Ina Garten's Secret Ingredient Elevates Margaritas To A New Level

Ina Garten found her love of food in the 1970s when she purchased a specialty food store on Long Island with her husband, Jeffrey (via Food Network). The store was named Barefoot Contessa, a moniker that Garten would later adopt as her own brand. She sold the store in 1996 to pursue cookbook writing, and though the store later closed, Garten's success continued.

The author has written a total of 13 cookbooks, according to the Barefoot Contessa website. One of those is titled "Barefoot Contessa Parties!" and features crowd-pleasing recipes for pizzas, sandwiches, soups, and more. The chef is well-known for her party-perfect recipes, and the cookbook's listing on her website calls her a "dedicated party giver."

Of course, cocktails are a great addition to any party, and Garten's website features an entire cocktail section of 26 different recipes for the chef's favorite drinks. While some are original recipes, others include instructions on how to elevate already well-known drinks. When it comes to margaritas, the party expert has a secret trick to add some kick to each sip.

Like the Bloody Mary, martini, and other popular drinks, the origin of the margarita is a hotly contested subject, per Smithsonian Magazine. There's an array of different stories concerning its invention, each with a different creator claiming the credit. One story goes that in 1938 a bartender, Carlos "Danny" Herrera, developed the margarita for a customer who was allergic to all liquor except tequila but wanted a full-sized, fancier drink made with it. He decided to combine the lime and salt elements of a typical tequila shot into the drink to create the margarita.

Margarita Sames, a socialite from Dallas, claimed to have created the drink, stating that she served it to Tommy Hilton in 1948, who added the drink to his hotel chain's bars. But Jose Cuervo's tagline, "Margarita: it's more than a girl's name," from 1945 seems to dispute that. 

Though the drink's true invention remains a mystery, it has certainly become a popular choice at restaurants worldwide. Flavors have deviated from the typical lime and you can now find variations such as strawberry, mango, and watermelon.

Ina Garten's go-to margarita recipe combines most of the typical ingredients, but she also adds one unexpected twist to elevate the drink.

A typical Blanco Margarita recipe combines lime juice, tequila, and triple sec, according to Don Julio, along with a little salt on the rim of the glass. Garten's version does include all of those, but she adds a spicy addition — jalapeno peppers.

Garten's recipe isn't as simple as just slicing some peppers and dropping them in the drinks. Instead, she preps the liquor by allowing the jalapenos to infuse. She starts by adding 10 slits in each pepper, making sure the seeds and ribs stay intact. She then places the pepper in a glass and adds a cup and a half of tequila — enough to make six margaritas.

The chef keeps the cup on her counter for a full day before removing the pepper from the glass. She then strains the tequila through a sieve, ensuring that the liquid is seed-free. The resulting flavor should be slightly spicy, which is counteracted with some sweetness from a little honey.