Just curious- do any of you have an interesting salsa verde recipe that is something a little different?
Also, looking for a way to kick up my burrito meat up a notch in the spice area. What would you all suggest?
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crustaceanette
Don’t know but I hope you are planning on making a tuna burritos a la Tunch if you want to wake up tomorrow morning.
AhabTRuler
Ummm, Peyote?
Laura W
Kale, boiled kale.
http://orangette.blogspot.com/2008/10/pleasantly-sogged.html
joeyess
Here’s the hottest sauce I’ve ever tasted.
Snake Bite Hot Sauce.
Good luck. It’s fucking hot, dude. Hot!
JL
John, Just use fresh ingredients when making your salsa.
cstowens
This is from a good friend, Pilar Cabrera, a fine cook from Oaxaca.
Simplicity is key.
Fresh cilantro (2 good bunches)
Lime
Onion
Garlic
Chiles
Chicken broth
Oven roast the onion, garlic, chiles (you can save a chile to add raw) until soft, translucent. You can pan roast as well or use a comal if you have one.
When done, chop the veggies. I use a food processor. Add the cilantro to the chopper.
Heat pan, drop of oil, heat mixture, add 1/2 cup chicken broth. Add lime juice when it is off the heat. Finished salsa is a wonderful rich green and very tasty.
gbear
Sigh, aren’t we all…
jetan
The courageous use nothing but jalapenos or serranos. If you must adulterate it use garlic , onion, and tomatillos. A little vinegar or sour cream, though I think not. And drink a lot of beer. You can sprinkle some cumin or paprika on it.
Habaneros, though hot, don’t have a very good flavor IMHO.
HRA
You can’t beat using fresh ingredients no matter what you are making.
Laura W
@gbear: Haaaaaaa!
AhabTRuler
@gbear: Well. not all.
Comrade Jake
Not salsa verde, but if you haven’t tried a variation of the mango-black bean-salsa, you’re missing out. Insanely addictive when combined with the Tostitos hint of lime chips.
AhabTRuler
Hah, I don’t take the advice of people who engage in the negation of self.
Cassidy the Racist White Man
Use ancho chili powder for your meat. It’s smoky, slightly sweet, and still hot. Make sure you are marinating your meat beforehand. Even a couple of hours is a huge difference over a rub.
Laura W
@AhabTRuler: I’ll never forget you posting that on Inaugural "Ball" night when I was on the phone for two hours trying to maintain composure.
I shall forever associate that image with…um…fuck you!
jetan
Oh, and either wear gloves while you are making it or don’t take a piss for about 24 hours. I just remembered that’s pretty important.
Alain
Longtime reader, first time commenter.
I’d recommend a New-Mexico-style red chile. Use a mix of medium and hot chile powder (hit an ethnic grocer as I am sure you don’t get good chile in WV!)
Fry your burrito beef in a pan like normal, then add the chile (1/2 cup or so), some garlic, cumin and oregano (if the beef was lean, add some some oil/lard and get it really hot before adding the spices). Once it’s nicely toasted, add some flour, and fry that for a minute or so, then add a cup or two of beef broth. Leave it on med-high, and cook it down, until the liquid is pretty much gone.
I’d recommend searching for New Mexico chile or Chile Colorado.
AhabTRuler
@Laura W: I think that the image is necessary to explain why we have all felt so sore for the past 8 years, y’know after the hineymoon (orginally a typo, but I’m keepin’ it).
AhabTRuler
@jetan: Ehh, I just wash my hands about three times, making sure to get under the fingernails. It’s just oil, not the bog of eternal stench.
par4
Got cilantro?
Cassidy
Or, braise your meat the day before (think pulled pork) and then make your meal.
Paul
Habaneros, though hot, don’t have a very good flavor IMHO.
The citrus flavor does put some people off, its true.
Thai bird chili peppers, however, do have a "cleaner flavor", if you can find some fresh ones.
