Being stuck inside has given me the opportunity to make a few recipes that I’ve been wanting to try for a really long time. One of these is my own custom Bloody Mary. I’ve had a decent amount of Bloody Marys and they’ve always left me disappointed. So, to address this problem, I’m taking the time to make my own version.
Ideally a Bloody Mary should have A LOT of different, pronounced flavors, but you can taste all of them. It should be underscored with a nice vegetable flavor. It should be spicy, salty, and peppery. Most importantly it should have a nice burn of alcohol. So I set out with this in mind.
- 32 ounces (4 cups) tomato juice
- 8 ounces (1 cup) vodka
- 1 medium-to-large cucumber, peeled and seeded
- 1/4 medium onion
- (Extra Spicy) 1/4 cored Jalapeno
- 1/2 cup distilled vinegar
- 1 teaspoon celery seed
- 3 Tbs Worcestershire sauce
- ½ teaspoon hot sauce (I used Franks), more to taste
- 2 teaspoons Lemon Pepper
- 2 medium cloves garlic, pressed or minced
- 1 tsp kosher salt, optional
- 2 tsp chili powder
- Kosher salt, for the rims of your glasses, add chili powder to this
- Lime wedges
- Lots of ice, for serving
- Various garnishes, celery stalks are traditional but boring, I like pickled jalapenos, pickles, pepperchinos and carrot.
Mix all ingredients up to the Lemon Pepper in a mixer. Blend until smooth. Add everything up until the salt for the glass rims. Before pouring into the glass make sure to coat in salt and a bit of chili powder, a little goes a long ways. Squeeze in lime wedge. Add garnishes and ice and anything on this planet you choose to incorporate, serve!
