wasn’t planning on making the design changes last week. But then my ad network kindly forced the changes to happen. I mean, it’s been on the list for a while…but I don’t like to have to do things suddenly. Stay tuned…it’s a work in progress. (And feel free to send along feedback/thoughts/criticisms/etc.)
And as far as the jalapeno margaritas? These things are awesome! Just a little hint of spicy. Although I must admit that the whole jalapeno garnish? Yeah, I didn’t eat that one. Haha!
Chris would totally love this margarita! I’ve had jalapeno in beer before, but never in a margarita. Thank goodness Laura can finally have this in her life! There are so many rules these days about what you can eat when pregnant. My doctor just told me not to drink too much and don’t do drugs or smoke cigarettes! 🙂
P.S. Love the new website design!
I think I’ve seen jalapeno beer in the beer store before, but I’ve never tried it. But now I can definitely say that jalapenos in margaritas are awesome! And as far as pregnancy and rules? I had no idea there were so many rules! I mean soft-serve ice cream? Wow! (I get why…but I had no idea…)
And thanks for the note about the site design. I wasn’t planning on working on that one last week, but my ad network kinda forced the issue. Stay tuned…it’s a work in progress!
I can´t even remembered what I craved… probably chocolate, lots and lots of chocolate 🙂 🙂 David these jalapeno margaritas should be used in a fancy magazine article! They look that good. Seriously!!
Yeah, chocolate was definitely on the list for Laura, too. There’s way too many things on that ‘pregnancy no-no list’! Thank you so much for your kind words, Johlene! These jalapeno ritas turned out quite well. In fact, we just made a double-batch again this weekend when we had friends over. They didn’t last long!
Firstly David, I love your new blog look! It looks fantastic! 🙂 It looked great before but it’s always nice to freshen things up too, isn’t it? I completely redid mine at the beginning of the year and it just felt better to change things up a bit. These jalapeno margaritas sound great as well, and I love how unique the flavour combination is here. It’s funny how when you take the plunge and try out something a little left-field, it often turns out to be absolutely amazing!
Thank you so much, Lisa! It feels great to freshen up the site layout…although to be honest, I wasn’t planning on doing it last week. So it’s a work in progress. Stay tuned. (And feel free to provide feedback! I’ve got a running list of things.) So these Jalapeno Margaritas? Woah! They are awesome. I was pretty hesitant to not only make these (waste of tequila?) but also to take that first sip (goodbye, tastebuds?). But they totally work! 🙂