For The Best Bloody Mary Cocktail, You Need To Fire Up The Grill

As a brunch staple with seemingly unlimited garnish options, the bloody mary is often described as the perfect morning drink for many reasons, including its variety of flavors. If you think you've had the perfect bloody mary, think again. With classic ingredients and a grill, you can make yourself the new best bloody mary cocktail you've ever had. By doing this, the flavors of fruits and vegetables are concentrated because direct heat cooks the food on the outside while preserving the flavor on the inside. Additionally, using certain types of charcoal or wood can infuse additional flavor into the fruits and vegetables.

To start your bloody mary cocktail grilling adventure, brown tomatoes, lemons, peppers, onions, and celery stalks on high heat for about five minutes, or until you see that a nice char has formed. Once the ingredients have been taken off the grill and are cooled, add the tomatoes and celery to a food processor and blend them with your other ingredients, including juice from your grilled lemon, until smooth. From there, continue with your normal preparation for the drink and add one of your grilled celery stalks for garnish.

Looking for more flavor? After prepping your grilled bloody mary, experts recommend adding a pinch of cumin to your cocktail. While they can't quite put their finger on why it works, it offers an earthy, yet citrusy flavor that pairs well with the flavor of the tomatoes and celery. For more smokiness, you could grill up some bacon and add it as a garnish or swap out your regular vodka for smoked pepper infused vodka.

If you like to try different variations of the bloody mary, the grilled fruits and vegetables can even be to the bloody bull, which uses nearly the same ingredients as a bloody mary (albeit with different ratios), but features beef broth. Regardless of how you prepare it, grilling the fruit and vegetable elements of your cocktail can unlock deeper flavors that add more enjoyment to your favorite brunch drink.