DIY Michelada Is Superior
Several years ago I came across a curious cookbook. It comprised workable, simple and healthy vegan recipes but as a parody of a diet book, The Taco Cleanse: The Tortilla-Based Diet Proven to Change Your Life.
Its authors — Wes Allison, Stephanie Bogdanich, Molly Frisinger and Jessica Morris — are based in Austin, Texas. That alone can explain the 2015 volume’s veracity and wit. The intro and head notes are a scream, the recipes healthy and straightforward.
One recipe from The Taco Cleanse was so memorable I wrote it out and stuck on the fridge until I memorized it: the “Mind-Limbering Michelada.” The drink is a Bloody Mary but with beer instead of vodka.
I had not heard of this light cocktail, but ever since I’ve ordered it at Tex-Mex restaurants at home and on our travels. I quickly learned to ask a bar server how they make it, as some use Clamato as the base. Even if I wasn’t vegan, I cannot recommend: That musty shellfish flavor with a near-oily mouthfeel overwhelms. Even when the cocktail is made right (by my lights), the Cleanse’s recipe and my adaptation, usually are far better.
The Taco Cleanse recipe is homemade Bloody Mary base, mixed 50-50 with everyday beer. I’ve enjoyed any leftover base the next morning as a bracing mocktail. In a pinch, say during a hotel stay, store-bought Bloody Mary mix will do, but those are salty and highly processed.
My main change from Taco Cleanse’s is to swap out vegan Worcestershire sauce. No brand quite matches the anchovy-based original. Instead, I choose A1 Steak Sauce or a copycat house brand (such as Walmart’s Great Value), which are vegan. Also, to control the salt, use low-sodium tomato juice or V8 Low Sodium 100% Vegetable Juice. Frank’s RedHot Original is a great pepper sauce, but your favorite should be fine. (Be sure to shake the steak and hot sauce bottles before adding.) Bottled lime or lemon juice are convenient.
The beer frankly should be cheap, because flavor notes will be lost. A basic Mexican-style or American lager or pilsner work fine. but I usually choose the Aldi house brand cerveza.
Depending on ice, this recipe makes 2-4 glasses.
- 2 Tablespoons lime juice, or lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons vegan steak sauce
- 1/2-1 teaspoon Frank’s RedHot Original Cayenne Pepper Hot Sauce, or similar
- 11 oz. tomato juice, red V8, or similar
- 12 oz. Mexican style (cerveza) beer
- Ice, optional
- Wedge or slice of lime, or lemon, optional
- Tajin seasoning blend, optional
- Place the first three ingredients in a pint measuring cup. Add tomato or V8 juice to total 12 oz. and mix well.
- Optionally, wet the rim of each glass and “salt” the rim with Tajin. Add optional ice to each glass.
- Pour the mix into the glasses, filling about half full. Add beer to each to the top and stir. Optionally top with a lime or lemon wedge or slice.
- Salud!
Notes
- The flexibility of the recipe is definitely deliberate. If the juice and the beer are cold, you don’t need ice. But bars and restaurants usually serve it on the rocks.
- If any guests are nervous around cayenne, use the lesser amount of hot sauce and put the bottle on the table for people to add if they wish. Or imbibers can ramp up the heat with the Tajin.
