Watermelon Margarita Madness

The dog days of summer are upon us, and the heat and humidity have settled in like unwelcome in-laws. But there is one sure-fire cure for these summer time blues -- ice-cold watermelon! The dark jade green "icebox" melons are stacked up like a mound of Civil War cannonballs, ready to take home and chill. The huge striped "crimson sweet" has got to be one of my favorites -- these big boys are really huge and when you crack them open you get that big whiff of sweet watermelon aroma. These are the standard watermelons at the big Finley Avenue Farmer's Market in Birmingham, which serves as the main depot for most of the melons being traded throughout the South. My friend Buddy Patton is known as the watmelon king of Alabama and he is the broker for most of all the melons bought and sold. He is the one we rely on to pick our melons.

Our friends at Snow's Bend just brought in a load of cantaloupes, tomatoes, squashes, and strange-looking dark green round melons with little silver stars scattered about the rind. This newcomer is an "orange glow" watermelon with iridescent orange flesh and a really sweet "orangey" taste. We used these to make a variation on our watermelon margarita.

Watermelon Margaritas

Makes four powerful drinks

A 2-pound chunk of watermelon (about 1/8 watermelon), rind removed and flesh cut into chunks

1 lime

Coarse salt

9 ounces high-quality tequila, such as Herradura or Patron Silver

2 ounces Cointreau

4 ounces fresh lime juice

1 ounce simple syrup

Reserve 4 small cubes of watermelon for garnish. Or cut 4 strips of zest from the lime for garnish instead; reserve.

Cut the lime into quarters and set aside.

Set a strainer or colander over a bowl and, with clean hands, squeeze the remaining chunks of watermelon over the strainer to extract the juice. You will need 3/4 cup juice.

Rub the rims of four martini glasses with the lime, then invert each glass into a container of coarse salt to coat the rim.

Add the watermelon juice, tequila, Cointreau, lime juice, and simple syrup to a large cocktail shaker filled with ice cubes. Cover and shake vigorously for about 20 seconds. Strain into martini glasses and garnish with the chunks of watermelon or lime zest.