A perfect Fall margarita

We are inspired by Thanksgiving to let everyone know how to use our Sal de Margarita gourmet sea salt…. for there is no doubt that the season deserves a cocktail to serve when friends and family gather for such festive celebrations.

Of course, at Sal del Mar, just the word festive leads us to the margarita genre, but not the classic one that we all know. And not one that is sticky sweet. After trying out several renditions of margaritas... including a pumpkin margarita that spoke to the season but was too heavy and thick...we decided on a Cranberry Margarita.

There is a perfect balance of the cranberry juice sweetness, the smoothness of the tequila and brightness of the lime. And when blended up in a margarita glass, rimmed in Sal del Margarita salt, it says Thanksgiving celebration!

A margarita anytime

We think margaritas are meant to drink anytime. We don't wait for sunny weather. This margarita is made with freshly squeezed greaefruit juice, tequila and lime and the combination suits sitting in front of a fire as much as a sunny beach. Here's our recipe:

2 oz of Blanco Tequila
2 oz. fresh squeezed grapefruit juice
1 oz. fresh lime juice
1/2 oz. triple sec
1/2 oz. agave nectar
Sal de Margarita sea salt

Fill a small cocktail shaker with ice. Pour in the tequila, freshly squeezed grapefruit juice, lime juice, triple sec and agave nectar. Put on the lid and shake. Strain the cocktail into your Sal de Margarita rimmed glass and garnish with a slice of grapefruit.

Pour a layer of Sal de Margarita onto a small plate. With a slice of lime, wet half of the rim of the glass.(Rimming just half the edge with salt, lets you control how much salt you taste with each sip.) Dip the glass into the salt at a 45-degree angle and roll it from side to side. Be careful to not let any of the salt drip into the glass. 

TIP:  Take the grapefruit and lime out of the refrigerator and let them come to room temperature. It is easier to squeeze citrus when it isn't cold.

 

Cinco de mayo and a margarita

It takes just a few ingredients to make a great margarita. Tequila. Cointreau. Limes. But don't forget to salt the rim of the glass.  Salt  complements the lime and tequila ingredients. 
To quote Rick Bayless: "Without salt, you can produce a tasty creation.. but not a drop-dead delicious one..”
Try just salting half the rim and then you can sip either with or without salt. Sal del Mar gourmet sea salt delivers a crisp salty taste which you don't get from just any salt. 

Our favorite recipe for one margarita (we like making them one at a time) is:  
1 1/2 oz. of a silver tequila
3/4 oz. Cointreau
1-1/2 limes (about 1 oz) squeezed  
Pour into a cocktail shaker with ice cubes. Cover and shake vigorously until froth and cold. Pour into a Sal del Mar crusted martini glass and serve. 

Our Favorite Margarita

April is almost over and that means Cinco de Mayo is just days away. We know that there are a lot of Margarita recipes out there but we think you should try one that our friend, David Haynes, served us recently. It is also a perfect recipe for a crowd because you can make up large batches in advance and then just have the guests serve themselves by adding the tequila to the shaker to make up their individual drinks.

David Haynes

Osvaldo Vazquez Campa

We caught David sipping his Naranja Margarita at our local Coco stand in San Carlos, Sonora, Mexico. He was served one of Osvaldo Vazquez Campa's famous Marisco y Coco.  It is a thrilling event to watch Valdo chop the top of the coconut with his huge machete, pour the water into a plastic bag, tie with a rubber band and add a straw to drink it. He then adds your choice of fresh fish to the hollowed out coconut.  We had a shrimp coco made with Clamato juice, shrimp, lime juice, shreds of coconut and what Valdo called black salsa (better known to us as soy sauce!)

If you can't find a coco stand, try David's Naranja Margarita with homemade tortilla chips sprinkled with Sal del Mar and salsa. 

David's Naranja Margarita (recipe for one cocktail)

Sal de Margarita
l lime wedge
1 1/2 oz. of white tequila
1/2  oz. Cointreau
2 oz. fresh orange juice
1 oz. lime juice
Grand Marnier (optional)
6 to 10 ice cubes

Spread Sal de Margarita on a small plate. Moisten half the rim of a martini glass with lime and then dip into the Sal de Margarita to crust just half the rim.

In a cocktail shaker, combine the tequila, Cointreau, orange juice and lime juice. Cover and shake it a lot (tiny ice crystals should appear) until frothy and cold. Strain into the Sal de Margarita-crusted glass. Add a "floater" of Grand Marnier to top and serve.

