Michelada

The michelada is a spicy Mexican beer cocktail made with tomato juice, lime, and hot sauce! Light and refreshing, it’s got a salty, spiced rim. If you’re not drinking micheladas: well then, you haven’t lived! The michelada is a spicy beer cocktail made with Mexican beer, tomato juice, lime juice and hot sauce. Consider it a sort of combination between a Bloody Mary and a beer margarita. The best part is the glass rim: a mix of Old Bay, chili powder and celery salt brings a salty, savory flair to the front end of this refreshing drink. The flavor is just right for lots of occasions, from summer afternoon drinks or a Mexican-themed brunch. Alex and I are over the moon for this newest addition to our cocktail collection…here’s how to make it! What’s in a michelada? A michelada is a cervesa preparada (“prepared beer” in Spanish), a Mexican drink of beer mixed with tomato juice, hot sauce or salsa. It’s served in a chilled glass with a chili powder and salt rim. Best guess is that it came to be in the 1960’s. There are all sorts of variations on it all over Mexico, so there’s no “official” recipe. […]

A Couple Cooks – Healthy, Whole Food, & Vegetarian Recipes

The michelada is a spicy Mexican beer cocktail made with tomato juice, lime, and hot sauce! Light and refreshing, it’s got a salty, spiced rim.

Michelada

If you’re not drinking micheladas: well then, you haven’t lived! The michelada is a spicy beer cocktail made with Mexican beer, tomato juice, lime juice and hot sauce. Consider it a sort of combination between a Bloody Mary and a beer margarita. The best part is the glass rim: a mix of Old Bay, chili powder and celery salt brings a salty, savory flair to the front end of this refreshing drink. The flavor is just right for lots of occasions, from summer afternoon drinks or a Mexican-themed brunch. Alex and I are over the moon for this newest addition to our cocktail collection…here’s how to make it!

What’s in a michelada?

A michelada is a cervesa preparada (“prepared beer” in Spanish), a Mexican drink of beer mixed with tomato juice, hot sauce or salsa. It’s served in a chilled glass with a chili powder and salt rim. Best guess is that it came to be in the 1960’s. There are all sorts of variations on it all over Mexico, so there’s no “official” recipe. But most versions of the michelada have similar ingredients. Here’s what’s in a michelada:

  • Mexican larger beer
  • Lime juice
  • Salsa juice or tomato juice
  • Worcestershire sauce
  • Hot sauce (we like Cholula)

How to pronounce it? Michelada is pronounced mi-kay-lah-dah. (One theory on where the name came from: ordering “mi chela helada“, which means “my ice cold beer” in Spanish! But know one knows for sure.)

Michelada

The magic of salsa juice

Many versions of the michelada use tomato juice or even clamato juice. For our rendition, we used salsa juice! What’s that? Just place a few spoonfuls of salsa in a strainer and strain out the juice! You get a bit more flavor than just straight tomato juice. Of course: if tomato juice is easier for you, feel free to use that instead.

Our inspiration? The blender salsa recipe in our cookbook (Pretty Simple Cooking) had input from a chef at a traditional Mexican taquería in Miami called Taquiza. The recipe calls for letting the salsa sit in the fridge to let the flavors meld, then strain out the juice the accumulates. The chef at Taquiza told us this “salsa juice” is perfectly delicious and you can save it for making a michelada. After trying it ourselves, we were sold!

Michelada

It’s all in the rim: the best michelada salt!

Now, the rim of a michelada is of ultimate importance! Just like a margarita just isn’t the same without a salt rim, so too this drink is not complete without it. (Trust me, I tasted it when I was feeling lazy once…just wasn’t the same.) Typically a michelada rim has at least chili powder and salt, but you can get creative too! Many people like to use tajín, a popular chili, lime and salt blend. Here’s what we used:

  • Chili powder For tradition’s sake!
  • Old Bay This American spice blend packs a powerful punch. Use purchased or homemade.
  • Celery salt Celery salt brings additional nuance of flavor vs straight salt.
Best michelada beer cocktail

Make a statement with clear ice

If you like to really make your cocktails look stunning, try dressing this michelada up with clear ice! Clear ice is crystal clear ice that you can cut into large cubes: it looks just like what you’d get at a restaurant or fancy bar. Luckily: it’s easy to make at home! All you need is 24 hours and a small cooler. Here’s how to make clear ice.

When to serve a michelada

This michelada beer cocktail is light and festive. It’s great as a:

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Michelada

Michelada


1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (7 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

  • Author: Sonja Overhiser
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 0 minutes
  • Total Time: 5 minutes
  • Yield: 1 drink
  • Diet: Vegan

Description

The Michelada is a spicy Mexican beer cocktail made with tomato juice, lime, and hot sauce! Light and refreshing, it’s got a salty, spiced rim.


Ingredients

  • 12-ounce Mexican lager beer
  • 1 1/2 ounces (3 tablespoons) lime juice
  • 1/2 ounce (1 tablespoon) salsa juice (strained from a jar of salsa) or tomato juice
  • 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 teaspoon hot sauce (like Cholula)
  • For the rim: 1 tablespoon Old Bay (purchased or homemade), 1 tablespoon chili powder, 1 teaspoon celery salt
  • Ice, for serving (try clear ice!)

