bloody marys

lately i've been totally obsessing over bloody marys and discovering the best places to get them and trying to develop my own recipe for the best bloody mary possible. the deliciousness of a good bloody mary in the morning after a hard night's drinking is unparalleled. the spiciness, the savoriness, the brightness, the saltiness, all important. a well-balanced bloody mary is truly one of the greatest cocktails ever created and is a testament to the pure beauty of being a human being.

the best bloody i've ever had is in austin, tx, at a place called frank. just the right amount of alcohol, just the right amount of spice, just the right amount of saltiness--it's really working on all cylinders. bloody mary purists will like to wax academic on the drink's foliage (i.e. celery, green beans, olives, etc), but frank does it right and in lieu of celery drops a big fuck off slab of peppered thick cut bacon in the drink. along with a toothpick containing a hot pepperoncini, a square of cheddar, and an olive. it's the best bloody mary i've had.

for the past few weeks i've been doing my due diligence and have either ordered or fixed myself a bloody mary almost every morning. this morning, my bloody mary was absolutely outstanding, and i must share with you what i did. keep in mind it is still a work in progress.

-first i get a collins glass. they are a bit taller and skinnier than a typical glass.

-line the rim of the glass with coarse salt by first rubbing a lime wedge around the rim and then dipping into a container of margarita salt.

-fill the glass halfway with ice cubes.

-pour in the vodka (about 2 oz). russian standard. or stolichnaya.

-juice a small/med lime and pour that in.

-pour in tomato juice till the glass is about 3/4 full. i use campbell's TJ from concentrate.

-worcestershire sauce. about 10-12 dashes. be careful you dont want your bloody mary to look dark brown.

-a healthy splash of beef stock. i wouldnt go out of my way to obtain it, but if you have it, definitely splash some in.

-a little dash of soy sauce

-a teaspoon of prepared fresh grated white horseradish (i use ba tampte)

-about 8 dashes of tobasco sauce (do this to taste though. i like mine spicy)

-fresh cracked black pepper.

-take a spoon and give everything a good stir

-optional but preferred: drop in a slice of thick cut bacon (hint: cook the bacon in the oven so that it comes out straight and crispy)

-garnish with a lime wedge

DRINK!

i find that this bloody mary has a good amount of different spice to it, and some will argue that it's heavy on the lime juice but i really feel like the brightness of the lime juice really balances it out well. it's really freaking tasty.

how i do love bloody marys. also in the evening the michelada is a great similar drink as an appetizer before dinner.

  On 6/8/2010 at 7:12 PM, Fred McGriff said:

 

lately i've been totally obsessing over bloody marys and discovering the best places to get them and trying to develop my own recipe for the best bloody mary possible. the deliciousness of a good bloody mary in the morning after a hard night's drinking is unparalleled. the spiciness, the savoriness, the brightness, the saltiness, all important. a well-balanced bloody mary is truly one of the greatest cocktails ever created and is a testament to the pure beauty of being a human being.

 

the best bloody i've ever had is in austin, tx, at a place called frank. just the right amount of alcohol, just the right amount of spice, just the right amount of saltiness--it's really working on all cylinders. bloody mary purists will like to wax academic on the drink's foliage (i.e. celery, green beans, olives, etc), but frank does it right and in lieu of celery drops a big fuck off slab of peppered thick cut bacon in the drink. along with a toothpick containing a hot pepperoncini, a square of cheddar, and an olive. it's the best bloody mary i've had.

 

for the past few weeks i've been doing my due diligence and have either ordered or fixed myself a bloody mary almost every morning. this morning, my bloody mary was absolutely outstanding, and i must share with you what i did. keep in mind it is still a work in progress.

 

-first i get a collins glass. they are a bit taller and skinnier than a typical glass.

-line the rim of the glass with coarse salt by first rubbing a lime wedge around the rim and then dipping into a container of margarita salt.

-fill the glass halfway with ice cubes.

-pour in the vodka (about 2 oz). russian standard. or stolichnaya.

-juice a small/med lime and pour that in.

-pour in tomato juice till the glass is about 3/4 full. i use campbell's TJ from concentrate.

-worcestershire sauce. about 10-12 dashes. be careful you dont want your bloody mary to look dark brown.

-a healthy splash of beef stock. i wouldnt go out of my way to obtain it, but if you have it, definitely splash some in.

-a little dash of soy sauce

-a teaspoon of prepared fresh grated white horseradish (i use ba tampte)

-about 8 dashes of tobasco sauce (do this to taste though. i like mine spicy)

-fresh cracked black pepper.

-take a spoon and give everything a good stir

-optional but preferred: drop in a slice of thick cut bacon (hint: cook the bacon in the oven so that it comes out straight and crispy)

-garnish with a lime wedge

 

DRINK!

 

i find that this bloody mary has a good amount of different spice to it, and some will argue that it's heavy on the lime juice but i really feel like the brightness of the lime juice really balances it out well. it's really freaking tasty.

 

how i do love bloody marys. also in the evening the michelada is a great similar drink as an appetizer before dinner.

hold the soy sauce and beef stock (technically if you are using that you're making a bloody bull, not a bloody mary).

add olives, and celery, or even better, a garlic pickle spear (at the very least, add a splash of pickle juice to the bloody mary mix).

i don't support using a salt rim for a bloody mary, and I would prefer better vodka than stoli.

but, i agree. 'tis a superb drink. i drink them at any time of day, but morning is best.

