As in, “come for the bacon, you know you want it.”
Yes, the uber-trendy ingredient of 2009 has been the most popular part of brunch at my house for the better part of a decade. Every year I cook at least 5 lbs of it and it disappears like sharks into the swirling chum. This is no fancy-schmancy bacon, nor it even my own homemade stuff, just plain old Farmer John, cooked to a crisp. It’s gone within minutes of hitting the chafing dish.
There’s no recipe for me to share here, just my recommendation for a successful brunch; cook bacon and they will come.
So, instead I’m going to share with you the other thing people always comment on; my homemade Bloody Mary mix which I’ve been told “kicks ass.” And that’s not about a generous pour of vodka either, it’s about the spicy/salty/umami taste of the mix itself.
Personally, I like to drink it plain because I don’t like vodka, though this time I’m thinking of sneaking some tequila into mine. It’s been a rough month.
Ingredients
Homemade Bloody Mary Mix
3 Tbsp dijon mustard
3 Tbsp worchestershire sauce
2 Tbsp prepared horseradish
2 Tbsp hot sauce (like Tabasco)
2.5 oz lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
1.5 oz lime juice (about 2 limes)
2 Tbsp olive brine
1 tsp celery seed
2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
2 tsp kosher or sea salt
64 oz tomato vegetable juice
Mix all of the ingredients together except the tomato juice. It should yield about 1.25 cups of mix. Add as much or as little to the tomato juice as you prefer. I usually start with about 1/2 cup of mix for every quart of juice. Add your preferred alcohol, or drink it as a Virgin Mary.
At the bottom of the post is a picture of my “Bloody Margarita” with tequila instead of vodka.
Notes about ingredients
Tomato Vegetable Juice; most Bloody Mary mixes use canned tomato juice, and that’s fine, but I prefer a tomato vegetable juice like V-8 or the one from Trader Joe’s which is what I usually use now. It has more flavor. If I had canned some of my fresh tomato juice this summer, I would certainly consider using that instead. But given that fresh tomatoes are not in season right now, I’ll stick with the tomato vegetable juice.
Horseradish; The recipe calls for prepared horseradish (yes, the stuff in the jar), but if you can find fresh horseradish root, you could use that, just make sure it’s grated very fine, and adjust the amount to your personal taste.
Olive brine; this is the stuff out of a jar of good green olives. I have a bottle of “dirty martini” olive brine so I used that rather than leave my olives dry in the jar.
Bloody Margarita
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This is fabulous! Thanks for sharing your recipe. I’ve never tried to make this from scratch but hubs the Bloody Mary King so I’ll have to give it a whirl! Great photography as well!
Love a good bloody mary! And love your comment about leaving out the vodka – for those of us who might need a tad of detox after a glorious holiday season. I sometimes add beef broth and heat for a heartening soup on a wintry day
Love your blog, will connect on Twitter.
Happy New Year!
Perfect timing! I love Bloody Mary’s and well given the time of year they are my favorite hangover cure. Looks delicious. I haven’t used horseradish in mine before, but my mouth is already watering thinking about it. Hopefully I won’t need it, but I definitely will enjoy it
Happy New Year!
How long do you think the recipe would last – minus the tomato juice – in the fridge, so that I may use it over a period of time?
I’m not sure. Maybe a couple of weeks. I think the only thing which might go bad would be the fresh juices. You could easily halve the recipe too.
I made this. Yes, I tried this today following the exact steps in your recipe. It’s wonderful. Thanks.
Hahahahaha! You really are ahead of the curve. My favorite day-after meal is pepperoni pizza where the grease is sliding off the slice and onto my arms. THAT is the ultimate hangover cure. Although the thought makes me sick sober.
Didn’t need it this year. I had my half glass of wine in the honest-to-god crystal goblet my husband bought me for my birthday and passed out at 9:30. My daughter was up til 11:30. =:D
I don’t know if I could do a Bloody Mary… seems a bit like sipping on alcoholic pasta sauce.
Well, I guess you have to like tomato juice. It’s so spicy and flavorful, you don’t really taste the alcohol much. I did have mine with Tequila and I must say, it was pretty tasty!
Oh yeah, and my friends have taken to calling the party “baconfest” LOL.
Ive been experimenting with alot of various recipes the owners call the best, but this is by far my favorite. Im making a big jug of it with the booze in it, and giving it to my brother for his b-day today, along with cocktail onions, huge olives, and my sister is getting him 2 beautiful goblets just perfect for marys!!!! he is on his own with celery!!!! Thanks for sharing this perfect recipe, I can stop my frantic search now…………ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh………..cheers
Wow! Thank you so much for letting me know!
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