This “Habanero Grilled Pineapple Margarita” post is sponsored by El Yucateco. All recipes, images, and opinions are my own.
Hey there summer lovers! It’s officially time for barbeques, swimming pools and icy cold beverages! It’s also HOT again in Phoenix, so naturally we’re looking for ways to cool things down and spice things up!
I’m excited to share another “Hot Sauce Summer” with El Yucateco Hot Sauce. Their products are always delicious, affordable, accessible and FUN! As the number one habanero hot sauce brand in the US, they have an array of creative flavors that pair perfectly with any type of dish or drink, savory or sweet! You can see for yourself at: www.shopelyucateco.com
Their Sauces are made from the whole fruit of the pepper, they are non-vinegar based and they don’t use the capsaicin extract. They focus on talking about flavor, NOT heat. Bottom line: FLAVOR, FLAVOR, FLAVOR, so it’s a perfect match for today’s Habanero Grilled Pineapple Margarita!
I started off by choosing the ripest, freshest, whole pineapple I could find at the grocery store. If you prefer to use the pre-cut chunks from the produce section and bottled juice, that’s totally fine. Just promise me you won’t use CANNED pineapple!
After I carved it up, I had a few large, whole slices and some 2” chunks. I skewered the chunks and grilled everything up on high heat for just about 5 minutes on each side.
Once those items were cooled, I added 5 or 6 chunks to an 8-ounce cocktail glass. I muddled in some lime juice and a teaspoon of El Yucateco’s Habanero Grilled Pineapple Hot Sauce. I wanted to make sure I got the flavor from the grill, the sweetness of the pineapple, and the acid from the lime, but I wanted the right amount of heat to shine through in this cocktail. Today was all about BALANCE.
I added a healthy 1.5 ounces of tequila (it IS a cocktail after all), and used my citrus press to squeeze out another 6 ounces or so of pineapple juice from some of the remaining chunks. Again, if you prefer to just buy pineapple juice here, it’s totally okay. I went for purity and simplicity of ingredients.
Now, I could have just stirred and garnished here, but I really wanted a big CHILL factor, so I transferred everything to a shaker full of ice, covered it, and shook it up until everything was chilly and combined. I also wanted to garnish the side of my glass with some chile lime powder, so I brushed it with just a bit of water and gave my glass a big dip. This added another layer of flavor and balanced everything perfectly with the hot sauce.
I made sure to fill my cocktail glass back up with ice before I strained the drink into my cocktail glass. This took out the big chunks of pineapple I had muddled in before, but please don’t let those lovely things go to waste! I emptied out the ice and ate them right out of the shaker!
For a glass garnish, I took the large slice of grilled pineapple and trimmed it just enough to float on the ice and balance on the edge of the cocktail glass. The final touch was a pineapple leaf or two that I plucked off of the fruit, and this turned out to be one of the prettiest, most flavorful cocktails I’ve ever made! There was a great balance of salty and sweet with the rim, and El Yucateco brought the PERFECT amount of heat right at the end with the Habanero Grilled Pineapple Hot Sauce!
You can bet I won’t be poolside this summer without one of these! With only 5 ingredients and a LOT of summer left, you’d be silly not to try this! Run down to your grocery store today for some El Yucateco hot sauce, or shop on their website at: www.shopelyucateco.com.
Habanero Grilled Pineapple Margarita
Prep Time: 10 minutes / Cook Time: 10 minutes / Servings: 1
Ingredients:
· 1 tsp. El Yucateco Habanero Grilled Pineapple Hot Sauce
· 5-6 chunks of grilled pineapple (plus a trimmed slice for garnish)
· Juice of ½ lime
· 1.5 oz. Tequila
· 6 oz. pineapple juice
· 2 tbsp. chile lime seasoning
Steps:
In an 8 oz. glass, muddle together the grilled pineapple, El Yucateco Habanero Grilled Pineapple Hot Sauce and lime juice until all the ingredients are combined. Add the tequila and pineapple juice and transfer the mixture to a 16-ounce cocktail shaker filled with ice. Cover and shake vigorously for about 15 seconds until cold and combined.
Spread the chile lime seasoning onto a flat surface. Wet the side of the cocktail glass with a wet brush or paper towel. Dip the wet glass into the chile lime seasoning to garnish the side of the glass.
Strain the cocktail mixture into the garnished glass. Finish with a piece of grilled pineapple and a couple of pineapple leaves.
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