This salsa is my favorite condiment at the moment. I want to dip everything in this stuff, pour it on things, drink it, bathe in it. Once you make it, you’ll know what I’m talking about.
There’s definitely a difference in regular ass salsa and GOOD salsa. The regular ass (bad) salsa tastes like cheap ketchup with a few red pepper flakes thrown in for decoration and enough heat to try and disguise the ketchupy taste. The GOOD salsa tastes fresh, and has a complex flavor profile. You taste tomatoes, lime, fresh cilantro, onions, and so on and so forth.
It’s refreshing AF and you can’t stop eating it.
This time I decided to smoke everything because smoking makes everything tastes hella delicious, and I haven’t made it yet. I have smoked several things that I’m pretty proud of like my smoked jalapeno popper beer can burger, my smoked lemon pepper wings were pretty damn good, and, oh that brisket I made for that fun 4th of July taco bar was amazing. That was my first burnt end!!
Smoking has a dramatic effect on the way food tastes, it’s a flavor like no other.
Not only does it make it taste outstanding, smoking breaks down the collagen making meats you smoke tender as all hell. So, combine the two, and smoking is like the most superior thing you could possibly do to your food.
To start with, I prepped onions, jalapeños, tomatoes, garlic for the smoker. I have a smoker for inside now that can be used on the stovetop.
I had no idea such a thing existed, did you?
It’s so convenient when I can’t use the outside smoker. It doesn’t smoke the house up that much, I just use the fan for a little bit and clean up is really easy if you put foil in the bottom to rest the chips on. Ok, I know it’s not like real smoking, but it actually is real smoking just in a smaller form and it’s inside instead of out, and I have to have a substitute when I can’t do the big thing. Or, I could just whine and bitch about it, but nah.
I had two jalapeno peppers and a couple of anaheim peppers, which made my salsa not too spicy, but spicy enough. I added a bit more garlic than I usually do, because I’ve been falling in love with garlic all over again here lately. The smoke flavor is outdamnstanding, and I’ll probably say something along those lines again roughly 75 more times.
Oh, those glorious garlic bulbs. When you take them off the smoker they slide right out of their little skins and smell like heaven. Don’t worry about chopping the vegetables up too much because they’re tender from smoking and the food processor will do all the work.
I don’t cut them up much anyway when they’re raw; the processor can handle. I really hope this doesn’t end up being one of those Murphy’s law type things now and I go to use my food processor tonight and it breaks into shit. I wouldn’t be able to handle that kind of a loss right now.
Forgive me for the shitty photos, I’ll probably update the in process pics soon.
I used plum tomatoes, which were perfectly ripe, sweet onions, jalapeños, anaheim peppers, cilantro, garlic (lots), smoke and love.
Lots and lots of love.
Variations
- Bell peppers
- Habanero peppers
- Scotch bonnet peppers (if you’re fond of pain)
- So many other peppers
- Red onion
- Parsley
- Celery
- Other vinegars and oils
- Beefsteak tomatoes, vine tomatoes, etc.
Uses for salsa
- Add to cheese dip for queso
- Marinade for chicken
- Mix with cream cheese and pour over burritos
- Combine with fresh chopped basil for a chimichurri
Here’s your printable –
Smoked Salsa
A smoky, fresh salsa that puts restaurant salsa to shame.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 small white onions, roughly cut in thirds
- 2 jalapeños, halved and deseeded if you want to keep it mild
- 1 anaheim pepper, halved and deseeded
- 6 roma tomatoes, halved
- 6 garlic cloves
- 1 handful fresh cilantro
- 2 limes, juiced
- 1 tsp vinegar
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- Sea salt, to taste
Instructions
- Heat smoker to 250.
- In a large mixing bowl, toss onions through garlic with about a tbsp of olive oil.
- Smoke vegetables for about an hour, until desired tenderness.
- Place in food processor with lime juice, cilantro, vinegar, oil and salt, pulsing and tasting until you love it.
Notes
Add more oil and/or vinegar as you taste if needed.
Don't be scared of lime juice, either!
This will keep in the refrigerator in a air tight container for about 3 weeks.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 72Total Fat: 5gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 80mgCarbohydrates: 7gFiber: 2gSugar: 3gProtein: 1g
The provided nutrition calculated may not always be accurate.
