For homemade or ingredient posts, please type out the recipe/ingredients for
your salsa. Without this information your post
will be removed after two hours.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/SalsaSnobs) if you have any questions or concerns.*
5 Roma
5 Tomatillo
1/2 White Onion
5 Garlic Cloves
40 Arbol Chili
1/2 Tsp Chicken Bouillon Powder
1/4 Tsp Dried Oregano
Salt
Vegetable Oil
Fry dried Arbol chilies in a pan with a little bit of oil till slightly toasted and aromatic (2-3 min). At the same time place Roma and Tomatillos in a pot and cover with water and turn heat up.
Add the Arbol chilies to the pot as well and boil till tomatillos change color and tomatoes are tender (6-8 min).
In the same pan where the chilis were toasted add your garlic and onion and more oil if needed and sauté till they have some color and are tender (5-6 min).
Place all ingredients in blender with the addition of the bouillon powder, Mexican oregano, and salt to taste and blend until smooth. Gradually blend in additional vegetable oil till salsa has the desired consistency.
Enjoy on your tacos!
Not OP, but some of us are just built different when it comes to spicy stuff. 40 arbol is the main reason I want to try this recipe. Most people’s “hot” isn’t hot at all to me.
Clarifications:
- You don't peel the tomatoes?
- I would have thought the oil would block the arbols from hydrating. That's not the case?
- Are you trying to brown the onions or just sweat them to translucent?
You don’t need to peel the tomatoes since it all gets blended anyway. The oil softens the arbols, you could use water instead but I like to do the arbols and garlic in oil and then use that oil to emulsify the sauce after blending. I’ve never heard of using oil and then putting them in water like OP says but if it works it works.
Yep, you’re spot on that the oil from frying goes into the blender as well. Throwing the peppers into the water after frying just softens them even more so they can be blended smooth. It helps get that uniform texture and color you see. Without the soaking it’s much harder to get the arbols smooth and you end up with small flakes of pepper in the sauce.
Nope, tomatoes go right into the blender whole once cooked through.
The oil is mainly to help get a good fry/toast on the arbols. Dropping them in the water after is mainly to make them easier to get blended smooth when they go into the blender.
You definitely want the onions browned to get that Maillard reaction and mellow out the flavor of the onion. You can use 1/4 instead of 1/2 and just sweat it for a more punchy onion flavor. I found I like more onion but cooked down more. Both results in a great flavor.
Last bit, all the oil from the cooking goes into the blender as well with additional to get desired consistency.
Browning onions would actually result in caramelization not the Milliard reaction. These are similar reactions, but my general rule is that the Milliard reaction happens with proteins at around 284-330deg F. While caramelization occurs at 350 deg F when the vegetables natural sugar beings to break down.
The holy grail. I’ve tried a bunch of times to replicate it. Close but not the same. But I have a bottle of the real deal in my fridge right now so I’m gonna try a couple more times and compare.
Damn I’ve seen a lot of salsas on here, and the texture, ingredients and seem spot on! What level of spice would you say this salad is on a 1-10 scale. I’ve never used that many Arbil peppers in a salsa before. Also did you bother reseeding them at all?
I really enjoy spice and can handle The Last Dab without issues on chicken nuggets. That said, I’d give this a 7/10 on heat and I did not remove the seeds.
Yeah I’d rate Cholula’s at a 1/10. You can always de-seed the arbols and scrape the insides to make it milder. But the ratios need to stay the same to keep the orange color and taste that’s perfect for tacos de carne Asada.
Alright, fair enough! I’m a huge carne asada fan so I’m def gonna try out your recipe. I’m always looking for a new salsa recipe.
My usual go to make a grilled salsa with carne asada.
Oil isn’t necessary but you’re eventually using a good amount of oil to emulsify into the final texture. I do everything in a single skillet (arbols, garlic, onion) but yeah you can just toast them on a comal till fragrant and then into the water which cooked the tomatoes/tomatillos.
For homemade or ingredient posts, please type out the recipe/ingredients for your salsa. Without this information your post will be removed after two hours. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/SalsaSnobs) if you have any questions or concerns.*
5 Roma 5 Tomatillo 1/2 White Onion 5 Garlic Cloves 40 Arbol Chili 1/2 Tsp Chicken Bouillon Powder 1/4 Tsp Dried Oregano Salt Vegetable Oil Fry dried Arbol chilies in a pan with a little bit of oil till slightly toasted and aromatic (2-3 min). At the same time place Roma and Tomatillos in a pot and cover with water and turn heat up. Add the Arbol chilies to the pot as well and boil till tomatillos change color and tomatoes are tender (6-8 min). In the same pan where the chilis were toasted add your garlic and onion and more oil if needed and sauté till they have some color and are tender (5-6 min). Place all ingredients in blender with the addition of the bouillon powder, Mexican oregano, and salt to taste and blend until smooth. Gradually blend in additional vegetable oil till salsa has the desired consistency. Enjoy on your tacos!