Instructions

  1. On a plate, mix the Old Bay, chili powder and celery salt and spread it into an even layer. Cut a notch in a lime wedge, then run the lime around the rim of a glass. Dip the edge of the rim into a plate of seasonings.
  2. In the glass, stir together the lime juice, salsa juice (use a fine-mesh strainer to strain out salsa juice from a few spoonfuls of salsa), Worcestershire sauce, and hot sauce.
  3. Fill the glass with ice. Top with the beer and stir gently.

  • Category: Drink
  • Method: Stirred
  • Cuisine: Cocktails

Keywords: Michelada

More great Latin-style cocktails

Love the michelada? Here are a few more great Mexican and Latin-style cocktails to choose from:

  • Paloma Combine tequila and grapefruit and you’ve got the classic Mexican paloma cocktail!
  • Classic Mojito Here’s a classic mojito recipe, perfectly balanced with lime, rum and fresh mint! This iconic Cuban cocktail is refreshing and just sweet enough.
  • 15 Best Margarita Recipes Try all our best margaritas, from mezcal to jalapeno to strawberry.
  • Ranch Water A Texas-style tequila highball drink made with lime, tequila and Topo Chico! This bubbly cocktail is all about cooling off on hot days.

A Couple Cooks - Healthy, Whole Food, & Vegetarian Recipes

Recipe | Drunken Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

I’m not sure why I love cooking with beer so much when I don’t like to drink beer at all. Escandalo! A food blogger that doesn’t like beer! Yes, it’s true; I’m just not a fan. I do like Guinness and I love me some lambic (…

I’m not sure why I love cooking with beer so much when I don’t like to drink beer at all. Escandalo! A food blogger that doesn’t like beer! Yes, it’s true; I’m just not a fan. I do like Guinness and I love me some lambic (my Chocolate Lambic Cupcakes are probably one of my favorite recipes on this blog), but other than that, beer is just yucky to me. And of course, when you don’t like beer, people never just take it at face value. No, they assume you’re judgy about drinking or that you’re uncool or super religious. Can’t a person just not like beer? Is it really that strange? C’mon, you know it tastes kind of foul. You know it does! Cooking with beer is another story, though. And that bitter flavor that keeps me from drinking beer is the very reason I love to cook with it—I like that slight bitter note that it lends to dishes. It adds interest and depth without adding a lot of calories. Case in point? These Drunken Grilled Cheese Sandwiches. After making Drunken Franks with Field Roast Frankfurters last week, I became a little bit obsessed with the idea of […]

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As the COVID-19-induced quarantine wears on and we schedule more at-home date nights and virtual happy hours, one thing becomes abundantly clear: Even in these times of uncertainty, our desire for a refreshing, possibly strong, drink around 5 o’clock remains extremely certain.

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The post Guinness Stew appeared first on My Baking Addiction.

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Three white bowls of Guinness stew on a white surface

I have never understood the need to don myself in head to toe green gear and head into jam-packed bars to simply rub up against sweaty, intoxicated people and drink enough green beer that my tongue takes on a disgusting shade of chartreuse.

Although I am not an avid fan of this holiday or the spirits that accompany it, I do love all things Irish food.
Out of respect for those many devoted fans, most of whom aren’t remotely Irish by the way, I thought I would join in the festivities by creating a fantastic meal to help them soak up all of that green beer.

I mean, I am officially 1/19 Irish, so I needed to do something, right? And, what better pair with St. Patrick’s Day than a hearty Guinness Stew?
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The post Guinness Stew appeared first on My Baking Addiction.

Sesame Pretzel Focaccia with Dijon Beer Cheese.

This pretzel focaccia is seriously changing my life! This bread. Oh my WORD. It’s like a soft pretzel but a million times better.  The sesame pretzelness of this focaccia reminds me so much of my favorite pretzel croissant from City Bakery (which sadly closed! wah!), which was perfectly flakey and also had a few sesame […]

The post Sesame Pretzel Focaccia with Dijon Beer Cheese. appeared first on How Sweet Eats.

This pretzel focaccia is seriously changing my life!

This sesame pretzel focaccia bread is amazing! Almost like a soft pretzel with crispy edges. Serve with a delicious dijon beer cheese.

This bread. Oh my WORD. It’s like a soft pretzel but a million times better. 

pretzel focaccia dough

The sesame pretzelness of this focaccia reminds me so much of my favorite pretzel croissant from City Bakery (which sadly closed! wah!), which was perfectly flakey and also had a few sesame seeds on top. 

There is a (very!) faux version in The Pretty Dish, using puff pastry and it does the trick if you want to make one. 

But now! Now we have this.

OH MY GOSH. 

This sesame pretzel focaccia bread is amazing! Almost like a soft pretzel with crispy edges. Serve with a delicious dijon beer cheese.

