Over the summer we managed to put about a gallon of cubed, seeded watermelon into the freezer. I had an idea in September when it was still a zillion degrees out – that is would be really fun to drink a watermelon cocktail in the dark of winter.
I was totally right. While everyone else is drinking seasonally appropriate beverages like brandy and eggnog we are pulling out the blender for some July at Christmastime (get it, it’s the opposite of Christmas in July). When you really get in the swing of eating out of the garden, out-of-season treats start to feel rediculously decandent. And thus the watermelon margaritas were determined to be suitably festive for New Years. And tequila is the only thing left in the wooden chest we affectionately refer to as the “sin box”.
Like most of what I do in the kitchen, I just winged it. Later, when looking for a recipe to post that was similar to what I made up I kept coming up short. They all called for cubed fresh watermelon plus ice rather than frozen watermelon, and they all had fancy pants stuff like triple sec or orange liqueur. Here goes the exclusive TCF version:
2 cups frozen watermelon
1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 1/2 tablespoons lime juice
2 Tablespoons simple syrup, more if you like it sweeter (I used 1 T honey but it kind of froze into a glob and didn’t distribute well, but maybe you have a better blender)
2 ounces (4 Tablespoons) tequila
Salt for the glass
Lime wedge for garnish
Of course, this would be equally fantastic as a cooling drink in summer. It expect it would also be lovely without the tequila, and perhaps with some mint as well. we’ve still got one back of watermelon in the freezer. Bottoms up!
