Salsa Taquera (Chili de Árbol Salsa)

Do you like your salsa hot? This one is flaming Hot!! I mean on a scale of 1-5, this is definitely 5+ 🔥🔥🔥

Yet it’s not the kind of heat that will knock you out hard, as that heat is intermingled with tart and salty and even garlicky notes. Your chances of making the acquaintance of this fiery red salsa is very high in one of those authentic Mexican taquerias (that’s taco shop or taco stand), where your taco plate is always accompanied by a variety of different sauces. And this local favorite sauce, made with their árbol chilies along with regular staples, has its distinguished presence among those sauces. In Mexico, they say the meat is what makes a taco good, but a good salsa is what makes it exceptional! This Salsa Taquera does that job quite easily and happily.

Salsa

Salsa, meaning sauce in Spanish, is far more than just that tomatoey condiment for tortilla chips. In Mexico, it can apply to any number of sauces, which almost always have some kind of chilies them. What kind of chilies, how many and how hot makes a big difference in the final product. Then, salsa could be cooked or uncooked. The classic salsa cruda is like my pico de gallo, where it’s just a fresh, raw mix. Cooked salsas are the ones where ingredients are cooked before blending them together. What produces the vast range of flavors, tastes and textures is how those ingredients are cooked. Sometimes they are charred on a dry surface for smokiness, shallow fried in oil for creaminess, simmered in water for brightness or straight buzzed in the blender for zinginess.

What is Salsa Taquera?

Salsa Taquera (Taco salsa)… Salsa Roja (red salsa)… Chile de Árbol Salsa (árbol chili salsa). Different names for the same fiery thing. Traditionally it is made with a molcajete (mortar) and a tejolote (pestle), made from a roughly textured black volcanic rock. The ingredients are pounded into fine puree. But in modern times, your blender is more standard and popular in restaurants and taquerias. This salsa is just a quick blend of plum tomatoes, garlic, árbol chili peppers seasoned with simple salt and pepper, and sometimes a few other herbs and spices. It takes various flavor profiles depending how the ingredients are prepped before blending. They can be dry roasted, boiled, sautéed, or simply blended. Whatever and however it is made, the only constant is the HEAT!

Árbol Chili Peppers

Where does the heat come from? Arbol chilis! These small and vibrant red chilis are popular in Mexican cuisine and give quite a punch. They are 6 times hotter than the average jalapeño, and heatwise are similar to serrano or cayenne peppers. So yes, this salsa is meant to be hot. Saying that, you can still customize it to your own taste.

Here is what you need

• Tomatoes – We are using on-the vine tomatoes today. Roma or plum work great too.
• Onion – Just a little.
• Garlic – Yum.
• Árbol chilies – You will find them in the ethnic section in your grocery store.
• Oregano – just a hint.
• Salt
• Pepper
• Lime Juice

Some tips before you get blending

1. First decide how hot you want this salsa to come out. 🙂 We used 8 árbol chilies and it turned up quite hot, any true Mexican would approve. We suggest using 3-4 for mild, and 5-6 for medium heat.
2. Remove the stems from the chilis, but leave the seeds. The seeds are important for the hotness.
3. Sauté ingredients in stages. First onion and garlic, then chilis, then tomatoes. Only sauté the chilis for about a minute, till they turn slightly darker red. They can get bitter if overcooked.
4. I like to add the oil from the sauté pan into the blender. It’s not necessary, but it gives a creamier consistency.
5. Blend until smooth. This is not meant to be one of the chunky salsas and should be more saucy.
6. My usual motto: Taste And Adjust! Add more salt, pepper, oregano or lemon juice if you wish. And if it turns out too hot? Don’t worry, you can just add more tomatoes to counter the heat!

What to serve with Salsa Taquera?

This is taco salsa, so any tacos come alive with just a little addition of this bright fiery salsa. Try it on carne asada, pork carnitas, barbacoa pork or beef tacos, al pastor tacos… or even simple street style chicken tacos. So basically, any of your favorite taco would be happy with this fiery addition.

It’s also great with burritos, tostadas and taquitos. Some nacho bowl… yum. Or sometimes all you need is endless tortillas chips to scoop with. This salsa is great for in stirring soups and soups too.

There are as many variations as many chefs out there, some common ones

1. Keep the ingredients the same but roast the veggies on a dry skillet till they get blistered, instead of sautéing in oil. This gives a more smoky flavor. Some boil them in water before blending.
2. Use tomatillos along with tomatoes to get a little different flavor.
3. Lot of Mexicans add cilantro in the blend… of course 🙂
4. To get more flavors, some add chicken bouillon.
5. Some people add canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. This adds to the smokiness.

How long does it last?

It can last very well for a couple of weeks in an airtight container in your refrigerator. You can freeze it for up to six months.

Any salsa, the soul of Mexico in a bowl. So easy, so quick! We will be showing you many other commonly known salsas in the future. Subscribe to get all these flavors straight to your mailbox. Till then, chow down. Life is good when tacos are in your hands! Taco Anyday is a thing for me!! Make it yours too…

Salsa Taquera, on my Gypsy Plate… enjoy!

Looking for more tasty sauces? Try our…
Cilantro Mint Chutney
Tzatziki Sauce
Jamaican Jerk Marinade
Smokin’ Hot Chipotle Mayo
Guasacaca (Venezuelan Guacamole)
North African Chermoula
5-minute Pesto