This is so unbelievably delicious. You make a focaccia bread as you normally would and then do the whole baking soda + water thing by brushing it on top of the dough. It creates the pretzel-ish top and flavor that we so crave and love. 

This sesame pretzel focaccia bread is amazing! Almost like a soft pretzel with crispy edges. Serve with a delicious dijon beer cheese.

And of course! The beer cheese! Dijon beer cheese to be exact.

I’ve made tons of beer cheese things on the blog over the years. It’s no secret that I love basically ANYTHING beer cheese.

Making this dip for the focaccia is out of this world. It’s rich and creamy and a bit tangy and so decadent. The pretzel focaccia doesn’t NEED a dip, but it’s deliciousness is definitely enhanced by this one. 

When you get a soft pretzel and you have to choose between mustard and cheese dip, I can NEVER choose. I always want both.

So I made both. Into one! 

This sesame pretzel focaccia bread is amazing! Almost like a soft pretzel with crispy edges. Serve with a delicious dijon beer cheese.

Cheese and mustard and probably two of my favorite things in the whole world, so combining them into a dip is just UNREAL. The taste is fantastic. It almost reminds me of a croque monsier in a weird way since it has mustard and cheese sauce. And that’s always a good thing!

I’m not sure I can even fully report how much Eddie loves the focaccia. You know how they say there are two types of people – those who like to eat in moderation and those who prefer to splurge all in one day? Eddie is the latter and usually saves indulgent treats for the weekends. But as I tested this recipe during the week, he couldn’t stop eating the bread and was freaking out over just how GOOD it is. The temptation was strong. 

This sesame pretzel focaccia bread is amazing! Almost like a soft pretzel with crispy edges. Serve with a delicious dijon beer cheese.

Even though I’m not a serious bread person (I could take it or leave it, aside from a good piece of sourdough), serving this in the focaccia sticks is my desired way to eat. But I did see suggestions to use it to make a sandwich and that just sounds fabulous. I admit that I didn’t even try it, because it disappears like crazy every time I make it. 

I hope the same happens for you!

This sesame pretzel focaccia bread is amazing! Almost like a soft pretzel with crispy edges. Serve with a delicious dijon beer cheese.

Pretzel Focaccia with Dijon Beer Cheese

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Pretzel Focaccia with Dijon Beer Cheese

This sesame pretzel focaccia bread is amazing! Almost like a soft pretzel with crispy edges. Serve with a delicious dijon beer cheese.
Course bread
Cuisine American
Prep Time 3 hours
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 3 hours 25 minutes
Servings 8 people
Author How Sweet Eats

Ingredients

  • 6 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon kosher salt
  • 1 packet (2 ¼ teaspoons) active dry yeast
  • 3 cups warm water
  • 6 tablespoons melted butter
  • 2 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil
  • 2 tablespoons baking soda
  • ½ cup boiling water
  • flakey sea salt, for topping
  • sesame seeds, for topping

Dijon Beer Cheese

  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 2 tablespoons flour
  • 1 cup beer
  • 2 tablespoons dijon mustard
  • 12 ounces freshly grated gouda
  • 2 tablespoons fresh chives

Instructions

  • Stir the flour, salt and yeast together in a large bowl. Slowly add in the warm water while stirring constantly until a dough forms. It will be sticky! Once the lumps are gone and the dough is combined, cover it and place in a warm spot to rise for 1 to 2 hours.
  • Brush an 18x13 inch sheet pan with 2 tablespoons of the melted butter. Drizzle on the oil and brush it all over the pan too. Turn the dough out onto the pan and press it out with your hands until it covers the sheet pan.
  • Place the baking soda in a large bowl. Bring ½ cup water to a boil (I use an electric tea kettle for this) and pour it over the baking soda. It will get foamy - this is why you want to use a bigger bowl that you’d expect.
  • Brush the mixture (you won’t use all of it - reserve it to use later) on the top of the dough. Then place the sheet pan in a warm place and let it rise again for an hour. It will be a little bubbly too.
  • Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F. Brush the top of the dough again with the baking soda mixture. Bake the bread for 10 minutes. Remove the pan and brush it with the remaining melted butter. Sprinkle with the flaked salt and sesame seeds. Return the pan to the oven and bake for another 10 to 15 minutes, until the top is golden brown (like a soft pretzel!) and the edges are a bit crisp.
  • Let the bread cool slightly (you can make the beer cheese while it cools!) before slicing it. Serve!

Dijon Beer Cheese

  • To make the beer cheese sauce, heat a small saucepan over medium heat and add butter. Once sizzling, whisk in flour and stir for 1 to 2 minutes until golden and fragrant and bubbly. Stir in beer, whisking well to combine.
  • Reduce heat to low and add cheese, stirring until totally melted and smooth. Whisk in the dijon. Serve immediately with a sprinkling of chives.

Notes

slightly adapted from bon appetit and real simple

This sesame pretzel focaccia bread is amazing! Almost like a soft pretzel with crispy edges. Serve with a delicious dijon beer cheese.

Puhlease make this your weekend plan.

The post Sesame Pretzel Focaccia with Dijon Beer Cheese. appeared first on How Sweet Eats.

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