David's Naranja Margarita (recipe for a pitcher of Margaritas)

2 cups fresh squeezed orange juice
1 cup lime juice
1 1/2 cups white tequila
1/2 cup Cointreau
Grand Marnier (optional)

Use Sal de Margarita to crust the rims of martini glasses. Make the pitcher of the ingredients. When ready to serve stir and add to a cocktail shaker half full of ice. Shake and strain into the Sal de Margarita rimmed glasses.  Add a "floater" of Grand Marnier. Repeat for remaining margaritas.

Sal de Margarita

Even the Irish

We can't resist suggesting a margarita for St. Patrick's day.  And.... after all, there is a bit of green with a lime as a garnish. 

Here is Rick Bayless's (he recommends Sal del Mar!) recipe for his Easy Margarita

You only need four ingredients:
fresh squeezed lime juice
100% silver tequila
Cointreau
and Sal del Mar

Mix equal portions of lime juice, tequila and Cointreau in a pitcher.

Fill a shaker half full of ice cubes.

Add enough margarita mixture for a couple of drinks and shake to chill the mixture and properly dilute it with the melted ice.. about 15 seconds.

Strain into a Sal del Mar rimmed glass.

And enjoy!

A Taste of Love. . .

I have been saving this Rick Bayless recipe for Sal del Mar's Valentine's Day celebration for several months, because it "speaks" Valentine with its silky, smooth texture and rich, voluptuous color.

To describe this Blood Orange Margarita more than that is difficult - except to say not only does the blood orange and the Cointreau bring a sweet/tart flavor but the blood orange color is rich and intense.
 

I use martini glasses for my margaritas and I put them in the freezer to get frosty.

Blood Orange Margarita (from Rick Bayless)
Makes 9 cocktails

2/3 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup 100% agave silver tequila
1/2 cup Cointreau
2 cups fresh blood orange juice (you’ll need about 6 juicy blood oranges)
A lime half for moistening the glass rims
SAL DEL MAR 
Ice cubes (you’ll need about 6 cups—small ones are best)

In a large pitcher, stir together the lime juice, sugar and 3/4 cup water until the sugar has dissolved.

Add the tequila, Cointreau and blood orange juice. Cover and refrigerate until chilled, about 1 hour.

Moisten the rims of three 6-ounce martini glasses with the cut side of a lime half. Spread SAL DEL MAR on a small plate, then upend the glasses into the salt to crust the rims.

 Fill a cocktail shaker about 3/4 full of ice and measure in 1 1/2 cups of the margarita for 3 drinks. Cover and shake for about 15 seconds to thoroughly chill the mixture.

Strain into the prepared glasses and hand to your guests.

When you’re ready, finish the remaining margaritas in the same way.

Just in Time for Cinco de Mayo -- The Art of Salting the Glass

With Cinco del Mayo in a couple of days, there are many great margarita recipes being posted -- check out this video "How to Make a Margarita Cocktail" by one of my favorite blogs – Epicurious.

But what’s missing is how to correctly salt the margarita glass.  We at Sal del Mar pride ourselves on how to salt a margarita correctly so that the salt enhances the flavor of the tequila and integrates the flavors. Many of you may be salt-shy due to heavy salting in your past experiences.

So, here is how Sal del Mar recommends salting your margarita glass:

1. Spread Sal del Margarita* evenly on a small plate 2. Moisten the rim of your glass — just the top edge — by running a lime slice around the rim delivering a light coating of lime juice 3. Press the rim of the glass into the salt to crust the rim 4. Tap off the excess 5. Allow the salt to air-dry before filling the glass — this ensures that the salt lightly flakes off with each sip

Other tips: •   Use a martini glass instead of the bowl-sized glasses served in some bars that are so big that they require a straw to drink the margarita because they are too heavy to lift. I call margaritas made this way the “new martini.”

•   Salt just half of the glass rim so that you don't have to have a salted rim every sip.

•   Use a cocktail shaker and mix small amounts of margaritas. The shaken method of making a margarita gives it a purer taste over the taste of sweet slushy margaritas. Shake for about 10 seconds to melt the ice into the drink. Strain into your glass.

•   Ingredients matter. Margaritas are best made with 100% pure agave blanco tequila; fresh-squeezed lime juice and the orange sweetness of Cointreau. There is a growing trend of using boutique aged tequilas.

•   Experiment with adding other flavors to the salt. For a mango margarita, I finely chop mint leaves and mix it in the Sal de Margarita.

