Description
These Seriously Spicy Bloody Marys with Spicy Candied Bacon have something for everyone. They’re bold and spicy, flavored with lots of hot sauce and horseradish, and garnished with spicy candied bacon, jumbo shrimp, stuffed olives, and pickles! Does it get any better than bacon in a cocktail?
Ingredients
Scale
For the Bacon:
- 6 slices thick-cut bacon
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon chipotle chili powder (or regular chili powder)
- ¼ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
- ½ teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
For the Bloody Mary Mix:
- 3 large stalks of celery, chopped
- 2 tablespoons onion, minced
- 3 tablespoons prepared horseradish (or more, to taste)
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon celery salt
- 15 dashes hot sauce (or more, to taste)
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 3 tablespoons dill pickle juice (taken from a jar of pickles)
- 36 oz tomato juice
- 1½ cups vodka
For Rimming the Glasses:
- ⅓ cup kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon chipotle chili powder (or regular chili powder)
- ¼ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
For Garnish:
- The candied bacon
- Celery stalks
- Cooked and peeled jumbo shrimp (I like to leave the tail on)
- Feta or blue cheese stuffed olives
- Cornichon pickles
Instructions
For the Bacon:
- Preheat the oven to 400°F and line a large rimmed baking sheet with foil. Place a cooking rack on top and spread the bacon slices out in an even layer on the rack.
- In a small bowl, mix together the sugar and spices. Sprinkle the mixture all over the top of the bacon slices.
- Transfer the pan to the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until the bacon is rendered, crispy, and the sugar-spice mixture has caramelized.
- Remove from the oven and allow the bacon to cool on the rack. It will continue to crisp up as it cools.
For the Bloody Mary Mix:
- To a food processor, add the celery, onion, horseradish, Worcestershire, celery salt, hot sauce, lemon juice, and dill pickle juice. Pulse until the celery and onion are finely minced and all the ingredients are well mixed.
- Transfer the mixture to a large serving pitcher. Add the tomato juice and vodka, stir well, and taste. Adjust the horseradish, hot sauce, or salt to your tastes.
- Refrigerate the pitcher prior to serving (you can make the mix up to 1 day ahead and keep it in the fridge. Stir well before serving).
For Rimming the Glasses:
- Mix the salt and spices on a plate or in a shallow bowl.
- Run a lemon wedge around the rims of tall/highball style glasses and then dip the rims in the spiced salt.
To Serve:
- Fill the glasses with ice. Give the Bloody Mary mix a good stir and pour it over the ice.
- Garnish each glass with a slice of bacon and a celery stalk.
- I like to also skewer cooked shrimp, stuffed olives, and cornichon pickles on cocktail skewers/toothpicks and garnish each glass with one. All garnishes are optional but encouraged!
Notes
Bloody Mary Mix lightly adapted from here.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes (plus chill time)
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Category: cocktails
Keywords: spicy bloody mary recipe, spicy bloody mary mix, bloody mary with candied bacon and shrimp, bloody mary mix for a crowd