Frozen Pineapple Serrano Margarita
As the last vestiges of summer fade away in the cooling night air, I took one more crack at a new margarita recipe this year, and came up with a really tasty one! Our garden has recently produced a plethora of outstanding chiles including my all time favorite, the versatile Serrano pepper.
If you’re a Jalapeño fan, but yearn for a bit more kick with a wonderful “delayed fuse” on the tongue, then the Serrano may in your spicy “sweet spot”. On the Scoville scale, Serranos can be up to 5 times hotter than Jalapeños, but multitudes less spicy than the “Danger Will Robinson!” Habaneros. And BTW, when making guacamole, the Serrano’s slightly grassy & bright flavor profile combined with the extra spice can transform your guac from good to great with one ingredient.
Balancing the Serrano in this frozen margarita recipe is the super delicious, and easy-to-find Pineapple. I’ve tried fresh cut, but honestly, a can of organic chunk pineapple (in natural juices with no added sugar or syrup) is the way to go here. The balance of the pineapple sweetness, the Serrano heat and the slushy frozen goodness is truly a magical mélange in the mouth… Mmm!
And don’t forget about our classic SubLime Frozen Strawberry Margarita… another Mmm-arvelous concoction!
Ingredients
1/2 Cup (4 oz.) Hornitos® Reposado Tequila
1/4 Cup (2 oz.) Cointreau orange liqueur
3/4 Cup canned chunk Pineapple (include juice with chunks)
1 Tbsp fresh chopped Serrano pepper (no seeds, unless you REALLY love the fire)
1/4 Cup (2 oz.) Lime juice (approx. 2 fresh squeezed limes)
1/8 Cup (1 oz.) Orange juice (approx. 1/2 fresh squeezed orange)
2+ Cups Cocktail Ice (Reddy Ice® is my favorite)
Instructions
Throw all the ingredients into your blender on a medium-high setting making sure to crush the ice smooth. If you like more “ice slushiness” in your margs, simply up the amount of ice.
PRO TIP: hold the Pineapple & Serrano to the side for a moment, blending all the other ingrdients until the marg is the desired slushiness. Then pulse blend in the Pineapple & Serrano for just 10-20 seconds to retain some nice chunky pops of sweet & hot flavor bits.
Recipe makes 2 large drinks poured into our 15 oz. Zombie glasses.
Serrano shown in Miracle-Gro Vision 3000 (actual size 1-2 in length)
