The savory spice blend famous for seasoning seafood dishes also deserves a place at your home bar. Old Bay seasoning, the beloved blend from Maryland, has amassed a kind of cult following along America’s East Coast. The zesty mix of spices has found its way into bowls of ice cream and is used to infuse flavored bottles of vodka.
The earthy, punchy mix of paprika, black pepper, crushed red pepper flakes, and celery salt not only turns up flavor dials on a serving of roasted potatoes, but the inclusion of the blend can also bring new life to this weekend’s Blood Mary cocktails. Whether you rim cocktail glasses with the colorful seasoning or dump a spoonful directly into your cocktail to mix and serve, inviting Old Bay to brunch is a sure way to elevate this classic hangover elixir. Should the rest of your menu feature seafood dishes like steamed crabs or platters of shrimp cocktail, the inclusion of Old Bay can help tie all of your food and drink offerings together.
A summer holiday served in a glass
Use a lemon wedge to moisten the lip of your cocktail glasses before pressing down the surface lightly onto a small dish of Old Bay, or try adding one to two teaspoons of Old Bay directly to our tried and true Bloody Mary recipe. You can build even more heat to your Bloody Mary cocktails with a splash of Tabasco sauce.
In addition to the expected celery stick or wedges of lemon and lime, garnish your cocktails with toothpicks stacked with olives, grape tomatoes, and steamed or grilled shrimp. You can season this shrimp with, you guessed it, Old Bay, before adding the ingredient to your glasses. Strips of crunchy bacon can also be used to top these beauties if you want to emphasize the savory notes. With a presentation that is this pretty to look at and even more delicious to taste, your concoctions will have party guests thinking they are sailing instead of drinking in your backyard.
