How to Make Frozen Margaritas with Tequila

It's hard to imagine a backyard barbecue or big Mexican dinner without a frozen margarita. This popular cocktail is served in a number of variations to suit almost anyone's taste. The traditional margarita recipe uses tequila and lots of fresh lime juice, and is served in a specialty margarita glass rimmed with salt. The International Bartenders Association maintains that "official" margaritas are served over ice rather than blended, but don't let that stop you from enjoying a frozen margarita.

Things You'll Need

• Measuring cup or shot glass
• Blender
• Tequila
• Triple sec
• Lime juice
• Crushed ice
• Limes
• Knife
• Margarita glass
• Margarita salt
• Small plate

Instructions

1. Add 3 oz. of tequila into a blender. You may use silver or gold tequila, but most traditional margaritas are made with silver tequila.

2. Add 1 oz. of triple sec into the blender as well, followed by 2 oz. of fresh lime juice. Fresh lime juice will taste more authentic than bottled lime juice, but feel free to use the bottled version if you don't want to spend time squeezing limes. Margaritas made with fresh lime juice will be tart and less sweet than you may be used to, so use sweetened lime juice if you enjoy a sweeter cocktail.

3. Add 1 cup of crushed ice to the blender and blend the entire mixture on high speed until the ice is incorporated.

4. Slice a lime into wedges and rub one of the lime wedges around the rim of a margarita glass.

5. Pour margarita salt--or any other coarse salt--into a small dish and dip the rim of the margarita glass into the salt. Pour the margarita into the glass and garnish with a lime wedge.

6. Make multiple margaritas by doubling or tripling all of the ingredients. Avoid making more than three margaritas at a time if you have a small blender; it may not be able to blend the ice thoroughly.

Tips & Warnings

• If you are in a rush, try using one of the pre-made margarita mixes sold at nearly all grocery and liquor stores. Simply pour the margarita mix into your blender and use the instructed amounts of tequila and ice. These mixes will make sweeter and more syrupy margaritas compared to those made with fresh lime juice.

Resources

• International Bartenders Association: Official Cocktails