Be sure to use Sal del Margarita and let the crisp, salty taste complement the lime and the tequila ingredients while delivering a light crunch as you sip from the glass. Notice how Sal de Margarita quickly dissolves on the palate? Be sure to see my blog archive “marvelous margaritas” for more ideas.

Marvelous margarita

Today’s margaritas offer many variables starting with the seeminly limitless choices of tequilas. Over the years, I’ve finally begun to understand that there are all types, grades and styles to choose from.

Then one must consider which of the orange-flavored liqueurs you should use: Triple Sec, Cointreau or Grand Marnier. I’ve even seen recipes that go the entire liqueur gambit including using Midori, and Chambord.

The one ingredient that doesn't seem to share limitless choices is salt. All the margarita recipes I’ve ever seen just recommend a coarse salt or kosher salt. But salts, too, have different tastes and textures and just like in a recipe for a delicious sauce, the taste of the salt can make a difference of how a margarita will taste. The third ingredient, fresh lime juice isn’t even a sacred ingredient, you can have a Strawberry Margarita, Melon Margarita or Mangorita to name of few.

And so I want to introduce you to our new product: Sal de Margarita!

Harvested from the Sea of Cortez, our sea salt has a multi-layered  advantage over other salts for enhancing a margarita. To begin with Sal de Margarita has a crisp salty taste that complements the lime and the tequila ingredients while delivering a light crunch as it is sipped from the glass. Then also the texture of the coarse grains of the crystals make it ideal for crusting the rim of a margarita glass. And what I like a lot about Sal de Mar for a margarita is that after sipping it, it quickly dissolves on the palate. You can find Sal de Margarita online or at our retail stores.

Cinco de Mayo is just around the corner and I am eager to know what one is your is  your favorite.

DAVID THORN'S CLASSIC MARGARITA
I like this recipe because it isn't the sweet, slushy concoction that some bars serve (and which are not my favorite.) David secrets are: he uses 100% silver agave tequila; Cointreau instead of Triple Sec because even though it is more expensive it has the necessary sweetness but is a more elegant flavor; he uses fresh lime juice instead of the bottled version; the fresh orange juice along with the Grand Marnier temper the sharpness while adding character to its natural flavor; and it is shaken in a cocktail shaker allowing the ice to melt and the right degree of frostiness.

To Prepare: Moisten the rim of a martini glass with the cut lime Spread Sal de Mar on a small plate. Dip the moistened rim of the glass into the salt until evenly crusted

Margarita Mixture:
2 oz. Milagro Silver Tequila (David’s favorite)
2 oz. Cointreau (not Triple Sec)
2 oz. fresh lime juice 1 oz. fresh orange juice

Garnish:
Lime slices
1/2 oz. Grand Marnier

Add margarita mixture to a cocktail shaker.  Add ice and cover. Shake thoroughly to chill the mixture. Strain into into a Sal de Mar crusted glass with or without ice. Garnish with a slice of lime and the splash of Grand Marnier. Makes one cocktail.

MANGO MARGARITA
This recipe is entirely an experiment.  My husband, Phillip and I came up with this version because we wanted a Mango Margarita but couldn't find any recipes that were not a frozen, sickening-sweet concoction. So we used the "Keep It Simple" formula and kept to the basics but used the best ingredients to take it to a different level of a sipping cocktail.
Our formula was:  a good 100% agave reposado tequila;  a high-level orange liqueur;  a fresh mango instead of bottled juice; and Nature's Agave agave nectar instead of sugar water.

To round out our luxe ingredients, we crusted the rim of the cocktail glass with our new product, Sal de Margarita and combined it with mint leaves that we crushed and finely chopped.  It adds even more character to the flavors.   We think it is delicious! Let us know what you think!!

For crusting the rim of glass:
1/2 fresh lime for moistening the rim of glass Sal de Margarita
Crushed and finely chopped mint leaves

Spread Sal de Margarita on a small plate. Add chopped mint leaves (about 4 parts Sal de Margarita to 1 part chopped mint leaves). Moisten the rim of 8-oz martini glass with a cut lime. Dip the rim of each glass in the salt, creating a thin crust over half the rim.  (We liked having just half the glass with salt.  It seems like just the right amount)

For Margarita Mix:
4 oz  tequila, preferably a reposado 100% agave tequila
2 oz.  Patron Orange Liqueur
2 oz. agave nectar
2 oz. fresh squeezed lime juice
1/2 large very, very ripe mango (approximately 4 heaping tablespoons)

Blend the ingredients together in a blender with no ice. Pour mixture into a cocktail shaker half-filled with ice and shake vigorously. Strain into a prepared 8 oz. martini-style glass.