Prickly Pear Margarita
- Level: Easy
- Yield: 1 cocktail
- Total: 2 hr 10 min (includes cooling time for the syrup)
- Active: 10 min
Ingredients
Cocktail:
3 ounces tequila
1/2 ounce triple sec
1 ounce fresh lime juice
1/2 ounce agave nectar
2 ounces Prickly Pear Syrup (recipe follows; see Cook's Note)
2 pinches red chile flakes
Garnish:
Lime juice, for the rim, plus a lime slice, for serving
1/4 cup raw sugar
1/4 cup pink salt
Prickly pear slices, if available, for serving
Prickly Pear Syrup:
2 pounds prickly pears (see Cook’s Note)
2 cups sugar
1 lime, zested and juiced
Directions
- For the cocktail: Combine the tequila, triple sec, lime juice, agave, prickly pear syrup and chile flakes in a cocktail shaker and incorporate all the ingredients by shaking it to your own rhythm.
- For the garnish: Pour some lime juice on a saucer. Mix together the sugar and salt on a separate saucer. Dip the rim of a 10-ounce glass into the lime juice and then dip the rim into the sugar and pink salt mixture. Fill the glass with ice, pour in the cocktail and garnish with prickly pear, if using, and a lime slice.
Prickly Pear Syrup:
- Holding each prickly pear with metal tongs, lightly graze the fruit with a flame until the glochids (thorns) are singed off. Place the fruit in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan and cover with water. Bring to boil, cover and let sit off the heat for 25 to 35 minutes.
- Line a fine-mesh sieve with cheesecloth. Strain the liquid through it into a medium heatproof bowl, mashing the fruit with a spoon until all the fruit is mashed.
- Pour the contents of the bowl into the same saucepan and discard the solids; stir in the sugar, bring to a simmer and cook for about 10 minutes. Add the lime zest and juice. Let simmer about 15 more minutes; remove from the heat, let cool and refrigerate.
Cook’s Note
There is a standard way of extracting the juice out of the prick pear. On the outside, there are cactus glochids, which are the very tiny little thorns on the fruit. On the inside there are very hard seeds. The method here is the easiest way I was taught. If prickly pears are not available, use bottled prickly pear syrup, which can be purchased online and in specialty food shops.