Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Lori's Fire Roasted Salsa


With love I say this.  For all you people that think your canned salsa is good,  I say it just may be, but this salsa is totally worth checking out.  It totally blows people out of the water.

I should add that the University of Minnesota has some great advice on canning salsa and other things. You can check out their site here.

Lori's Fire Roasted Salsa
The small size recipe in parenthesis, larger size on the right
This is one of those recipes where you have to go by your taste.  I am just giving you a guideline.  The true flavor of this recipe comes from the roasted/smoking.

(10)                   peck of tomatoes, preferably a meaty tomato like romas
(1 or 2)             3 or 4 jalapeños or more (red is better but green works as well)
(1 cup)              6 cups Spanish onions, skins removed
(1/4 cup)           1 bunch of cilantro about 1 cup chopped
(1 teaspoon)     4 tablespoons kosher salt
(2 tablespoons) 1/2 to 1 cup white distilled vinegar
                         mesquite or hickory wood chips
(1)                    10 pablano peppers (you can add or subtract based on heat)
                        1/2 cup oil (to rub on tomatoes prior to roasting)


1. Clean and oil tomatoes, pablanos and jalapeños.
2. Fire up your grill and get your wood chips soaking (they need a good 30 minute soak).
3. Roast the tomatoes, pablano peppers and jalapeños on the grill until they are charred.

4. Remove stem and skin.  Discard with any of the juice that is sitting in the pan from roasting.
5. Combine onion, tomatoes, jalapeños and pablanos in a large kettle.
6. Add white vinegar and kosher salt.
7. Bring to a boil and let boil for about 15 to 25 minutes.  Taste periodically for desired heat, vinegar and salt level.  Feel free to add in more jalapenos if you want a lot of heat.
8. Using an immersion blender or a regular blender, blend the salsa.
9. Add chopped cilantro.
10. Pour into pint jars. Clean rims.  Place lids on and screw on bands.
11. Add into hot water bath and bring pot to a boil.
12. Process canned salsa for 20 minutes.
Yield about 8 pints for a peck of tomatoes.

*I know it is crazy that I do not put garlic into this salsa.  It is so good I really don't want to mess with it.  The pablanos are new this year.  I took a chance.  It worked out good but it really did kick up the heat.

2013 Notes- I added garlic this year.   We yielded 27 pints from 3 pecks of tomatoes.  Two pecks romas, one peck regular.  Two bunches of cilantro. Also added a lot of cumin- like 4 tablespoons. Not quite enough heat from two pablanos so I added 1/4 teaspoon cayenne.  We were going for a mild salsa.

Let me know if you make it and what you think.  Please let me know if you add in garlic or anything else.  Would love to hear about some variations.

18 comments:

Mary Bergfeld said...

Your salsa is otherworldy, Lori If it tastes as good as it looks I'll follow you anywhere. Have a great day. Blessings...Mary

cocoa and coconut said...

This looks FANTASTIC! I LOVE IT. Great ingredients, and the colour is great too. If I had the time I would try it with garlic. Do you think I could pop the salsa on chicken?

ann low said...

Oh Lori! This is awesome! Never tried this before but really looks good :)

kat said...

We do something similar but smoke the tomatoes, its makes for the best flavor

Julie said...

A great salsa is always worth repeating. I'm so jealous of all your jars of yummy goodness :)

Mimi said...

I still have plenty of tomatoes in the garden so hopefully I can give this a try.
Mimi

grace said...

ah, this definitely deserves more attention. where's my spoon?

Joanne said...

Fire roasting tomatoes always makes things better. What a great salsa recipe!

Fresh Local and Best said...

I really like that you fire roasted the the tomatoes and chili peppers, I've alway enjoyed that smoky singe. And it is especially a good idea to use those mesquite chips, I've never done that before.

Avril said...

Now this is a serious amount of GORGEOUS salsa! YUM!!!!

So glad you are going to make the Peach Bars....let me know how they come out for you. :-)

Tracy said...

Mmm, this salsa looks amazing! Love it!

Unknown said...

Hi Lori.. I am new to canning and found this recipe looking for a water bath recipe (I don't have a pressure canner yet) I was wondering if I could fire roast veggies for a salsa recipe and still end up with a safe result... Well hallelujah! I came across your recipe! I will be trying it as soon as I gather up the ingredients... I have started a FB page to chronical my journey learning how to can, and hopefully to encourage others... Come visit the page and tell me what you think... I have your recipe posted there! Come give us some pointers!Here's the link:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Canning-tips-advise-and-recipes/194214467261170
Thanks for your recipe! I can't wait to try it!
Carolyn...

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Lori said...

Pugnacious-

I dont know if you already read this or not. You definitely need tomatoes in there for acid and vinegar as well. If you have a lot of veggies and not enough acid, you do run some risk. Some people who walk the line of caution would even say my salsa is questionable. However I have been canning it for years and have not had a problem (knock on wood). It really is good.

I did check out your site on FB and may I say that I think it is an awesome idea.

Unknown said...

Made the salsa today, added garlic and a bit of cumin. Yummy!

Lori said...

So glad you liked it. Thanks for letting me know. I always love cumin- good idea.

Murasaki Shikibu said...

My salsa is always raw and I make it fresh each time - but this is a great idea if you want to store it in bottles. I also like the idea of the flavor and aroma the fire roasting would add to the salsa. I'd make it fresh each though because I can't abide with vinegar as you know!

mykidlets said...

We have been making this salsa for 3 years now and it is fantastic! We add in the cumin and kick up the heat a little with serrano peppers. We can it (water canner) and have had no problems with spoilage, etc. Thank you for the recipe!