Are you ready for some salsa? It’s a salsa time of year, after all. Now is the time for all good tomatoes to come to the aid of the salsa. Salsasalsasalsasalsasalsasalsasalsasalsa!
Clapclap. Clap. Clap. Clap. Clapclap. Clap. Clap. Clap*
*Ahem. That’s a salsa beat. Trust me.
It’s not that I get carried away over salsa in general, but I do over this particular salsa. Aside from fresh salsa (pico de gallo, or whathaveyou) this is what every single little salsa wants to be when it grows up. It’s smoky, thick, brick-red, and vibrant with guajillo and chipotle chiles, roasted tomatoes and tomatillos, and garlic that you forget you’re eating a jarred salsa. This is the salsa that makes people stop and say, “WOW!” and “Where’d you get this?” That, my friends, is no time for humility. Show them the rows of this on your shelves and puff your chest out a bit and say, “I made it.” I’d advise you fix a dollar amount in your head before serving to company, though, because you will inevitably be asked by reasonable people how much you would charge for a jar*.
*Unreasonable people, or younger siblings, however, will ask, beg and plead for you to give them a jar for free and remind you of the fact that they never told mom that you made them wear your fluffy pink nightgown in exchange for playing Hot Wheels and Matchbox cars with them even though they still don’t know you would’ve played it anyway because you liked them better than Barbies anyway.
It is best to be prepared is my point.
Back to the salsa. There are a few key points that differentiate this salsa from your average chunky jarred stuff.
- It uses dried, reconstituted chiles instead of fresh ones. For some reason this just feels so much easier. Am I crazy? Maybe. But this is what my brain says and I’m listening.
- It is made from roasted tomatoes rather than blanched, peeled, seeded, chopped tomatoes. (Read: two-step tomatoes rather than four-step tomatoes.) This makes peeling easier because you roast the tomatoes, put them in a paper bag, crimp the top and wait a few minutes, then the skin just sloughs right off. I’m sorry about using slough while talking about food. I know it’s not appetizing, but I couldn’t think of another word that fit just right.
- It is a “ground” salsa. Instead of uniformly (and angrily, depending on how much salsa you’re making and how many times you’re interrupted by the people who will eventually eat this salsa) hand chopping all the prepared ingredients, you toss them into the food processor and pulse until all the contents have been chopped to the point where they’re pretty derned little. Almost (but not quite) smooth. Why? Well, because I can. And because it tastes great. And because my kids like it better that way. And because it makes this end product more versatile. You can dump a jar on a pork or beef roast or a whole chicken, marinate it overnight, then drop it in the crockpot the next day on low. After several hours, shred everything together for the ultimate in simple main dishes. Eat the meat on sandwiches, on barbecue pizzas, in quesadillas, in this glorious dish, or on tacos. I guarantee you’ll come up with many more ways to use meat cooked in this salsa.
- It just plain tastes better. I realize that’s not scientific or terribly persuasive, but there you have it. This is the best salsa in the world.
I have one final piece of advice about this salsa. Double the recipe. You really should just trust me on this or one of two things will happen to you. You will find yourself crying over your last jar of salsa between bites ~OR~ you will be reduced to guarding your stash jealously, suspiciously staring down anyone walking past your pantry or basement stairs and menacingly slapping a wooden spoon against your palm to show them you mean business. It will be easier on your mind in the long run if you just go ahead and double it. You’ve been warned.
It's smoky, thick, brick-red, and vibrant with guajillo and chipotle chiles, roasted tomatoes and tomatillos, and garlic that you forget you're eating a jarred salsa. This is the salsa that makes people stop and say, "WOW!" and "Where'd you get this?" Be sure to double the recipe because it will be one of the most popular things you ever can.
Recipe from the canning bible: The Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving.
Ingredients
- 12 dried chipotle chile peppers, stemmed
- 12 dried guajillo (cascabel) chile peppers, stemmed
- 2 cups boiling water
- 2 pounds tomatillos, husks removed
- 2 pounds plum tomatoes, cored
- 1 large onion
- 1 head garlic, broken into cloves with excess paper brushed away
- 1 cup cider vinegar
- 2 teaspoons sugar (raw or granulated)
- 1 teaspoon salt (non-iodized)
Instructions
Place a large, dry, heavy skillet over medium heat.
Toast the chipotle and guajillo peppers on both sides (this may take more than one go-round as the size of the skillet determines how many peppers you can fit in at a time without overcrowding), about 30 seconds to a side, until they are pliable and fragrant. Transfer the toasted chiles to a stainless steel or glass bowl and pour the 2 cups of boiling water over the peppers. Weight the peppers down with a bowl or plate to keep them submerged and cover the whole bowl with plastic wrap or a tight cover for 15-30 minutes or until the peppers are softened.
Transfer the contents (water and peppers both) to a blender or food processor fitted with a metal blade and process until smooth. Set aside.
Put cored plum tomatoes, tomatillos, onion, and garlic in a single layer into a rimmed baking pan. Put them under a broiler set on high until tomatillos and tomatoes are blistered, blackened and softened and onions and garlic have black spots on them. Put tomatillos and tomatoes into a paper bag and cinch the top closed. Set aside until cool enough to handle, about 15 minutes.
Pull the tomatoes out one at a time, rub them to remove the skins, depositing the peeled tomatoes directly into the food processor bowl that is fitted with a metal blade. When the processor is full, pulse until smooth. Pour the smooth processed tomatoes into a large, stainless steel stockpot. Repeat with the remaining tomatoes and tomatillos.