Scotch Bonnets are even hotter than the Thai birds and are good, too.
evie
Best tomatillo enchiladas ever…
Tomatillo sauce (aka salsa verde):
–Boil 11 shucked tomatillos and 4-6 seeded serrano peppers until soft (approx 15 minutes); btw, don’t forget to seed the peppers or it will be too hot
–Puree with a small onion and some cilantro, garlic and salt
–Boil the sauce until it darkens and thickens a bit — approx 7 min
–Add two cups of chicken broth and boil down again until thicker — approx 10-15 minutes
Chicken enchiladas:
–Boil chicken breasts on the bone with herbs for approx 20 minutes
–Let cool in the water, approx an hour
–Shred the chicken and add some finely chopped onion and 1/4 c of sour cream
–Dip six corn tortillas in the tomatillo sauce, divide the chicken mixture between them, fold and place in a pan that can go in the oven.
–Cover the enchiladas with the rest of the tomatillo sauce and bake at 375-ish until heated through, approx 15 minutes
I love the tomatillo sauce so much I usually double it for the recipe, but it’s a preference.
Credit: Rick Bayless… great Mexican cookbooks
jetan
AhabTRuler: In my experience, the oil wasn’t all that water soluble…it took about five minutes until I was in everlasting agony.
par4 is right about the cilantro, which even makes ice cream better.
Perry Como
Tomatillo salsa:
1 lbs. tomatillos, husks removed
3-10 serrano chiles, depending on your heat tolerance
2 cloves unpeeled garlic
1/4 of a medium sized onion, sliced
handful of cilantro, chopped
Roast the tomatillos, serranos, garlic and onion under a broiler until they start to char. Flip them over and do the other side. Peel the garlic and stem (and seed if you want) the serranos. Scrape all of the roasted ingredients into a blender or food processor and add the cilantro. Add salt and pepper to taste and as much water as needed to keep the ingredients moving. Blend.
Chile de Arbol salsa:
Tomatillos, husked
Handful of child de arbols (I use 1 lbs. tomatillos to 15 chile de arbols, but I like it hot)
1/4 of an onion, sliced
Handful of cilantro, chopped
Fry the chile de arbols in oil until they turn colors and become fragrant, about 30 seconds. Fill a pot with water and put the tomatillos and fried chiles in it. Bring to a boil and cook until the tomatillos are soft, 20-30 minutes. Drain all but about an inch of the water from the pot and put the tomatillos, chiles, reserved water, onion and cilantro into the blender (you can do this with the chile stems and all). Blend the shit out of it. Salt to taste.
AhabTRuler
That’s why I recommend the use of a good anionic surfactant.
I will say, however, when reconstituting dried peppers for use in a paste, heat the water but do not let the water boil! It’s just like Chicago ’68.
Dulcie
John, what kind of meat are you using to make your burritos?
jetan
AhabTRuler:
Yer gonna make me hurt’cha.
shirt
Melinda’s XXXX habenero sauce. The XXXX are not a heat rating but a rating of Gourmetesagity. Mistake me not, though: this sauce will light up your life!
Kirk Spencer
Salsa Verde – do you want hot, mild, Italian, or German?
Yes, I said Italian or German. Salsa Verde in Italian is olive oil and vinegar based with enough other stuff it becomes a sauce instead of a vinaigrette. Basic additions are garlic, onions, anchovies and capers. German Green Sauce is made from a base of hardboiled eggs, oil (not usually olive oil) and vinegar, and (at least classically) seven green herbs – sorrel, chives, parsley, borage, cress, chervil and burnet in my German Cooking cookbook, but my grandmother would toss basil and dill in as well, and tended to use spinach instead of cress.
