Michelada
At its most basic, a michelada — from “mi chela helada,” or my cold beer — is simply beer, salt, and lime over ice. But as people are wont to do over the course of time and across continents, people have finagled the base recipe to make it their own. And it works, so you should too! Ours embraces the spicy, tangy, and complex flavors of Mexican seasoning mixes and dresses it up with appropriately poetic garnishes. Pairing salami and jicama sounds peculiar until you try it. Turns out, they’re natural companions. Rich and sultry with crisp and cool: It’s a yin and yang that works every time.
Directions
Pour the beer, tomato juice, lime juice, Maggi, and hot sauce into a pitcher and stir gently to combine.
Sprinkle the Tajin on a small plate. Wet the edges of 6-pint glasses with a lime wedge and drop the wedge into the glass. Turn the glasses upside down, one at a time, and roll in the Tajin to season the rim. Carefully fill each glass with ice. Divide the michelada among the glasses.
Dip the jicama cubes in the tajin. Spear each with a cocktail skewer, then spear a piece of fuet salami onto each skewer and garnish the drink.
Cook’s Notes
Maggi seasoning liquid contains MSG, so expect a full-on umami hit with this. Tajin seasoning is a blend of chile peppers, salt, and dehydrated lime juice found at Mexican or Latin American markets. It’s known as a “fruit seasoning” because people sprinkle it on mangoes and watermelon. If you can’t find it, just mix some salt with ground chile powder and rim the glass with a lime wedge.