Peel the onions and garlic and pulse in the food processor until finely chopped. Add those to the tomatoes and tomatillos in the stockpot.
Add the reserved pureed chiles and remaining ingredients to the stockpot and stir until evenly distributed.
Prepare canner, jars and lids. (For more information on how to do this, see this link. )
Bring the tomato mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Reduce the heat to a simmer, stirring frequently, and continue simmering until it thickens slightly. This should take about 15 minutes or so.
Ladle the hot salsa into the prepared jars, leaving 1/2-inch (1 cm) of headspace.
Use a stainless steel chopstick or butterknife to remove any air bubbles. If you need to add more salsa to maintain the headspace, do so.
Use a clean towel dampened with vinegar to wipe the rims of the jars.
Center the lid on the jar then screw on the band until fingertip-tight. Don't overtighten but don't leave loose!
Place jars into a canner, cover with water by an inch, and bring to a boil with the lid on the canner. Once the water reaches a rolling boil, begin a 15 minute timer. When the timer expires, turn off the heat, remove the lid to your canner and let the jars rest in the water for 5 minutes.
After five minutes, carefully transfer the jars to a towel or cooling rack on your counter and let stand, undisturbed, for 24 hours. Any jars that did not seal should be stored in the refrigerator.
After 24 hours, remove the rings for the sealed jars, wipe the jars clean and label them for storage. Store with the rings off (and in a single layer.) This is a little insurance policy. If there is bacterial growth in the jars, the bacteria will produce gas which will loosen and push up on the lid. This is an indicator that the jar has gone bad. If you have the rings in place, the lids cannot loosen and pop up to tell you something is wrong.
Store in a cool dry place for up to a year.
http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2011/09/14/smoky-roasted-tomatillo-and-tomato-salsa/
I think guajillo and cascabel chilis are not the same. I don’t think I would substitute them equally.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guajillo_chili
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cascabel_chili
Actually, I forgot an “or” in there, but as they’re rated approximately equally on the Scoville scale, I would still substitute equally. Thanks for the wiki-links, though. I hope you get a chance to try the salsa!
Oh! I forgot to give you a good source for subbing chiles… Try this one. http://www.foodsubs.com/Chiledry.html
I also got that substitution straight from the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving. I personally use guajillos, but if you just plain can’t find them, the cascabels should do a nice job in their stead.
I have just died.
Like, I have just fallen over and crumbled to my death.
o.m.g. s.o. g.o.o.d.
This salsa will bring you back with us. Really.
just to be clear, I can do this in a boiling water bath, right? Or do I need a pressure canner?
Absolutely! This is a boiling water canner recipe, no pressure canner necessary!
This looks wonderful! I’m worried that it might be too spicy for me, but my father and husband would love it!
What size jars, and how many did they fill? I have a giant box of 1/2 pint mason jars just waiting for a good recipe!
Looks amazing! Can you please let me know how much this recipe makes? What size and how many jars did you need to use? Thanks!
I needed a burrito recipe and google sent me to thepioneerwoman.com. Her recipe required a jar of Mexican Tomato Sauce which I did not have. I looked in the pantry and grabbed a jar of “Smoky Roasted Tomatillo and Tomato Salsa” to use as a substitute. Two thumbs up!
How spicy is this salsa? There are two restaurants that have the best roasted tomato/smoky salsa (cantina laredo and mezcal grille) but they’re not spicy. What pepper do I need to remove or how do I make this un-spicy?
I agree. I need not spicy, like Cantina Laredo. Please someone reply.
I grew up eating Mexican food on a daily basis and to say I love salsa is an understatement. I was wondering if I could use fresh jalepenos or combination of fresh peppers in this recipe? The recipe I saw being made everyday is a simple 5 ingredients and would love to know how to can them for future use. Tomatoes, Jalepenos, Garlic, Onion and Cilantro. (oh a little salt but not too much as this will draw the water from the tomatoes. I put them all in my blender and give it a few pulses to get the desired consistency I want. I like the thin restaurant style. Local extension office tried to help me out on how to can properly by adding lemon juice or vinegar but it changed the taste completely. Do you know if a person could use Citric Acid in place of the lemon or vinegar?
This recipe sounds soooooo good, I can’t wait to try it! Can you confirm that the recipe calls for 24 in total dried chiles? Also, if they are dried, do I toast them while still dried, or do I need to soak them first and then toast them?
Never mind……never mind, I just read the preamble and found the answer to both questions!!! LOL
Hi, it’s me again….the salsa was waaaaaayyyy too hot and when I think about 24 chile peppers, it just didn’t seem right! I went to the Mexican Spice shop today and asked the Mexican store owner what she thought and how I might rescue the salsa. She advised one chile pepper of each type would be more than enough. She did suggest freezing it in small quantities and adding some to mild salsa. I am very disappointed as I grew the tomatillos from seed and I used organic tomatoes and my salsa is toast! Sadly, I won’t be trying this recipe again.
We love it hot and recognized it for a good hot ‘un when we read the recipe in the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving. Hooray for differences that make the world go ’round!
Dear Laurene,
I know JUST what you should do!
Ship the salsa to meeeeeeeee!!!!!
Email me: [email protected], and I will send you my address.
I’ll PayPal you the shipping charges!!!!
Best,
Pamela
Hi Pamela, thanks for the offer but I have already frozen it in small packets. On the weekend I tried combining a small amount with mild salsa and it worked great!
Aww, shucks. That’s alright, though, because I made about 40 jars of it this afternoon.
Mmmmmhmmmm.
So.stinking.good.