"Do you Michelada?"

The Michelada is found all over Mexico, but there is quite a wide variety of this cerveza preparada (a prepared beer cocktail).  It is typically served with a salted or spiced rim, usually some kind of citrus, beer and sometimes tomato juice, Clamato Juice or even spices.

The origins are vague on the creation of this beer cocktail, but it is known that the popular term for a beer in Mexico is the word "chela".  When you ask for a "chela", you are asking for a cold beer; it is a shortened version of "mi chela helada" or "my cold beer".  A second popular tale comes from San Luis Potosi's Club Deportivo Potosino.  Michel Esper, a bartender at the club used to serve a beer with lime, ice and salted rim in a special cup called a "chabela", as if it were a beer lemonade.  The members of the club started asking for "Michel's lemonade", eventually shortening to "michelada".

Recently I had a discussion with a chef and he told me about his personal recipe.  I was intrigued because he said he likes to use Clamato Juice and Negra Modelo.  I typically drink Bohemia or Negra Modelo when it comes to Mexican beer so I present you with two classic approaches to enjoy a Michelada.

Lagered Lime Michelada

Kosher salted rim, juice of half lime, ice and a lagered Mexican beer (Bohemia)


Clamato Spiced Michelada

Begin with creating the spiced mix.  Small can of Clamato Juice, 1/2 oz Worcestershire sauce, bar spoon of Tapatio, 1/2 tsp Tajin, juice of 1/2 lemon, dash of salt, pepper and cayenne.  Mix 1/2 tsp of Tajin and 1/2 tsp of Kosher Salt and rim glass.  Combine mix and Negra Modelo over ice.

*for a beer spin on your guacamole add an ounce to liven it up a bit!

Salud!