Fresh Tomato Michelada

The Mexican beer cocktail, michelada, is a savory drink supposedly born from Club Deportivo Potosino in San Luis Potosí in the 1970s. According to legend, member Michel Ésper would ask for “chabela,” beer cut with lime, salt, and ice. As more people asked for “Michel’s lemonade,” it became “michelada.” And it’s continued to evolve: Order one today and you may find more bright flavors like tomato juice, Clamato, Maggi, or hot sauce in the drink.

In this version, squeeze summer’s finest tomatoes to make a big batch of fresh juice. To serve a crowd, mix up a concentrate with plenty of tangy lime juice, Worcestershire, and Cholula for a jolt of heat. To ensure freshness, make the base in a big pitcher (or lidded container) and store in the fridge. When ready to serve, pour the seasoned tomato juice into an ice-filled pint glass, then tip in a frosty beer.

Recipe information

• Total Time

  15 minutes

• Yield

  12 servings

Total Time

15 minutes

Yield

12 servings

Ingredients

1½

¼

¼

1

¾

1½

6

Need to make a substitution?

Preparation

1. Step 1

   Combine 1½ cups fresh lime juice (from 10–12 limes), ¼ cup plus 2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce, ¼ cup plus 1 tsp. hot sauce, 1 Tbsp. sugar, ¾ tsp. Diamond Crystal or ½ tsp. Morton kosher salt, and 1½ lb. Kumato or beefsteak tomatoes, halved, in a large bowl. Using your hands, crush tomatoes (mixture should look like juice with some pulpy pieces of skin; don’t use a blender as it will aerate the juice, making it thick and fluffy). Strain tomato base through a fine-mesh sieve into a pitcher, pressing on solids with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula to extract as much juice as possible; discard solids.

   Step 2

   If you want to garnish the rims of the glasses, pour some Tajín Clásico seasoning on a small plate. Working one at a time, rub rims of 12 glasses with lime wedge; dip moistened rims in Tajín to coat. Fill glasses with ice; pour ⅓ cup tomato base into each glass and top with six 12-oz. bottles Mexican beer. Garnish cocktails with tomato wedges.

   Do Ahead: Tomato base can be made 2 days ahead. Cover and chill.

Step 1

Combine 1½ cups fresh lime juice (from 10–12 limes), ¼ cup plus 2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce, ¼ cup plus 1 tsp. hot sauce, 1 Tbsp. sugar, ¾ tsp. Diamond Crystal or ½ tsp. Morton kosher salt, and 1½ lb. Kumato or beefsteak tomatoes, halved, in a large bowl. Using your hands, crush tomatoes (mixture should look like juice with some pulpy pieces of skin; don’t use a blender as it will aerate the juice, making it thick and fluffy). Strain tomato base through a fine-mesh sieve into a pitcher, pressing on solids with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula to extract as much juice as possible; discard solids.

Step 2

If you want to garnish the rims of the glasses, pour some Tajín Clásico seasoning on a small plate. Working one at a time, rub rims of 12 glasses with lime wedge; dip moistened rims in Tajín to coat. Fill glasses with ice; pour ⅓ cup tomato base into each glass and top with six 12-oz. bottles Mexican beer. Garnish cocktails with tomato wedges.

Do Ahead: Tomato base can be made 2 days ahead. Cover and chill.

Recipe notes