no, really... it's the perfect margarita

For some reason last night, I craved a fresh margarita. My encounters in the past with homemade margs was never very successful and usually involved a tall neon-green bottle of high fructose corn syrup laced with preservatives and food coloring, and completely void of actual lime juice. 

My friend and I both purchased retro-looking juicers a couple of weeks ago, and since the big orange-arugula bomb of '09, I hadn't really used mine. 

So, one simple-sugar recipe, six limes, and about two ounces of tequila later... things were looking up. 

Since I teased 181 of my closest friends with a Facebook status saying I wouldn't share my recipe, but really just wanted to get them all to read my blog (hah! got you! captive audience!!), here it is. 

These were so delicious, and deceptively potent, that Ryan--who when I started this recipe exclaimed, "You don't have to make me one"--tasted mine and then requested his own. When the last lick of salt and the last drop were gone from his glass, he requested another.

So, here it is. My absolutely perfect margarita recipe.  

Simple Syrup

First, get some simple syrup going. I used 1/2 cup of water and 1 cup of sugar. Place in small saucepan on the stove, and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar is dissolved. Turn heat up very slightly (from a 3 to a 4, for instance), cover, and let simmer for about 5 minutes. Set aside and let cool. 

Fresh Lime Juice

To make two margaritas, you'll need the juice of six limes. 

Delicious Tequila

I am no connoisseur, so I just buy whatever I can afford. Up until this point, we weren't drinking much tequila. Now, we will likely keep the bar stocked. For these, we used Sauza Gold. 

Splash of Orange Juice

Traditional margarita recipes call for Triple Sec. My liquor cabinet is not well-stocked, so we were out. However, I figured upping the tequila just a bit and adding OJ would do the trick. Pleasantly surprised. 

Garnish: fine kosher salt and a lime wedge.

Per margarita, use equal parts of the ingredients. We have a 2-oz shot glass, so ours went like this:

In a martini shaker full of ice, pour:

2 oz simple syrup

2 oz fresh-squeezed lime juice

2 oz tequila

splash of orange juice to taste (I used about 1 oz)

Shake to your heart's content, and pour into a garnished glass (you can pour with or without the ice; we liked it very much without the ice). Take the first sip slowly--this is as fresh as it gets, so it may take you by surprise--and then enjoy with responsibility. Or with reckless abandon, whichever suits you best.