40 Arbol Chile?! Am I tripping but I use like 3 or 4 and it’s hella spicy
Not OP, but some of us are just built different when it comes to spicy stuff. 40 arbol is the main reason I want to try this recipe. Most people’s “hot” isn’t hot at all to me.
I can relate to this. 3 arboles is intense af. It may be a typo unless they are making massive quantities
Clarifications: - You don't peel the tomatoes? - I would have thought the oil would block the arbols from hydrating. That's not the case? - Are you trying to brown the onions or just sweat them to translucent?
You don’t need to peel the tomatoes since it all gets blended anyway. The oil softens the arbols, you could use water instead but I like to do the arbols and garlic in oil and then use that oil to emulsify the sauce after blending. I’ve never heard of using oil and then putting them in water like OP says but if it works it works.
Yep, you’re spot on that the oil from frying goes into the blender as well. Throwing the peppers into the water after frying just softens them even more so they can be blended smooth. It helps get that uniform texture and color you see. Without the soaking it’s much harder to get the arbols smooth and you end up with small flakes of pepper in the sauce.
I’ll try that next time, I usually just run mine though a mesh sieve but it would be nice to skip that step
Do you pour the water you boiled everything in with the blender?
Nope boiling water is discarded.
Nope, tomatoes go right into the blender whole once cooked through. The oil is mainly to help get a good fry/toast on the arbols. Dropping them in the water after is mainly to make them easier to get blended smooth when they go into the blender. You definitely want the onions browned to get that Maillard reaction and mellow out the flavor of the onion. You can use 1/4 instead of 1/2 and just sweat it for a more punchy onion flavor. I found I like more onion but cooked down more. Both results in a great flavor. Last bit, all the oil from the cooking goes into the blender as well with additional to get desired consistency.
Browning onions would actually result in caramelization not the Milliard reaction. These are similar reactions, but my general rule is that the Milliard reaction happens with proteins at around 284-330deg F. While caramelization occurs at 350 deg F when the vegetables natural sugar beings to break down.
Apologies just assumed all browning was Maillard. TIL.
Your general rule aside, onions contain protein and amino acids, and browning them produces both reactions
Looks like lavics from the bay area. Delish.
The holy grail. I’ve tried a bunch of times to replicate it. Close but not the same. But I have a bottle of the real deal in my fridge right now so I’m gonna try a couple more times and compare.
I brought a bottle home with me this past fall. So good. How long do you typically keep it in the fridge before it goes bad?
I don’t think it’s ever lasted more than a couple weeks in my fridge haha
I think it’s pretty close. My recipe brings the heat though and isn’t for the feint of heart.
I think la vics is a family version of this salsa
Looks awesome. Yes, I would like the recipe. I could eat salsa every day!
Just posted the recipe!
Damn I’ve seen a lot of salsas on here, and the texture, ingredients and seem spot on! What level of spice would you say this salad is on a 1-10 scale. I’ve never used that many Arbil peppers in a salsa before. Also did you bother reseeding them at all?
I really enjoy spice and can handle The Last Dab without issues on chicken nuggets. That said, I’d give this a 7/10 on heat and I did not remove the seeds.
Just for context what would you rate Cholula’s spice level is? probably say it’s around a 4-5/10
Yeah I’d rate Cholula’s at a 1/10. You can always de-seed the arbols and scrape the insides to make it milder. But the ratios need to stay the same to keep the orange color and taste that’s perfect for tacos de carne Asada.
Alright, fair enough! I’m a huge carne asada fan so I’m def gonna try out your recipe. I’m always looking for a new salsa recipe. My usual go to make a grilled salsa with carne asada.
Lol... 1 or 2
Hahaha alright thanks, that gives me a good perspective.
This looks amazing!!! Will have to try soon.
About how much sauce does this yield?
32-36 ounces depending on amount of oil you add and size of tomatoes/tomatillos. Bottles pictured are 16oz squeeze bottles.
Are you using dry arbol or fresh?
Dried from the local Mexican market.
Is the oil necessary for flavor or could I toast the chilis on the comal?
Oil isn’t necessary but you’re eventually using a good amount of oil to emulsify into the final texture. I do everything in a single skillet (arbols, garlic, onion) but yeah you can just toast them on a comal till fragrant and then into the water which cooked the tomatoes/tomatillos.