BarbacoApparel Test Kitchen: Cucumber Serrano Limeade

In an effort to preemptively strike those long-awaited, 3-digit-degreed summer days on the horizon, the BarbacoApparel Test Kitchen found a great new way to regulate internal temperatures. 

Spiciness has long been linked with helping to cool down the body (because SCIENCE). So we’ve taken the classic summer combo of cucumbers with lime and Tajín and have added serrano chile and simple syrup to make a fantastic drink you can sip on your porch on oppressively hot summer nights! 

Cucumber Serrano Limeade

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 pounds unpeeled cucumber, chopped into chunks (approx. 2 medium cucumbers)
• 1/2 cup fresh lime juice (approx. 6 limes)
• 1 large serrano chile, seeded
• 1/2 cup simple syrup
• Use 1 to 2 cups sugar to 1 cup water. This will make about 1 1/2 cups of simple syrup. Save the rest and add later if needed.)
• 1 1/2 cups water

For rims of glasses:

• Tajín
• Pinch of sugar
• Pinch of salt
• Lime

Directions:

1. Cut your cucumber, seed your serrano, and squeeze your limes. Add ingredients to your blender.
   
   
   
2. Make your simple syrup*. Add to your blender.
   
   

   *Pro Tip: If you would like a rich simple syrup, make a 2:1 ratio of sugar to water. Your ratio really depends on your preference for sweetness.

   
   
3. Add 1 1/2 cups water to your blender and blend all ingredients until smooth. 
   

   
   
   

4. Mix the Tajín with the pinch of sugar and the pinch of salt on a plate. 
   
   
5. Rub a lime around the rims of your drinking glasses and dip the rims into the spice mix. 
   
   
6. Serve the drink over crushed ice and bedazzle with lime and cucumber slices.

Optional: As is, the recipe makes a pulpy drink, and BarbacoApparel LOVED it, but if you’d rather not drink a salad, you can always use a strainer to get all the flavor with none of the pesky nutrients.