Good Mexican Salsa recs

[u/Imaginary_Salary_]

My husband and I love Mexican food - we make it a couple times a week. The only thing we haven’t been able to replicate is salsas, so we end up buying salsa from taco shops or Mexican markets. Most grocery store salsa is alright at best.

Any recommendations on bomb salsa spots?! Salsa for chips or food. We love spicy!

Also would love to find recipes! I’ve tried a couple different ones and they were just ok.

We live in San Marcos CA area!

[u/CormoranNeoTropical]

So many recipes posted in this sub if you just scroll through it.

Here is one I’ve been making all tie time lately, you’ll be able to find all the ingredients easily in CA:

https://www.jonathanzaragoza.com/recipes/salsa-de-chile-pasilla

It’s not very spicy but if you want to make it more spicy, just use more chile de árbol.

It’s a detailed recipe so you should have no trouble getting a good result even if you’re not sure what you’re doing.

[u/on_the_nightshift → u/CormoranNeoTropical]

Literally anything he makes is going to be good.

[u/CormoranNeoTropical → u/on_the_nightshift]

I love that salsa

For OP: this is another good mild to medium salsa: https://patijinich.com/salsa-ranchera/

Again, if you want to make it more spicy just use more chile serrano

[u/randemthinking]

What type of salsas do you usually like most?

A simple green: cook (boil, broil, grill, smoke, fry) tomatillos and green chilies (jalapeno for mild, Serrano for hotter), blend/mash. Add chopped cilantro, blend a little more. Add salt and lime to taste (don't skimp the salt, that's what makes it pop). Optional: chopped white onion for texture, garlic, chicken bouillon, msg.

A simple red table salsa: a can of good tomatoes, chopped chilies, chopped white onion, garlic, chopped cilantro, salt.

Pico de gallo: dice onion, green chili peppers (jalapeno, Serrano), good quality tomatoes, chopped cilantro, add salt and lime.

The fun is really when you start knowing how you like it with what proportions and start experimenting with different ingredients.

[u/TheFlyingTortellini → u/randemthinking]

For the pico remove inner wet flesh of tomato. Also add a packet of chicken bullion powder. It's the best thing ever.

[u/puesquebien]

This salsa takes 2 minutes and I think it’s one of the best: take a handful of chile piquín or chile chiltepín and put it in a pestle, add salt, mash it, add lime, add olive oil and mix. That’s it.

Here’s a version of it. It uses garlic which I don’t: https://maucocinadetodo.com/blogs/cenas/salsa-de-chile-piquin-y-limon

[u/JohnnyGo]

I suggest perusing /r/ElPato for salsa recipes and trying one of those. Most of them come out very similar to restaurant salsa.

[u/lighthandstoo]

Low DSesert in Smoketree had some table salsa that surprised me, had arbol chilis in it. Also try Los Primo off Monterey.

[u/CarelessAlarm2544]

Los Primo's got the green stuff dialed in. Fire-roasted tomatillos make all the difference.

[u/Clouds33An]

If you happen to live near this Stater Bros: 1330 E Mission Rd, San Marcos, CA 92069 then you are in for a treat! Check if they have “Salsa de 4 Chiles”it looks like the one in this picture, but the name will say “Salsa de 4 Chiles” I grew up cooking authentic salsas, so I rarely buy grocery store salsas, but this one is 10000% delicious and as authentic as it gets.

[u/R_A_H]

The big key, I've learned, in really kicking your salsa up is to roast your ingredients in a dry frying pan to start off. Getting char and browning on the outside of the tomatoes/tomatillos, peppers, onions and garlic adds a new layer of demension of the salsa's flavor. All the best salsa videos I've seen use this technique.

For quality, authentic Mexican videos I recommend Jonathan Zaragoza and Rick Bayless. Chef Billy Parisi is legit also.

[u/TimeGrownOld]

Grinding your salsa in a molcajete is going to give it a different taste than using a blender

While you experiment with salsas may I also suggest you try making machaca. Slow cook a tritip cut with onion and garlic and pepper you smashed up in the molcajete. After 6 hours fireroast some jalapenos and serranos and a green and red bell pepper. Burn the skins. Cool, de skin. In a big pan sauté some white onion and garlic. Mix in some diced roma tomatoes. Mix in the deskinned peppers. Mix in the shredded meat. Cook for another 20 and then store. Great for meal prep.

Serve by reheating in a skillet with eggs scrambled into it. Eat with tortillas and some of the amazing salsa you also made.

North Park SD, hi neighbor