If you’re looking for a simple, truly mild Mexican-American Salsa Verde, peel and puree tomatillos, then add lime juice and cumin. Roast a pepper to blacken off the peel and add that for a bit of heat – choose appropriate pepper for level of heat, though I’ll note roasting tends to reduce the corville count a bit. Someone already mentioned ‘just peppers’. At a certain point this goes from being a flavorful dish to becoming a machoman contest, but it works.
re burritos, it depends on what you mean by kicking it up a notch. One thing I found a while back that works for most people is to get some pepper jelly, though I use it at the rolling stage (along with sour cream, cheese, or whatever else I’m bringing to the table.) I’ve also found that most people forget that black pepper still exists when they’re making tex-mex — still hot, but without the fruity flavors of the various chiles. I’m going to assume you’ve got cilantro and oregano in the mix already, if not add them. Try adding a bit of ground cloves, as like salt it ‘carries and enhances’ other spices. If you don’t mind experimenting, try ONE of: coriander, dill seed, mustard (the roasted and ground seed, OR the stuff in a jar – they will have different effects), dark molasses, cinnamon.
Yes, I’ve done all the above, and they do work.
James K Polk, Esq.
Tomatillo Salsa-
1lb De-papered tomatillos
3-5 gloves garlic, in their paper (don’t peel!)
1/2 onion, peeled but uncut
1 jalapeno, uncut
1/3c cilantro
2tsp salt
lime juice to taste
Pre-Heat your cast iron skillet (if you don’t have one, they are super cheap and the awesomest pan evar). NO OIL.
Adjust heat to medium and add tomatillos, jalapeno, the 1/2 onion and the garlic to the pan. Roast in pan for 15-30 mins, try to avoid bursting the tomatillos (if one does pop, turn the heat down). Try to move them around with a pair of tongs, or just flip them once or twice if you are feeling lazy. Things should not stick to the pan.
As things begin to appear roasted, pull them out of the pan. The garlic will be done first, followed by the onion. When the jalapeno is done, stick it it a paper bag for 5 mins or so (don’t peak at it!).
Now, quarter the roasted 1/2 onion and remove skins from garlic (should be very easy at this point). The jalapeno is a bit trickier, but if you were patient enough to let it steam itself in its paper bag, the skin will be very easy to remove. Peel pepper skin and remove stem and seeds. (WASH HANDS AT THIS POINT. DO NOT TOUCH WIENER.)
Now throw everything in a blender. Be amazed! If it tastes funny, add more salt.
Dallas Dem
Achiote marinade is what you need for true Mexican meat marinade. Achiote is available online.
MattF
You might try ordering from thechileman. It’s a small operation in Virginia. I’ve ordered some, & no complaints.
magisterludi
I like smoked chiles and always lots of toasted cumin. I love cumin- its my umami in many dishes.
James K Polk, Esq.
@jetan – I can’t disagree more with the Habaneros not being tasty.
They have the most sublime, cream-cheesey taste, I dream of it.
We used to make "pain concentrate" at my house in college. 10-20 Habaneros roasted, peeled and pureed. We used to dip quesadillas in it.
The pain is well worth the divine flavor. It does make you shit hot fire.
garyb50
Just want to throw in my 110% support of the comments on cumin.
mextremist
so, to any of the tomatillo salsas above, add an avocado, a little bit of fresh ginger, and some crema (or sour cream if you must) and blend well. since the avocado and the crema will temper the chiles you put in originally, you might want to add some more. for an even more interesting twist, try a bit of fresh wasabi. my friends here in mexico have been loving it like that recently.
as for the kick for the burrito meat, look for a spice called achiote in your local mexican food market. achiote is a deep red, somewhat sweet and entirely delicious blend of ingredients that give yucatecan dishes their uniqueness: think cochinita pibil. or try some of the prepared knorr sauces that you can get in little tetrapak boxes that you can get in most mexican or latino food markets: pipian is awesome, so is mole rojo. black or brown mole is too sweet and chocolatey for burritos, methinx.
oh, and do tell how it all went when you’re done!
Ron
@jetan:
Are you kidding? Habaneros have a wonderful almost citrusy flavor. I love that flavor.
