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I LOVE Bloody Marys. But I have had a LOT of crap ones. The worst one I had was in a casino in Chile and it tasted like old tomato juice with 10 spoonfuls of salt. Yuck. I guess the best Bloody Mary that I had was also in Chile which was made with fresh-squeezed tomato juice and THAT was amazing. So, I decided to make my own Homemade Bloody Mary Mix so I could make it taste how I wanted!
I really like a FRESH tasting Bloody Mary. I was never able to get that fresh-squeezed one out of my head—it just tasted so refreshing, not heavy or super savory. I’m not a big fan of a BM that tastes like you’re drinking thick marinara or bbq sauce. Nothing wrong with BOLD and SPICY, but this recipe is not that. (P.S. my parents hate that I call it a BM… I think it’s funny because I am a child and I love potty humor.) This mix is light, citrusy, and refreshing. AND!! It’s healthy!! Tomato juice is good for you! And since YOU are the one making it, there will probably be WAY less sodium than a store-bought mix! And definitely less preservatives. Those are good things!
Ingredients
- Citrus: We use the lemon and lime juice in this mix. Citrus juice really brightens up this drink and makes it zippy and refreshing! A citrus squeezer will come in handy for this step.
- Worcester, soy sauce, & pickle juice: These are our salty guys. Worcester and soy sauce lend a deeper, umami flavor, and pickle juice is a great mix of salty & bright.
- Garlic, horseradish, hot sauce, pepper, & tajín: For complex spice! Each of these elements give our Homemade Bloody Mary mix a nice zing in different ways. You can use less of these ingredients or omit them completely if you want a more mild mix.
- Tomato juice/vegetable juice: The number one essential ingredient! I always use low sodium because I prefer to add salt to my own taste preferences; also we are adding a lot of salty ingredients and you don’t want it to end up too salty. Tomato juice and vegetable juice are pretty much interchangeable in my book, so you can use whichever one you prefer.
So many ways to drink Bloody Marys!
Another one of my favorite things about a Bloody Mary is that there are so many ways to drink it. Of course, you could drink it on its own but it can’t hurt to add some booze… My favorite is Mexican Michelada style. Here are some of the most popular variations!
- Traditional: add 1 or 2 shots vodka
- Mexican Michelada: Half BM mix, half light beer like Corona or Coors Light
- Mocktail! Half BM mix, half lemon or lime La Croix
- Red Snapper: add 1 or 2 shots gin
- Bloody Maria: add 1 or 2 shots tequila or mezcal
Ohh my gosh I have not even mentioned the GARNISHES. Everyone knows that is the best thing about Bloody Marys. The CHEESE! The MEAT!! The PICKLES! The OLIVES!! Get a wooden skewer and load that baby up with your fave BM snackies like cheese chunks, cocktail weenies, bacon, pickles, olives, pearl onions, pepperoni, whatever! I also just heard of “surf ‘n’ turf” Bloody Marys, where you garnish with shrimp and steak bites…. sounds amazing.
Also, let’s chat about the rim for just a sec. I love to make my Homemade Bloody Marys with a tajín rim. Never heard of tajín? It is a delicious salty chili lime Mexican seasoning that you can get at most grocery stores. I think it is the perfect citrusy/salty/spicy rim for this drink. A salt and pepper rim would work just fine too, though.
One more thing. Like a lot of foods, this mix only gets better with time. It tastes best the day after making it. So plan ahead and make it the night before brunch!
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Homemade Bloody Mary Mix
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: Drinks
Description
Citrusy, fresh, and bright—this flavorful Bloody Mary mix will make you feel like you’re on vacation. Mix it with vodka, gin, tequila, light beer, or lemon/lime La Croix—or drink it straight!
Ingredients
- juice of 1 lemon
- juice of 2 limes
- 1/2 Tablespoon Worcestershire
- 2 Tablespoons pickle juice
- 2 teaspoons hot sauce (your choice, see Notes)
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons horseradish sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- 2 teaspoons low sodium soy sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon tajín, plus more for rim
- 46 fl oz low sodium tomato juice or vegetable juice
- salt, to taste (if needed)
Garnish Ideas:
- chunks of cheese
- cocktail weenies
- bacon
- little pickles
- olives
- pearl onions
- a whole dang cheeseburger
- fried chicken wings
- celery (lame)
Instructions
- Add all of the ingredients BESIDES the tomato juice to a blender and puree.
- Then add the rest of the tomato juice. Taste it and adjust for your preference.
- If you’re pouring your mix back into the tomato juice bottle, you’ll have too much liquid. I recommend making bloody mary ice cubes with the extra!
- Chill for 4 hours or preferably overnight.
- When you’re ready to serve, sprinkle about 1 tsp of tajín on a plate, wet the rims of your glasses with a wedge of lemon or lime, and swirl the rim of the glass onto the plate of tajín until it’s evenly covered. Add frozen bloody mary cubes, as much BM mix as you want, and whatever you choose to mix into it! Add garnishes to a skewer and plop it into your drink. ENJOY!
Notes
- You can modify this recipe however you like—feel free to omit ingredients that you don’t like or have on hand.
- You can make this without a blender. Pour out 1 cup tomato juice into ice cube trays first, then just add all ingredients to the tomato juice bottle. Use a fine grater to grate the garlic so that there aren’t any big chunks.
- 2 teaspoons of a mild hot sauce like Cholula or Tabasco will only give this a light kick. If you are using a very spicy hot sauce, it’ll probably end up being spicier. Taste it as you go and make sure you like the flavor of the hot sauce you’re using!
- It’s best to make this mix the day before serving so that the flavors have a chance to develop.
- Mix will keep for 5–7 days in the fridge.
Keywords: tomato, pickles, citrus, alcohol
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