I used tequila for round one then switched to mezcal for the second. The recipe called for prickly pear juice and sugar, but since we had a syrup the sugar seemed unnecessary. David had suggested a prickly pear margarita with mezcal substituted for the tequila. It’s still peach world in our house, so we also made a peach salsa to cover the grilled fish.Īnd then there was the drink. We switched the fish to wild caught mahi-mahi, used blackening seasoning instead of chili powder and then added a coating of prickly pear syrup mixed with tequila for the last couple of minutes of grilling. That turned into a modification of the go-to salmon recipe. The first thought I had when our oldest brother said he was sending prickly pear syrup, even though I had never tried it, was that I needed to find a way to use it in a recipe. You can add a cedar plank to the grill surface to cook it on for a little je ne sais quoi, but that is just complicating delicious. It is as simple as sprinkling the fish with chili powder, grilling it and then finishing it in the last few minutes with a glaze of 50/50 bourbon and honey. In the meantime, the only remaining thing to do is to thank my brother Chris for introducing me to such an intriguing and enticing ingredient.Ī few years back I found a go-to recipe for grilled salmon. I have many other plans for it-other cocktails among my schemes-and perhaps those will make some appearance in later posts. I still have another jar of syrup remaining. A hearty hors d’oeuvre rather than main course, it seemed a great complement to the margarita. The combination was spicy, smoky, and earthy-like mezcal-without being too sweet. Along with the shrimp, she made corn cakes featuring corn cut from the cob and a mixture of salsa plus chipotle pepper with adobo sauce and a liberal amount of prickly pear syrup. Serve in Margarita Glasses with coarse salt or Margarita Salt on the rims of the glasses and a lime slice, and serve immediately.Īs for food, I left most of that to my daughter, who suggested we marinate some shrimp in a few simple spices (old bay, mustard and garlic powder, salt and pepper) then grill them on the barbeque. Correct with additional sugar or corn syrup if it is too tart. In a blender, add crushed ice, lime juice, Tequila, Triple Sec, prickly pear juice, and sugar or corn syrup cover and mix ingredients (a pulsating action with 4 or 5 jolts of the blender works the best). I’ll leave for Jonathan’s review whether prickly pear syrup helps achieve those ends.ġ tablespoon granulated sugar or corn syrup The ultimate goal of any margarita is refreshment… though it’s nice if it’s potent too. As I don’t have a margarita machine, the ice remained mostly chunky, not the slushy you might expect from a trip to your local Mexican restaurant. My version of this week’s margarita was frozen, and though we don’t have much experience with that method of preparation, I’ve noticed the cooler a drink is, the more dramatic its trigeminal effects. And it’s mild, lending a distinctive flavor while playing well with all the citrus in a margarita. Any attempt I’ve made to triangulate (quadrangulate?) its flavor, however, ends with the simple assertion that it tastes wonderful. The syrup reminds me a little of raspberries (though not so tart) and a little like aloe (though not nearly so bitter) and watermelon (though not so watery) and somewhat like kiwi (though mostly in texture). His response, “Like prickly pear,” didn’t tell me much, but now that I’ve tried it myself, I see the sense in his answer. Early this summer, when Chris posted a photo of a pitcher of syrup from his prickly pear fruit harvest, I asked him in a comment what it tasted like. I’m pretty sure he joined The Cactus and Succulent Society before he hit his teenage years. Our brother Chris loves plants, especially fruiting plants and cacti. Our brother Chris sent us each two mason jars of prickly pear syrup, which formed the basis for a frozen margarita using mezcal and, as a bonus, some food item using his gift. This week’s cocktail isn’t our first margarita… but it’s certainly our most exotic one.
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