The Best Pitcher Margaritas

Apr 13, 2022

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YIELDS:

12 Servings

ingredients

36 Oz. Tequila

¼ Cup Triple Sec

1 ½ Cups simple syrup (I Cup of Sugar and 1 cup of water – see instructions)

24 Oz. Lime Juice, fresh squeezed from about 24 limes

12 Lime slices, cut from 3 limes

Salt, to rim the glasses

Ice

DIRECTIONS

1. Make the simple syrup. Heat the sugar and water on the stove and stir until the sugar melts. Put your simple syrup to the side to cool.

2. Juice your limes into a large container or measuring cup. Add the tequila, triple sec and simple syrup. Mix and put in the refrigerator to chill. (At least two hours.)

3. Set up your margarita station: glasses, a plate of salt, a couple of lime wedges to rub the rim of the glass and slices of lime to garnish.

4. Rub the lime wedge around the rim of the glass and dip in the rim in the salt. Fill the glass with crushed ice. Add the margarita mix and garnish with a lime wheel.

5. Drink with pure excitement and delight – It is the perfect margarita after all!

NOTE: This is a classic recipe that needs no introduction. This is a straightforward recipe that requires the best ingredients. Buy the best tequila and triple sec you can afford. Triple sec is just an orange flavored liquor. There are other brands, but triple sec is my liquor of choice. YES, you must use fresh limes. There is no getting around it. DO NOT be using that bottled stuff. There is just no comparison. Sure, it is more work to juice all those limes, but oh so worth it. Hey, you’ve just invited guests over for the best Margarita ever – prove it by going the extra mile.

First, limes can be a pain in the neck to juice. They are often hard and they can take a little love to get the juices flowing. The easiest way to do this is to 1) pop them in the microwave (five at a time for 30 seconds) 2) roll them on the counter top, pressing on them hard, to break up all those membranes and get all the juices flowing 3) cut them in half diagonally. (Stand back, they are going to squirt and that’s a good thing!) and finally 4) use a hand held juicer. Right here is the best investment you can make to juice all your citrus. It is small, stores in a draw and after trying fresh lime juice margaritas; you’ll be using that gadget all the time. You can get a juicer here: Hand held citrus juicer.

Note that you’ll typically get about 2 tablespoons of juice from each lime (about one ounce) but I’d have extras on hand in case I need or want more juice.

Juice the limes right into a large glass measuring cup or container. I like to mix up all my ingredients and then pour them into the serving pitcher and chill in the fridge.

If you can, chill your glasses. I know, sometimes there just isn’t enough space to do that, but if you can, it is a big plus.

Next comes the ice. I love frozen margaritas and margaritas on the rocks. Either way works for me. For this recipe, I’ve made a big pitcher of the mix. You can pour this in a glass over ice or whirl it in a blender with ice to make a frozen margarita or serve it ice cold, straight up in a traditional margarita glass with some crushed ice. How you like it is your choice. Make a pitcher for your next party and get ready to hear “this is the best Margarita I’ve ever had”.