Almost Homemade Salsa
 

Ted's Almost Homemade Salsa/Sauce

I kept remembering back a bunch of years to the time when Frito Lay and some others made little tins of picante sauce. It was mostly sauce, but had tiny bits of stuff in it. It came in mild and hot and was delicious with tortilla chips. Now, everything is SALSA and megachunkie with large pieces of veggies. Most of what I call the MODERN store-bought stuff is bitter or just unsweet - totally unpleasant to my taste buds. :evil:

So, I decided (as a lot of you have) to make my own. I looked for recipes, but none seemed to fit the bill for that little tin of picante taste.:(

So, in total frustration, I decided to experiment on my own. I knew what I wanted to end up with, and here's what I put together a few days ago.

Down at the Walmart store in the canning area, they have packets of "mrs Wages" Salsa and Sauce dry mix to which you only have to add tomatoes and vinegar. Here's what I did with one of those Salsa packets and it's scrumptious. :yes:

As stated on the dry mix packet, I put about 6 or so pounds of tomatoes thru the tomato mill and into a 5 quart pot on the stove. Immediately added:

2 tsps salt (your choice of type)
1 tsp black pepper
2 tbsp sugar (or to your taste)

Reduced by 30%, this yielded about 2.5 quarts and was about the thickness of tomato soup out of the can. The tomatoes were a combination of the many varieties I had on the counter. I simply chose the ripest ones - Reds, Pinks, Purples, yellows, multi's, large, small, etc.

To this base, I added the following:
1 Pckt Dry Salsa Mix
2 Tbsp Lemon Juice
2 Tbsp Minced Garlic
1/2 Tsp Cummin
1/2 Cup Yellow Onion (finely diced)
1/2 Cup Tomatillo (finely diced)
1/2 Cup each of Red, Yellow, Orange, and Green Sweet Peppers (finely diced)
1/2 Cup White Vinegar
Additional Salt, Pepper, and sugar to taste.

I think you can add any peppers you want, but the mix I started with contained dehydrated chile and jalapeno peppers and was medium hot - even though it was labeled as "MILD". I chose a mix of pepper colors for eye appeal and used bells and tapers - whatever was there. The mix has other dehydrated goodies in it as well.

At this point, I began reducing it further to get it really thick. Got tired of reducing and added enough corn starch that I could get slick temporary peaks on the mixture. Tried it and it was pretty good while still hot. Let it cool and stuck it in the fridge. When it got cold, it was like the flavor just "flowered". It also thickened up more and a chip stuck in was fully coated when drawn back out, and it had some of the goodies on it.:D

There's a lot of folks who see some of these recipes and know they're for cooks of greater experience. This is one that anybody can make and it is easier than trying to find all the extra spices and such.:yes:

Ted

Ted -- Your salsa sounds delicious. I think I saw that mix at our WalMart. Is it in the canning section? Or maybe that was a different one.

Sherry

IMO, you don't need that many additions. I actually helped create and run a salsa and marinade company for a while. That means I have strong opinions but must know very little (since I'm in a very different line of work...)

Anyhoo, my homemade salsa fresca

2-3 ripe tomatoes. hand diced with peels and skins left on (in a hurry, food process)
2-3 cloves garlic diced (or in the food processor)
1 small onion diced (or in the processor)
1 jalapeno pepper diced (or processed)
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1 lemon juiced
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 pepper

mix and enjoy.

I only use sugar if it's wintertime and I'm using cardboardish store bought tomatoes. There is something about handchopped ingredients that I also like. It's a PITA and requires a very sharp knife, but somehow the result is perfectly mixed. If I feel it's a bit too juicy, I won't hesitate to drain the tomato dices before mixing. (Just drop the diced pieces into a suspended strainer as you finish the chopping task.)

Just sharing. Half the fun, IMO, is trying new stuff.

Sherry, found this one over by the canning jars. It's mrs. Wages in a dark brownish red soft package. They have both a salsa and a sauce packet.

I made another batch last night and used only Cherokee Green tomatoes and Tomatillo Cisineros with all peppers still green - Apelsin, Jalapeno, Red Bell, and a couple Sweet Banana. The sauce came out with a somewhat fruitier taste, and was the color of the Cherokee Green with a slight amber blush about it. The taste was still excellent. This one can be served with pride on St. Patricks Day. I'll have to freeze some Cherokee Greens to save for that.

