Blood oranges are so stunning and make the most amazing Blood Orange Margarita Cocktails. Grab some quick before their short season is over!
I can not post this cocktail today and ignore the events of this week. My heart is breaking and quite frankly, I've been anxious like everyone else. I've struggled to regain a sense of normal but am trying to today after staying glued to the news for the past two days. I hope everyone reading this is safe and your family is secure and that we see brighter days ahead. Our country is better than this but we all have to strive to make it so.
I made this Blood Orange Margarita Cocktail this past weekend and had planned to have it post early this morning as I typically do for cocktails on Friday. But time and place flew out the window so I'm only finishing up now and it's 9:30am. Still, this is a good one and if you need a cocktail this weekend like many of us do, one with the beautiful blood orange fruit is perfect this time of year.
As I will so often, I'm offering up a really old post as new again. This was originally published eight years ago and the images were ready for a redo. Plus this is such a beautiful and delicious cocktail, I know that new readers will love discovering it!
I remember when I used to be so stuck on my favorite margarita recipe that I seldom ventured far from it. On top of that I thought margaritas were pretty much a 'summer only' cocktail. Luckily I have not only have ventured far and wide with fruit choices but if I had never gone beyond summer fruits I would have also never had this amazing cocktail, only possible with the short lived winter blood orange.
While there is something about that cold and icy drink that's just perfect for having friends over during warmer months along with guacamole, chips and either fajitas or barbecue ribs, the fact that I'm making country style pork ribs in a pressure cooker today might have something to do with this update.
I thought this margarita with fresh, seasonal citrus would be great with pork and a fresh slaw. I wish I could tell you it was also balmy and warm outside in January but that would be a lie. In Denver, 40 is warm and hey, there is no snow, so I'm good with pretending that summer is around the corner!
If you've never had a blood orange and are wondering why it's called that, well, now you know. Isn't that color beautiful? The flavor is different too; they have less of a citrus bite to them and are also a bit sweeter.
They are gorgeous and finding these beauties is always a real bright spot in the middle of winter. I don't see them much at my regular grocery store but have good success at either Sprouts or Whole Foods so take a peek there if you run into the same dilemma; they are so worth it.
Beyond the oranges I do think a couple of things are imperative for making really good margaritas.
- Use good tequila - I didn't have my standard on hand that I use for margaritas which is Cuervo 1800; a reposado tequila meaning that it's been aged a bit but less than one year. Not quite a high caliber sipping tequila but even a bit of aging makes for a much smoother tequila and that improvement is evident in a cocktail. All I had on hand to make this cocktail was a pricey sipping tequila. Not necessary but what a fine cocktail it made.
- Please don't use cheap Triple Sec - Triple Sec is merely artificially flavored sugar water. Nuff said? I use Patron's Citronge or any other orange liqueur made from the actual essence of orange; all are good. If you have Grand Marnier you can use it but something less pricey is fine too; save your Grand Marnier for over rocks.
- Fresh lime juice and obviously fresh orange juice - even if you can't locate blood oranges and want to try this with regular oranges I don't recommend using frozen or bottled OJ. Buy some oranges and give them a quick squeeze...besides you needs some slices for garnish right?
Go now and grab some blood oranges and try this cocktail...it is now officially my 'winter' margarita...make it yours too! Have a good weekend and relax with a great cocktail.
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