Since this past weekend was Cinco de Mayo, I am sure many of you enjoyed a margarita or two, I hope. But, the truth is – you certainly do not need a holiday or special event to savor this delicious cocktail. The recipes we bring to you today came about when Kyle was creating our Grapefruit Blood Orange Shrub. In fact, the story of the Caramelized Pineapple Shrub helped create a margarita due to a shortage of whisky. Normally this type of crisis might instill panic and fear among cocktail enthusiasts, however, this shortage began the evolution of our Pineapple Margarita.
The Grapefruit Blood Orange Shrub relies on the ingredient of winter citrus. For this reason, the Grapefruit Blood Orange Shrub took seasonal precedence. The Caramelized Pineapple Shrub patiently waited its turn, and now is the perfect time for us to present it our readers.
When the shrub was first made over the winter, Kyle served it in a Tiki-inspired whisky punch with our Allspice Liqueur and lime juice. However, after one large round of cocktails, the whisky ran out. There was tequila, Amaretto and triple sec (in addition to the shrub) on hand – all that was needed to make a rendition of an Italian Margarita. The shrub, with its sweet-and-sour fruit and vinegar combination makes an interesting substitute for sour mix in a margarita.
Kyle recently favored the “hot” method of shrub-making (in which one heats a simple syrup and infuses it with fruit and vinegar) over the “cold” method (where one macerates the fruit in sugar and vinegar, then lets the mixture infuse for a week). The hot method tends to cater to Kyle’s impatience and allows him to have his shrub much faster. Who can blame him?
Kyle really wanted to test out the shrub recipe by caramelizing sugar before adding fruit and vinegar, thinking that the toasted sugar flavors would mix well with the fruity and sour notes in the shrub. A Pineapple Shrub seemed like a great time to test the caramelized shrub-making technique. The smell of the caramelized sugar, sweet pineapple, vanilla and ginger wafting through the kitchen will make anyone want to dive right into the pot. While the hot method of shrub infusing greatly favors the impatient, one’s patience will be greatly rewarded by letting the pineapple steep in the shrub for a full 12-hour infusing session. This truly enhances the sweet-tart flavor of the pineapple and assists in rounding out the flavors from the vinegar.
In the first batch of margaritas using the Pineapple Shrub, no pineapple juice was added. In the latter batches, Kyle tweaked the recipe. It is not a requirement for the margarita recipe – your resulting cocktail will just be stronger and more vinegar-y (not necessarily a bad thing) if you leave it out. But, we found that the pineapple juice tempers the kick of the beverage, making them more palatable if you are drinking many a margarita.
With the summer months approaching quickly you will find a batch of these margaritas a dream come true. The Pineapple Shrub has many other delish cocktail uses! Try a splash in a vodka-soda beverage or add it to a rum and coke – bonus points for those who use coconut rum!
No matter what cocktail you decide to use with the Pineapple Shrub recipe you will get a tropical beach feeling. When it is time to beat the heat and sit by the pool, lake or on the porch, start experimenting with your shrub, or, use this recipe to make a batch of margaritas – you can’t lose! Cheers!
- For the shrub:
- 1 ¾ cup sugar
- 1 vanilla bean, split in half lengthwise
- 1 1-inch knob of ginger, peeled and sliced
- 1 medium pineapple, peeled and diced (1 ½ pounds
- 2 cups water
- 1 ½ cups white wine vinegar
- For the Pineapple Margarita (makes 2)
- ¼ cup (2 ounces) silver tequila
- 1 ounce Cointreau or triple sec
- ½ ounce Amaretto
- ½ cup (4 ounces) caramelized pineapple shrub
- 1 to 2 ounces (less if you want a stronger, more tart cocktail) pineapple juice
- 1 ½ ounces fresh lime juice
- Splash of club soda or seltzer water, if desired
- Kosher salt, to rim the glasses, optional
- In a large pot, heat sugar, vanilla, and ginger over medium heat until sugar begins to melt and turns an amber color, about 5 to 8 minutes.
- Add the pineapple and stir. (at this point the caramelized sugar will probably seize up; this is OK, keep stirring it over medium heat and the sugar will dissolve completely in about 5 to 10 minutes)
- Once sugar has dissolved, add the water and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low to simmer. Cover the pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until pineapple looks deflated, about 20 to 30 minutes.
- Add the vinegar, remove from heat and let stand for at least 2 hours or up to overnight. Strain through and sieve or fine mesh strainer and refrigerate until cold.
- For the cocktail: In a cocktail shaker, combine the tequila, Cointreau, Amaretto, pineapple shrub, pineapple juice and lime juice with ice. Shake well a strain into two glasses rimmed with kosher salt (if desired) and filled with ice. If desired, finish the drink with a splash of club soda. Garnish with a lime wheel or pineapple slice.
Stine Mari says
I’ve never heard of shrub before, but these looks amazing!! Caramelized pineapple is so tasty, and who doesn’t love a good margarita… 🙂