Dissecting a recipe - salsa (1 Viewer)

[Trunk Monkey]

There's a local place here that I've been going to for 20+ years. I love their salsa and frequently get a couple pints for takeout. I've never been able to eat Pace or the like - tastes like ketchup. We have a local store whose deli doesn't a pretty decent fresh made, but it's not the same as this restaurant. I stopped by last night to pick some up and asked if they'd ever give out the recipe. They said absolutely not. So now I'm wondering how to go about recreating their recipe.

I can see the basics of what's in it - maters, onions, peppers (dunno what kind), cilantro. I'm sure there's salt and maybe other spices/lemon juice etc. There's not a lot of liquid, so I don't know if they dice everything and then strain it a little. I'll post a pic of it later on when I'm home.

Anyone recreated a restaurant recipe? Just trial and error?

 

[TXLX100]

My wife was experimenting with salsa recipes a while back when she was thinking about selling it. I like Roma tomatoes for homemade salsa, they are easy to skin, easy to work with, don't have a lot of liquid and seeds.

From there, I like varying degrees of white onion, cilantro, salt to taste, very small diced jalapeño, sometimes mix in some tomatillo. I don't think we've tried lemon, my wife is a big fan of limes. I'd just start making small batches and see what you like.

With the amount of Mexican food around here salsas range from a warm chili tasting to cold lumpy pico type, all of which are pretty good.

 

[rusty_tlc]

One thing you could try is isolating the peppers and figuring out what kind they are. Same for the onions, our local Latino market carries a whole different selection of produce than the regular markets.

 

[spressomon]

I recreated Del Real Foods Salsa de Molcajete, my go to salsa of choice, to about 80-90%; however given the expense of ingredients (and forgetting about time) its way cheaper to stand in line at Costco for same. And arguably tastier.

The Molcajete contains only roasted tomatoes, roasted peppers, salt and water...as simple as it gets. And although everyone's preference in foods is different, salsa being no exception, I prefer the simple Molcajete to salsas containing onion, garlic, cilantro, sugar, vinegar, etc., etc. YMMV.

 

[BrotherRob]

I'm pretty good at duplicating recipes by taste but not by appearance. So pics won't help. Salsa is easy if it's fresh, ingredients are easy to id, from there it's pretty much salad.

I don't use recipes for salsas, I know what I like and a bit of variation is part of the fun. Give it a whirl, you've nothing to lose but a bunch of tortilla chips.

I agree, bottled salsa is just wrong. Cooked maters have their place, like ketchup and spaghetti sauce.

 

[Trunk Monkey]

Well, a picture might be kind of hard now, since I ate it all . . .

 

[BrotherRob]

If it's hard after you swallowed it, you have other issues.

 

[tag3]

Been working on a bunch of different salsa's. None are the same and some are straight up s***ty. Just enjoying the differences.

 

[Trunk Monkey]

First attempt. The stuff I'm trying to replicate is a chunky salsa, I got lazy and used a food processor so mine's thin. Used canned tomatoes and Rotel, can definitely taste the canned veggies, will for sure be using fresh next time. Added onions, cilantro, garlic, lime, spices, and a jalapeno. It's not hot enough for me, but my wife and kids devoured it.

 

[FLATU8ER]

Your salsa looks like mine. I also use a blender. I start out with a small can of Rotel, and after firing up my weber I will roast/smoke slices of white onion, 4 or so roma tomatoes, two or so jalapenos, and a big red bell. Take off the skin of all, leaving a few flakes of blackened skin for presentation. Stem and seed the chilies, and blend all. Yes I do add spices; cumin, taco seasoning, garlic powder (if I did not add 1 clove of fresh) and sea salt to taste. I can bump up the heat by adding various other dry spices. I will mention, as most on this site know (I found out last yr) roasting chilies can really pump up their own heat.
I also saw an idea on the TV show Mexican Made Easy. The host blends up her salsa of all fresh stuff, and then puts it in a small pan an "cooks" it. The fresh whitish tomatoes take on a redder color as it sautés/cooks. It looked interesting. Don't remember if it was the cooking channel, or food network.
I know what you mean about your family destroying your salsa, my youngest will not eat anything but my home made stuff.
-Jim

 

[Trunk Monkey]

I left all the seeds in the jalap, I'm surprised it doesn't have a little more heat in it. Also impressed with the food processor. My wife hates onions and this chopped them down small enough you about can't tell they're in there.

Found a pic from an online review of the place (Rio Grande Cafe) of their salsa. Sooo good.

 

[FLATU8ER]

Have you tried chipotle, or serrano's?

 

[BrotherRob]

First attempt. The stuff I'm trying to replicate is a chunky salsa, I got lazy and used a food processor so mine's thin. Used canned tomatoes and Rotel, can definitely taste the canned veggies, will for sure be using fresh next time. Added onions, cilantro, garlic, lime, spices, and a jalapeno. It's not hot enough for me, but my wife and kids devoured it.


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Fresh veggies cut with a knife is best, especially when it comes to maters. Food processors mangle them and cooked is just wrong. Not hot enough is never a problem for me, I love the flavor of chilies, so more never hurts my feelings.

 

[Lc80series]

When I make mine...Tomatoes, red onion, serranos, cilantro, salt/pepper, garlic, lime and Chiltepin. I boil the tomatoes so I can easily remove the skin. Blend all ingredients then add more roughly chopped to make it chunky. Tucson style!

 

[Lc80series]

^ Chiltepin plant

 

[spressomon]

chiletepins y pequins = muy bueno

 

[rusty_tlc]

I left all the seeds in the jalap, I'm surprised it doesn't have a little more heat in it.

In my experience Jalapenos vary widely in heat even from the same plant.

 

[Trunk Monkey]

Ha, that's for sure. Just made some over last weekend, put in one jalap with about half the seeds removed and it was super hot. I loved it, wife and kids couldn't eat it.

 

[spressomon]

roasted, peeled, seeded & sliced jalapeños + 50/50 add of grape seed oil and your favorite soy sauce + glass vessel + a day in the fridge = you will do it again . They keep for a couple weeks...if you make a big enough batch .

Variation: Add a few roasted cloves of garlic.

 

[rusty_tlc]

I love the pickled vegetable mix you find at hole in the wall Mexican places;carrots, jalapeno peppers and onions. Spresso's mix sounds good too.