Chuy’s New Mexican Martini Copycat Recipe

By Karl Hirsch · TacoTuesday.com · Prep 5 min (+ 72 hr infusion) · Total 72 hr · Serves 1

If you’ve been to Chuy’s in Austin and had one of these, you already know. If you haven’t: imagine a margarita with a slow, dry warmth from green chiles that shows up two seconds after you swallow. Not hot. Not spicy in the salsa sense. A gentle, roasted-pepper heat that hangs in the back of your throat and makes you want another sip immediately.

The whole trick is the green-chile-infused tequila, and yes, you have to make it yourself. Three days of prep for the best margarita on Tuesday’s list is not a bad deal!

Green chile-infused tequila (make first)

• 1 (750ml) bottle Lunazul Silver tequila (or another clean 100% agave blanco)
• 3 whole hatch or Anaheim green chiles, roasted and split (see method)

To roast the chiles: Char them over an open gas flame or under a broiler until the skin is blackened on all sides, about 6–8 minutes. Cover in a bowl with plastic wrap for 10 minutes to steam. Peel off the blackened skin (rinse if needed), split lengthwise, remove seeds if you want less heat.

To infuse: Drop the roasted, split chiles directly into the bottle of tequila. Seal. Store at room temperature for 72 hours. Taste at 48 hours – if the heat is already where you want it, strain out the chiles. If not, give it the full 72 hours. Strain through a fine mesh sieve back into the bottle. Keeps indefinitely at room temperature.

Ingredients (per drink)

• 2 oz green chile-infused tequila (from above)
• 1 oz Cointreau
• 1½ oz fresh lime juice
• 1½ oz simple syrup
• Kosher salt, for the rim
• Lime wheel, for garnish
• 2 jalapeño-stuffed olives on a cocktail pick
• Ice

Equipment

• Cocktail shaker
• Rocks glass or martini glass
• Cocktail pick / sword pick

Method

• Rim the glass. Lime wedge around the rim, dip in kosher salt. Fill with fresh ice.
• Combine ingredients. In a shaker with ice, add the infused tequila, Cointreau, fresh lime juice, and simple syrup.
• Shake hard. 10–15 seconds. The shaker should be frosted.
• Strain. Pour over fresh ice.
• Garnish. Lime wheel on the rim, two jalapeño-stuffed olives speared on a cocktail pick laid across the top. The olives aren’t optional- the brine sharpens the citrus and complements the chile heat.

Bartender’s notes

• Roasted, not raw chiles. Raw green chiles infuse fast but bring a grassy, vegetal note that fights the tequila. Roasting develops the smoky-sweet flavor that makes this drink work.
• Hatch chiles are the traditional pick. If you can’t find them (they’re really only in season late summer/early fall in most of the country), Anaheim chiles are the standard substitute and work well. Poblanos will work too but bring more sweetness and less heat.
• Taste your infusion. Chile heat varies wildly bottle to bottle even from the same producer. 48 hours might be plenty, or you might want 96. Taste at 48 and decide.
• Jalapeño-stuffed olives are the Texas move. They’re widely available at grocery stores. Regular green olives work in a pinch but you lose the callback to the chile infusion.
• Simple syrup is doing more work than you think. The chile heat needs sweetness underneath it to bloom properly. Don’t cut this down or the drink will taste harsh.

Scaling for a pitcher

For a pitcher that serves 6:

• 12 oz green chile-infused tequila
• 6 oz Cointreau
• 9 oz fresh lime juice
• 9 oz simple syrup

Combine in a pitcher without ice, refrigerate. Shake individual servings with fresh ice as you pour. Garnish each glass individually with the olive pick.

Frequently asked

Can I skip the infusion and just add jalapeño slices to the shaker? You can, and you’ll make a decent spicy marg – but it won’t taste like Chuy’s. The infusion pulls a specific roasted-chile flavor that muddling jalapeños can’t hit.

How spicy is this drink actually? Mild-to-medium. If you roast and de-seed your chiles properly, the heat is more of a warmth than a spice. If you leave the seeds in, prepare yourself.

How long does the infused tequila keep? Indefinitely at room temperature once you’ve strained out the chiles. If you leave the chiles in past a week, the tequila can turn bitter – strain it out at 72 hours.

Do I have to use Lunazul? No. Any clean 100% agave blanco works. Espolòn Blanco, Milagro Silver, Herradura Silver – all fine. Skip anything cheap and mixto (non-100% agave); the sugar cane spirit fights the chile infusion.

Can I make this in a martini glass or does it have to be over ice? Chuy’s serves it in a martini-style glass with ice-free presentation. At home, over ice in a rocks glass drinks better because the dilution mellows the heat. Both are valid.

This recipe is part of TacoTuesday.com’s round-up of the 10 Best Copycat Restaurant Margaritas, Ranked