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This refreshing Frozen Pink Peppercorn Pineapple Margarita Shandy is the PERFECT summer Cinco de Mayo cocktail! A fruity, spicy, crisp margarita – shandy and a dessert all in one!
Cinco de Mayo is just around the corner and I’ve got the perfect drink recipe today to get your party going. This isn’t just a run of the mill margarita (though I would never say no to one of those either), this is a margarita, a shandy, and a dessert all rolled into one. An amazingly refreshing Frozen Pink Peppercorn Pineapple Margarita Shandy – with scoops of delicious pink peppercorn pineapple sorbet served with Modelo Especial beer (or Corona Extra). It’s the ideal lead-up to some scrumptious party food and a great time with your friends!
This drink is very easy to make. I used an ice cream maker to churn the sorbet, but an ice cream maker is not necessary. I have discussed in the post below how to freeze the pineapple pulp into ice cubes, and then blend them to make a frosty treat instead of sorbet. I wanted to make a pineapple sorbet with some heat (for that lovely hot and cold contrast), and was trying to find some Ancho chiles, but couldn’t find it anywhere. So I decided to use pink peppercorn instead.
And I’m so glad I did! Not only do they add those pretty pink flecks to the sorbet, but also a mild peppery heat and flavor with some floral notes that truly transforms the pineapple sorbet. I used fresh pineapple for this recipe, but you can use frozen too. I’ve always loved eating fresh pineapple with some salt and pepper, so adding a bit of peppercorn wasn’t a stretch. But the pink peppercorn certainly makes it a little more colorful and complex than regular black pepper.
The blended pineapple – peppercorn mix should be refrigerated until properly chilled, before you churn into a sorbet. So you don’t have an ice cream maker? No worries! Simply freeze the pineapple pulp in ice cube trays. Once frozen, pop them in an ice crushing blender and blend until they are completely crushed. You can add a little bit of liquid to help the blender crush the ice into sorbet. Then pour the crushed ice cubes into a container (ice cream tub), and freeze again.
You can do this on the day of the party too. Blend the pineapple ice cubes with some tequila and pour them into glasses and top ’em up with Modelo or Corona Extra, just before serving. There are many ways to prep this refreshing drink. Although, I prefer to have the sorbet made and ready to go, well before the party.
I made my frozen pink peppercorn pineapple margarita shandy with Modelo beer. It’s a rich, full-flavored Pilsner-style lager with a very crisp, refreshing taste and complements this margarita shandy to a tee. It’s also got a hint of herb with a unique orange blossom honey aroma that truly fills your senses and elevates this fruity cocktail. This margarita shandy is an ice cold drink/dessert with a bit of salt, mild peppery heat, and it’s sweet and citrusy, and smells tropical and floral at the same time. This is the kind of drink that puts you in the mood to make the best of every moment.
You can also use Corona Extra to make this frozen pineapple margarita shandy. It also has a very smooth, refreshing taste with a fruity-honey aroma that pairs beautifully with the pink peppercorn pineapple sorbet. It’s a taste that falls somewhere between a heavier European beer and a lighter domestic beer, and I’d definitely have a few ice cold bottles ready for anyone who’d want to go straight for that!
You can serve this frozen pink peppercorn pineapple margarita shandy any way you’d like. Leave out the tequila and serve it as a refreshing tropical shandy in a tall beer glass, OR rim the glass with salt and pink peppercorn (like I have shown in the pictures here), or add a generous shot of tequila and Modelo Especial and turn the cocktail into a margarita shandy – a great mashup of two delicious cocktail styles. This is going to get your party / evening off to a rollicking start!
Having a great spread is just as important for your Cinco de Mayo celebrations! The great thing about this frozen pineapple margarita shandy is that it pairs well with delicious Mexican classics like these tequila braised carnitas and carnitas tacos.
Or how about fish tacos? And maybe a roasted poblano and tomatillo salsa verde for your corn chips, or cinnamon chips (churro chips) with caramel sauce for a sweet twist?
So get your summer festivities off to a great start with Cinco de Mayo this year, and make sure you’ve got plenty of Corona Extra and Modelo beers stocked up in your fridge, to make all those moments with friends and family that much more memorable!
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Frozen Pink peppercorn Pineapple Margarita Shandy
Ingredients:
Pink peppercorn pineapple sorbet (makes 2 pints / 946 mL)
- 455 g pineapple 1lb / about 2 medium pineapples. Peeled, cored and sliced.
- 200 g white sugar 1 cup
- 1 ½ tbsp pink peppercorn whole (2 tbsp if you like it spicier). You can also use black pepper.
Pink peppercorn margarita shandy (4 servings)
- 4 Pilsner beer of your choice 355 mL each. I used Modelo Especial here.
- 270 mL Tequila 6 shots / jiggers or 1⅛ cup
- 2 pints pineapple sorbet 8 scoops. Recipe above, but you can buy pre-made too.
For the rim
- 4 tbsp sea salt
- 4 tsp ground pink peppercorn
- lime wedges
Instructions:
Pink peppercorn sorbet
- Place the pineapple, peppercorn and sugar in a blender. Blend until you have a smooth pineapple puree with pink flecks in it.455 g pineapple, 1 ½ tbsp pink peppercorn, 200 g white sugar
- Pour the puree into a jug and refrigerate for a few hours (at least) until the mix is chilled.
- Pour the chilled pineapple puree into your ice cream maker and churn according to the instructions. Scoop the churned sorbet into an airtight container and freeze for at least a few hours until firm.
- No ice cream maker instructionsOnce you puree the pineapple, pour the puree into ice cube trays. Freeze the mix.
- Once the ice cubes are frozen, place the ice cubes in an ice crushing blender and blend to make a frozen slushy mix. Scoop the slushy mix into an airtight container and freeze until firm.
Frozen pink peppercorn pineapple margarita shandy
- Mix the salt and peppercorn together.4 tbsp sea salt, 4 tsp ground pink peppercorn
- Take four tall glasses (or beer glasses). Rub the rim of each glass with a lime wedge and salt the rim with the salt - peppercorn mix.lime wedges
- Add 1.5 shots of tequila to each glass (67 mL).270 mL Tequila
- Followed by two scoops of the pineapple sorbet (about ½ cup).2 pints pineapple sorbet
- Top up with your favorite pilsner beer (I used Modelo). Stir to mix, and allow the sorbet to soften in the drink for a few minutes.4 Pilsner beer of your choice
- Serve with lime wedges as a garnish (optional).
Nutrition Information:
“This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.”
Derek says
I have to say this was one of the most unique and refreshing cocktails I’ve ever had! Amazing flavor profile. Thank you so much for the wonderful recipe.