Sunday, May 15, 2011
I Discover La Michelada.
Man cannot live on bourbon alone. At least this man can’t.
Maybe I could, maybe I haven't tried hard enough. Whatever. I do drink other things.
Recently I have become enamored of the michelada, a beer cocktail of Mexican or possibly Mexican-American origin.
I was introduced to it at Toyota Park, where the Chicago Fire play. The Fire are Chicago’s Major League Soccer team. I’m a fan and season ticket holder.
Only one beer vendor at the park makes micheladas but she’s near our seats and she’s a hoot, very friendly, always remembers you.
She starts with a 5.5 ounce can of Clamato, which is a blend of tomato and clam juice with celery and spices. To this is added a 20 ounce can of Modelo Especial lager. That’s my usual choice. She also has Tecate, Corona and Victoria. She finishes it with couple lime wedges, a dash of celery salt, and a splash or two of Tabasco. She’ll splash in more Tabasco if you ask.
It’s $12, a mere $1 up-charge from the usual price of the large-size cans of Mexican lager.
I make it pretty much the same way at home except I use generic tomato-clam juice from the Jewels, Miller High Life beer, and I throw in a little soy sauce too.
Budweiser makes a version, co-branded with Clamato, that they call Chelada but I’ve never tried it.
It has been cold at every Fire home game this year so spicy beer tastes pretty good. It doesn’t quite wash away the bad taste of bad play, which we’ve had way too much of so far, but it helps.
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7 comments:
Does she not add an Worchestershire sauce? Your mention of adding soy sauce made it sound even more like a beer Bloody Mary, so I checked, and most recipes for michelada I've found online include Worchestershire.
No Worcestershire in hers or mine, about which I'm just as happy because I'm not a big Worcestershire guy.
Recipes are all over the map. It's closer to a Bloody Caesar, which also uses clam-tomato, than a Bloody Mary which typically uses regular tomato juice. There doesn't seem to be a definitive recipe. Maybe this one is 'Chicago-style.'
I personally really enjoy Rick Bayless's recipe and making variations on that.
http://www.rickbayless.com/recipe/view?recipeID=132
Chuck
I am not much of a beer drinker but that sounds good. I will have to try it.
Greg Adams
From what I understand beer, tomato juice and other ingrediants was invented in the southwest USA and very popular there and all along the west coast to OR.
They mix it when you order it with draft beer, like a cocktail.
La Michelada, Or How Chuck Cowdery Beat The New York Times to the Punch:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/27/dining/beer-cocktails-in-city-bars.html?src=recg
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