Party at your house Fred

i fuckin love a bloody mary!

i've never tried adding soy or beef stock but it sounds interesting, and i don't tend to bother with garnish at all but the bacon makes sense for the saltiness. but i prefer to drink rather than eat a bloody mary.

i like the sound of the pickle juice tip too! def going to try these.

here's mine with an orgasmic fresh alternative to tabasco...

get a jar of sun-blushed(sun-dried are too strong)tomatoes in oil...

take out half a dozen and drain/squeeze all the oil off...

in a blender whizz the tomatoes up with 1 fresh red chilli and a generous pinch of dry red chilli flakes into a fine paste (which you can keep in the fridge and use in cooking too)...

try half a teaspoon of paste in your mix first and adjust to taste. mix it all up well in a cocktail shaker with double vodka, tom juice and lots of ice...

pour over more fresh ice in tall glass and add the following to taste...

• 
   
  
• pinch of salt.
  
• black pepper.
  
• worcester sauce.
  
• squeeze of lime and lime wedge.
  

drink it with a straw!

  On 6/8/2010 at 7:43 PM, blicero said:

hold the soy sauce and beef stock (technically if you are using that you're making a bloody bull, not a bloody mary).

 

are you waxing academic?

I love bloody marys, but there's fish in Worcestershire sauce, so I don't drink them.

the beef stock is def a weird touch but i can see how it would work. the bacon is just brilliant.

traditionally i've gone with a nice tall guinness as the goto morning drink. i don't know about all this spicy liquid nonsense

I've never had a Bloody Mary!

Do you make your own beef stock, buy it canned/boxed, or use cubes?

i happened to have made my own earlier which is why i decided to throw some of it in there. if not, then a carton of kitchen basics always gets the job done.

what's wrong with a cuppa tea?

Traditionally, a cuppa tea doesn't contain hooch.

  On 6/8/2010 at 11:37 PM, Fred McGriff said:

i happened to have made my own earlier which is why i decided to throw some of it in there. if not, then a carton of kitchen basics always gets the job done.

 

Fuckin A. My Ms. Cook just made some stock w all the bones we had been saving from our dinners, chicken & lamb mostly, but also duck wing. Duck is fucking expensive!

Did you use your pork bones?

Making stock is easy, step-wise, but takes a long time! -- Well, for us, because after we squeeze all the veggies to get maximum juiceage, we then cool the liquid and make ice cubes for use during the next few weeks of cooking.

i love this drink and i don't feel guilty about drinking one or more at any hour of the day because it has lots of vitamins and the spicy kick sends me in the right direction.

you guys make it really complicated though. alcohol just isn't something i put that much effort into.

but bloody marys are hardly just alcohol they are a dish and deserve optimal ingredients and execution

  On 6/8/2010 at 10:43 PM, Fred McGriff said:

  On 6/8/2010 at 7:43 PM, blicero said:

hold the soy sauce and beef stock (technically if you are using that you're making a bloody bull, not a bloody mary).

 

 

are you waxing academic?

...and waxing that ass. i'm not sure that would be considered academic but that, sir, is definitely a bloody bull (altho it traditionally calls for a bullion cube, i believe).

i am more of a purist, i'll give you that.

and i understand that some people don't like all the garnish, but i've been out at the bar late at night and I'm nice and buzzed, but also a bit hungry... at that moment, a bloody mary with some nice garnish (olives and pickles or celery) helps take the edge off. but i get weird looks from people for ordering one at night, but fuck that shit. it's a great drink with brunch, but it's too good to be limited to morning.

  On 6/9/2010 at 9:46 PM, Fred McGriff said:

but bloody marys are hardly just alcohol they are a dish and deserve optimal ingredients and execution

you should make a version with smirnoff ice bro

and mail em to people

  On 6/9/2010 at 3:39 PM, encey said:

  On 6/8/2010 at 11:37 PM, Fred McGriff said:

i happened to have made my own earlier which is why i decided to throw some of it in there. if not, then a carton of kitchen basics always gets the job done.

 

Fuckin A. My Ms. Cook just made some stock w all the bones we had been saving from our dinners, chicken & lamb mostly, but also duck wing. Duck is fucking expensive!

 

Did you use your pork bones?

 

Making stock is easy, step-wise, but takes a long time! -- Well, for us, because after we squeeze all the veggies to get maximum juiceage, we then cool the liquid and make ice cubes for use during the next few weeks of cooking.

no my pork bones are usually used up because i already slow cooked the hell out of them in the slow cooker... should i use them still?

do you ever throw in cheese rinds? i freeze all my parm cheese rinds and extract wicked good umami from them in stocks

  On 6/9/2010 at 10:49 PM, jules said:

  On 6/9/2010 at 9:46 PM, Fred McGriff said:

but bloody marys are hardly just alcohol they are a dish and deserve optimal ingredients and execution

 

 

you should make a version with smirnoff ice bro

 

and mail em to people

Doesn't Budweiser sell a shitty version of a bloody mary in a can?

  On 6/9/2010 at 10:14 PM, blicero said:

and i understand that some people don't like all the garnish, but i've been out at the bar late at night and I'm nice and buzzed, but also a bit hungry... at that moment, a bloody mary with some nice garnish (olives and pickles or celery) helps take the edge off. but i get weird looks from people for ordering one at night, but fuck that shit. it's a great drink with brunch, but it's too good to be limited to morning.

I like your approach to this drink!

  On 6/9/2010 at 10:53 PM, Fred McGriff said:

no my pork bones are usually used up because i already slow cooked the hell out of them in the slow cooker... should i use them still?

 

do you ever throw in cheese rinds? i freeze all my parm cheese rinds and extract wicked good umami from them in stocks

Good point. I don't know how to tell if there's anything left in them, although it's possible you could use them a second time. I guess it depends on how long you slow-cook 'em.

She did use a parmesan rind in a broth once and it was good -- we often use them in tomato sauces.