Part One: Infuse your Tequila, Then Grill Your Jalapenos and Limes

This part is optional, but if you want to make pineapple infused tequila, at least 24 hours before making your margaritas you will need to infuse 2 cups of tequila with a cup of chopped pineapple and let it marinate in the fridge overnight. The longer the tequila marinates in the pineapple, the more pineapple flavor it will have.

Next, fire up your grill to 400 degrees, prepping to grill the jalapenos and limes on direct heat. 

Now you don’t have a grill and still want to make this recipe here are a few options, with the caveat that a charcoal grill will give the best smoke flavor, HOWEVER, charring the jalapenos and limes over any flame or heat source will still amplify the flavor of the jalapenos and limes!)

• Oven Method: Optionally, you can set your oven to broil and broil the ingredients directly under the heat element
• Gas Burner Method: turn your flame up to high on a gas burner and with a pair of metal (heatproof) tongs, roast the jalapenos and limes (one by one) until they have formed charred edges and the sugar is burned. Pastry Torch Method: (bartending hack for when you are not near a kitchen).

Note, The fastest method without the grill will be the OVEN method.

Take a pastry torch and roast your jalapenos and limes until they begin to char. 

Put your Sunshine State of Mind Craft BBQ rub or sugar on a plate. Chop your limes in half and dip them in the Sunshine State of Mind Craft BBQ Rub, leaving a generous amount of rub or sugar on each lime. This sugar will caramelize on the grill while also amplifying the flavor of the limes and this is a beautiful thing!! Grill the limes until the sugar has melted and caramelized and deep char marks have formed on the limes. Grill the jalapenos until they are roasted on all side, being careful not to burn.

Remove the limes and jalapeno and let cool. Chop up the jalapenos. Now, if you cannot handle heat, then you should remove the seeds from the jalapeno. If you are making this recipe you most likely do like a little spice and will leave them in.

Next, squeeze the limes into a large vessel. This is our “margarita mix”. Add water to the mix and adjust according to how strong you like your lime juice in your margarita.

Assemble Your Cocktail (I do this one at a time so people can customize how strong and sweet they like their drinks. If you would prefer to make one big batch, that is up to you.

Make Your Margarita:

1. In a large cocktail shaker filled with ice, add 2 oz tequila
2. Next, add 3 oz lime juice
3. Add 1 oz agave syrup
4. Add ¼ of the jalapeno, chopped
5. Shake the cocktail shaker vigorously
6. Take a lime wedge and rim your glass.
7. Dip the rim of the glass in the remaining Sunshine State of Mind BBQ rub. Alternatively, you can use sugar or salt.
8. Add ice to the glass and pour it ¾ of the way full, you can use a strainer held over the glass to strain the jalapeno out (or keep it in if you like it a bit more spicy).
9. Next, top with Spindrift pineapple seltzer (if you like a more traditional marg then skip this part and fill your glass all the way with the lime juice mixture).
10. Garnish with chopped jalapenos and a lime and enjoy this exceptionally special Jalapeno margarita recipe