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The Secret Ingredient for the Final Summer season Margarita: Grilled Pineapple



Why It Works

  • Grilling the pineapple and lime halves earlier than juicing and mixing the margarita develops a posh, smoky taste within the drink.
  • Straining the blended drink removes all undesirable fruit pulp for a clean cocktail.

When the nice and cozy climate lastly settles in for the spring and summer season months, I’m exterior cooking nearly the whole lot on my grill—even my cocktails. If grilling for firm, my mentality is that I could as nicely put these sizzling coals to good use and give you a artistic grilled drink for everybody, which is how this big-batch smoky pineapple margarita recipe was born. 

This margarita will get its distinct golden hue and smoky candy taste from charred pineapple rings and limes which might be blended with commonplace margarita substances like good high quality 100% agave blanco tequila (or reposado for those who choose and have the finances) and triple sec (ideally Cointreau) earlier than it’s strained and chilled for serving. It’s a batch-sized cocktail that’s massive sufficient for a gathering, however you may simply scale the recipe in half to make sufficient for simply a few margaritas.

Severe Eats / Lorena Masso


Should you’re a margarita purist, now might be the time it’s best to click on away and take a look at our basic margarita recipe. However, for those who strategy your margaritas with a “extra is extra” mentality, that is positively a riff it’s best to attempt.

Fruit-forward margaritas will be cloyingly candy and overshadow tequila’s nuanced, grassy, floral, and delicate citrus taste. The important thing, then, is to make a fruity, enjoyable margarita the place the added flavors truly improve the tequila, and do not cowl it up. Grilling the pineapple and limes over a sizzling fireplace with smoldering wooden chips imparts a scrumptious charred and smoky taste. The fruits caramelize and sweeten whereas growing a refined and complicated smokiness, for a drink that’s fruity and festive, with out being too candy.

The Grill Setup

I’ve written this recipe with directions for each a charcoal and fuel grill setup. However the fact is the grilling of the fruit works simply as nicely for those who’re utilizing the final of the smoldering embers of your grill, and even proper if you’re firing up the grill. The fruit wants only some minutes to prepare dinner, so it is easy to do it whereas grilling different meals. 

Severe Eats / Lorena Masso


Whether or not utilizing a charcoal or fuel grill, one of the simplest ways to attain the smoke is to make a foil packet with wooden chips and place it instantly over the warmth supply. For a charcoal grill, that is on the new coals, and for a fuel grill that is over the first burner (that’s the burner that ignites first on the grill). Enclosing the wooden chips in a foil packet is only a neater, simpler method so as to add the unfastened wooden—simply ensure to chop just a few vent slits roughly two inches in size on the highest so the smoke escapes in a gradual stream. In fact, you would skip this smoking step totally and nonetheless have a scrumptious, although sweeter charred-fruit margarita.

A Notice on the Smoke

My favourite ingredient on this margarita is the one not even listed: The smoke. You is perhaps questioning why I did not simply name for mezcal given the smoky taste I used to be chasing.The reply is that the smoke imparted on this grilled drink is softer and extra refined than that of most mezcals. So whereas you should utilize mezcal, I discover it overtakes the smoky notes from the grilled fruit and shifts the drink in a really completely different course

The Secret Ingredient for the Final Summer season Margarita: Grilled Pineapple



Cook dinner Mode
(Hold display awake)

  • 1 cup wooden chips reminiscent of apple or cherry wooden

  • 7 medium limes

  • 1/2 ripe pineapple (1 1/2 kilos; 680 g), peeled and sliced crosswise into 1-inch-thick rings

  • 1/8 teaspoon coarse or flaky salt, plus extra for garnish (non-obligatory)

  • 8 ounces (240 ml) high-quality blanco or reposado tequila

  • 6 ounces (180 ml) Cointreau or different triple sec

  • Sugar to style, non-obligatory

  1. Utilizing a big piece of industrial quality aluminum foil, wrap wooden chips in an 8- by 4-inch foil packet. (Be certain chips don’t poke holes in sides or backside of packet. If utilizing fuel, ensure there are not more than 2 layers of foil on backside of packet.) Lower 2 evenly spaced 2-inch slits on prime of packet. Grate limes to yield 4 teaspoons zest; set zest apart and halve limes.

    Severe Eats / Lorena Masso


  2. For a Charcoal Grill: Open backside vent utterly. Mild massive chimney starter crammed midway with charcoal briquettes (3 quarts). When prime coals are partially lined with ash, pour evenly over half of grill. Place wooden chip packet over sizzling coals. Set cooking grate in place, cowl, and open lid vent utterly. Warmth grill till sizzling, about 5 minutes.

    Severe Eats / Lorena Masso


    For a Fuel Grill: Take away cooking grate and place wooden chip packet instantly on main burner. Flip all burners to excessive; cowl; and warmth grill till sizzling, about quarter-hour. Go away all burners on excessive.

  3. Clear and oil cooking grate. Grill pineapple slices and lime halves, minimize facet down, over direct warmth (instantly over sizzling coals for a charcoal grill or over the first burner of a fuel grill with the lid down), ­turning pineapple as wanted, till charred and tender, about quarter-hour. Switch pineapple and limes to plate as they end cooking and let cool barely, about 5 minutes.

    Severe Eats / Lorena Masso


  4. Squeeze 4 ounces (1/2 cup) juice from lime halves; reserve a chunk of lime for salting the glass rims. Switch 2 ­pineapple slices to slicing board and minimize into 6 wedges; put aside for garnish. Switch remaining pineapple, lime zest and juice, and pinch of salt to blender and course of, beginning on low pace and regularly rising pace to excessive and scraping down sides of blender jar as wanted, till utterly clean, about 1 minute. Switch combination to a big bowl and stir in tequila and triple sec. (The blended fruit combination, earlier than including the alcohol, will be lined and refrigerated for as much as 2 days.)

    Severe Eats / Lorena Masso


  5. Pressure combination by way of fine-mesh strainer set over serving pitcher or massive container, urgent on solids to extract as a lot liquid as doable; discard solids. Season to style with sugar or salt, if wanted. Hold margarita and garnishes chilled in fridge till able to serve.

  6. Unfold 1/2 cup salt, if utilizing, into even layer in shallow bowl. Moisten about 1/2 inch of chilled old style glass or margarita glass rims by operating reserved lime round periphery. Roll moistened rims in salt to coat. Serve margaritas in ready glasses stuffed with ice, garnishing particular person parts with pineapple wedges.

    Severe Eats / Lorena Masso


Particular Gear

Charcoal or fuel grill, wooden chips, aluminum foil, blender, fine-mesh strainer, massive serving pitcher

Notes

This recipe will be scaled down by half to serve 2 to three individuals.

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