Next, I'm going to gather up enough Azoychka, Golden Cherokee, and some yellow cherries to get enough to try another color. This recipe is working out very well. Great taste and great eye appeal with the ability to control the color without using food coloring. If you have the sauce base prepared, the total prep time can be as little as the time it takes to bring everything to temp and cook the tomatillos and peppers a bit - depending on how much crunch you want.

Structure, I'm sure your recipe is quite tasty, but I was trying to recreate something I remember from 30 years ago. Maybe you should give mine a try. I'll try yours sooner or later. We're big on salsa here at the Bucket Farm.

Ted

I might try a little "doctoring", but personally, I like the Mrs. Wages done exactly as it suggests on the package with just tomatoes. Quick, easy, wonderful. My wife makes wonderful pico de gallo, but for a prepared salsa, we're Mrs. Wages fans.

Ted, you might want to consider substituting 2 TBS of cumin [U]seeds[/U] in place of the ground cumin. The seeds give a more pure cumin taste when bitten, while ground cumin tends to meld into the other flavors.

TomNJ

Ted, I buy those little tins you speak of. They are labelled under Mexican names and easy to find around here. Look in your mexican food aisle. They sound like exactly what you are talking about. I buy a tin or two when I make tacos. They are a bit watery, but fresh tasting and have a good amount of heat depending on what heat range you purchase.

Duane

Jeff, it's a taste thing I was searching for and that recipe nailed it as best as my aging taste buds can remember. The main thing is that I'm happy with it. Salsa's and Picante's literally have thousands of variations of the recipes used.

Tom, I think the cummin may be a primary key to the flavor I was looking for. The other key ingredient seemed to be the distilled white vinegar I used. It was actually Walmart's house brand. I'm going to tweak a bit here and there to see if any refinement is warranted. I'll try the cummin seed and see what happens.

Duane, I've tried a few of those tins. We have a large Hispanic population here and the stores have well stocked cultural aisles. It's good for finding some of the ingredients for traditional dishes and add authenticity to a dish. My problem there is that of the 5 different ones I've tried, none are an exact match. But I'll keep looking at any different ones I find. Ingredient lists are very helpful.

Red, Golden Yellow, and Green Salsas. You just gotta think outside the box cause sometimes you find a nugget.

Ted - who is off to the store to get more Nacho Doritos and plain Tortilla Chips.

Ted,
Does the salsa mix give canning instructions?
I have used the Mrs Wages pickle mixes and pasta sauces. Both are very good and I usually make enough to be able to can some. I'm going to look up the salsa mix next grocery run.

Barbee, yes they do. BWB or Fridge, the package has recommended times and storage limits.

The flavor from this recipe must hit a nerve with some folks. My son took some over to a girlfriend's cookout and now she and a couple of her friends want to BUY some from me.

"Holy Shades of Paul Newman, Batman". I told him to tell her that "I'm Retired".

Ted

All i can say is YUMMY!!!!!!!!

[quote=Structure;142695]IMO, you don't need that many additions. I actually helped create and run a salsa and marinade company for a while. That means I have strong opinions but must know very little (since I'm in a very different line of work...)

Anyhoo, my homemade salsa fresca

2-3 ripe tomatoes. hand diced with peels and skins left on (in a hurry, food process)
2-3 cloves garlic diced (or in the food processor)
1 small onion diced (or in the processor)
1 jalapeno pepper diced (or processed)
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1 lemon juiced
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 pepper

mix and enjoy.

I only use sugar if it's wintertime and I'm using cardboardish store bought tomatoes. There is something about handchopped ingredients that I also like. It's a PITA and requires a very sharp knife, but somehow the result is perfectly mixed. If I feel it's a bit too juicy, I won't hesitate to drain the tomato dices before mixing. (Just drop the diced pieces into a suspended strainer as you finish the chopping task.)

Just sharing. Half the fun, IMO, is trying new stuff.[/quote]

HEY!!!! That's EXACTLY like my homemade salsa...except I use:
[LIST][*]lime juice instead of lemon juice[*]vidalia (or my home grown walla-walla) onions[*]KOSHER salt (I can't stand the iodized stuff anymore)[/LIST]

OK, I found this mix at the grocery store yesterday. It says on the packet you can use it in a hot water bath, or freeze it. Just wondered if anyone had tried freezing salsa and what did the texture come out as when you thawed it?

