Sangrita
Tequila is well common throughout all of Mexico. One of the most popular ways to drink tequila is with a sangrita chacer. This spicy, citrusy drink cuts through the some of the harshness tequila can sometimes have. It is similar to a Bloody Mary and even the name loosely translates to “little bloody one”. This is a great drink to go with other traditional Mexican recipes such as the "Mexican pizza" tluyadas or nachos. Do not confuse this recipe for sangria, though; the two are quite different.
It is typically served in a shooter glass next to a shooter of tequila. The tequila and sangrita are sipped alternatively, but because sangrita is so tasty on its own, it can be drunken solo (the same goes for tequila for that matter).
A third alternative is the bandera, which is with a shooter of lime juice. The three shooters will be green, white, and red, the colors of the Mexican bandera, or flag.
This is a fantastic alternative to the traditional salt, tequila, lime trio that is so common outside of Mexico.
If you are planning a fiesta for Cinco de Mayo, for example, with many people, it is better to make a big batch with fresh tomatoes and oranges. The sangrita can be made a day ahead of time and chilled in the fridge overnight. For just a few servings, use the tomato and orange juice to reduce the time required. Recipes for both options follow.
A bar in Chicago, Adobo Grill, substitutes the shooter glass for half of a cucumber that has been peeled and deseeded with a melon baller as the vessel of choice to serve sangrita. This makes for a great presentation that will surely wow all of your sangrita-sipping guests.
Sangrita (big batch)
6 medium tomatoes, peeled and seeded
3 oranges, juiced
2 limes, juiced
1 small onion, chopped
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. chili pepper (or to taste, but sangritas are typically pretty spicy)
1 tsp. Tabasco sauce
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp. celery salt
1/2 tsp. seasoned salt
1) Mix all the ingredients in a blender and whiz until tomatoes and onions are pretty well chopped up.
2) Pour into a shooter glass and tip with tequila.
Alternatively, pour 2 oz. of tequila in a seasoned salt rimmed glass and fill with sangrita.
Sangrita (single serving)
1/2 shooter of tomato juice
1/3 shooter of orange juice
squeeze of lime juice
dash of Tabasco sauce
dash of Worcester sauce
pinch of celery salt
pinch of seasoned salt
1) Rim a shooter glass with lime juice and then dip into seasoned salt.
2) Pour all of the ingredients into the shooter glass and swirl a bit to mix.
3) Serve next to a shooter of tequila and sip alternately.
Alternatively, shake all of the ingredients together in a shaker and pour into an ice-filled glass with 2 oz. of tequila.