[quote=Barbee;143290]OK, I found this mix at the grocery store yesterday. It says on the packet you can use it in a hot water bath, or freeze it. Just wondered if anyone had tried freezing salsa and what did the texture come out as when you thawed it?[/quote]

I'll let you know tomorrow. I have 5 quarts frozen so far, but I'm going to thaw one out in the fridge tonight for use tomorrow.

Ted

Thanks! I'll be looking forward to your thoughts.

Okay, thawed it out and it is absolutely wonderful. My chunks are still chunky and the flavor has not suffered any deterioration. I am confident that freezing it is okay to do. Below are some pictures. It's just as thick as it was when I put it in the container. I did not see any separation at all. The last picture shows some of the stuff I put in to make it chunky.

Ted

Good deal! I'm going to freeze this batch I've got cooking right now. Thanks again!

I had the same experience with my "undoctored" Mrs. Wages. Just as good thawed as it was fresh.

Hehe, I had to do a little experimenting myself with the Mrs Wages. I took maters (all colors), an onion, 2 large bell peppers--purple and red, 2 jals, 4 giant banana peppers, and garlic and roasted them at 450* for about 2 hours. Long enough to blacken the skins and reduce the juices.. then pulled out the big chunks of peppers/onion. Ran the large chunks thru my mini food processor to chop them and ran the rest of the mixture thru the food mill to remove the seeds/skins. Scraped all the yumminess from the food mill and the juice into my crock pot. Added some lime juice, a tablespoon of brown sugar, some finely chopped cilantro and the Mrs Wages.
OMG it's really good!
Next batch, I will add a few more jals to make an extra hot salsa for my daughter.
Woohoo, this stuff is tasty enough to warrant a trip to the grocery for some tortilla chips and supper tonight is going to be tex mex omelets. Mrs. Wages definitely has a new fan!

Dumb question, but why do you have to cook salsa, can't you just eat it raw ?? I like chunky salsas and would think cooking it would turn it to mush.

[QUOTE=matereater;143405]Dumb question, but why do you have to cook salsa, can't you just eat it raw ?? I like chunky salsas and would think cooking it would turn it to mush.[/QUOTE]

Freshly chopped tomatoes, peppers, garlic, etc. is Pico de Gallo. Take the same stuff and cook it and it's Salsa. Great oversimplification, but the point is "fresh" salsa isn't salsa, it's pico de gallo.

EDITED TO ADD:

The flavors are distinct. I love both. Fresh it great, but the flavor profiles created by cooking are unique.

I like to cook down the sauce from that "6 lbs of tomatoes" to get a really thick base and then add the other veggies at the end. Then I only cook long enough to "clarify" the onions. I put in Tomatillos and there is a lot of debate about cook or don't cook those, so I choose to cook a bit when they are in there.

But the main reason I cook is to get the base sauce flavor the way I want it. Using 10 or 15 different varieties of tomatoes in (at least) a somewhat different state of ripeness can make the sauce smoother or more fruity with more tang. So I want to deal with this possible difference before I add the "chunky". Besides, I think (JMHO) you have to reduce the tomato squeezin's anyhow. :yes:

I want it to be so thick that you can put a tortilla chip in STRAIGHT DOWN and pull it out (STRAIGHT UP) and have it coated like the picture on BOTH sides. I don't like watery salsa like you find as the appetizer in a lot of Mexican Restaurants - you know, that little "puddle" of red-ish fire water with tomatilla seeds floating in it.:evil:

A salsa expert is something I am not, but I do know what I like and I know you cant buy this in a bottle. This recipe has proven to be so flexible that it has become the family standard. We probably won't buy Pace's Picante anymore. ;)

It must be pretty good. When the Hispanic ladies working at my Doctor's office call to confirm an appointment, they are asking if we can bring in some more.:surprised:

Dip, Dip - Slurp, Slurp - Crunch, Crunch - HHmmmmmmmm!!!!!!!:P

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This happened yesterday:shock: :?: :surprised:

(BRing, BRing - Hello! Oh, hi neighbor, how are you? That's good. And how's the grand-daughter doing? Great. Yeah, they grow up too fast. So, what's happening? HHmmmmmm. Well, you're very welcome. HHmmmm. Yes, it is good, isn't it. HHmmmmm. Out already?? But I gave you that quart only yesterday. Is that right. Well, I'd love to, but we're running low ourselves right now. Yeah, I'll probably start another batch in a day or two. I'll see what I can do. Yeah, I'll let you know. Take care. Goodbye.)

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Ted

I'll definitely have to try your recipe this season. Sounds so much easier than what I did last year!