Ninerdave
Lawry’s has some spice packets for tacos and burritos. They are pretty tasty. I usually soften some onions, add meat, add beer or stock instead of water, Lawry’s seasonings, cook down, add Ortega chilis and Cilantro.
If you have time, here’s my Chili Verde recipe, use chicken or pork. I also serve this as a dip with chips for football parties.
6 chicken breast (about 2lbs)
1 lime
1 small bottle of Green Tabassco
1 large onion
8 cloves of garlic chopped
1 tablespoon of chili powder
Chicken Stock
1 Tacate or other Mexican pilsner
1 Anniheim chilis
1 jalepeno
1 serano
1 large can of green chilis
1 tablespoon cumin
1/2 tablespoon corn starch
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1/2 tablespoon Cellery Salt
1 tablespoon of Celantro chopped.
2 jars Salsa Verde,
Salt
Pepper
Put chicken in a bowl, add 3/4 of the bottle of Tabassco, juice from half the lime, chili powder, half the garlic, salt and pepper to taste. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
Heat a large pot, when hot, add olive oil, sautee onions and garlic until translucent. Add chicken and brown on both sides. Add beer, deglaze by scraping up the brown bits from the bottom of the pot, cook on high for 5 minutes. Add chicken stock, cover by a half an inch or so. Salt and pepper, Bring to boil, cover partially and simmer for two hours. Remove chicken and shred.
Chop aniheim chili, jalepeno and serano. Remove the white veins from the inside of the chilis if less spicy is desired. In a bowl, mix chillis with cumin, celery salt and canned chilis. puree in a blender or food processor until smooth. Add to pot along with Salsa verde. Return chicken and cook an hour, add cornstarch as needed to obtain desired thickness. Add cilantro rest of lime juice cook for 10 minutes, the rest of the Tabasco to taste.
MazeDancer
Hotness is improved by more robust middle notes. So it’s layers, not just lotsa fire. Can’t ever go wrong with cumin. And while there is no such thing as too much garlic, subtle hints of cinnamon, coriander or tarragon also possible. Finely ground pink peppercorns can add interest. And for the future: NM Chile. Even Green Chile Powder is better than none at all. Many online sources, just search green chile. And stick with New Mexican.
John Cole
No offense, but I am just not trusting the advice of anyone who doesn’t like the taste of habaneros.
I bet I have at least 20 different habanero hot sauces in my kitchen as I write this.
Steve
For the meat, try "Cocoa Chili Powder". McCormick’s makes it. Its a blend of Chipotle chili powder and cocoa powder. It makes killer steaks on the grill.
smiley
For some reason this thread got me thinking about my time in Mexico. So, I went to Google maps and starting poking around my old stomping grounds. One day a friend and I were walking down an average (i.e., poor) street in Puebla when my friend said, "Check this out." (he had lived there longer than me). We ducked into a church and that was the first time I saw this. Yep, right in the middle of a poor neighborhood in central Mexico. That place is probably worth some bucks these days. And the street food then was safe and really good.
cleek
here’s my recipe for salsa verde. mmm mmm consistent.
chop up some pork loin, brown it with some onion. throw a can of this in, and an equal amount of water. simmer for 20 minutes.
tada! chili verde.
joe from Lowell
Mince some jarred jalapenos in with the meat?
AhabTRuler
Holy shit! Literally!
James K Polk, Esq.
As for the meat, the key is a braised pork butt. Let that ass cook for 4-5 hours and pull it out, let it rest and shred it.
Bone in…
(I like whole roasted cumin in the braising liquid)
crustaceanette
Well, damn if I don’t feel like a loser on this thread — I buy my spices at Dollar General.
Next! :)
AhabTRuler
@James K Polk, Esq.: Point of order! Pork butt is shoulder, not ass.
crustaceanette
Oh yeah, just go easy on the habs. A former boss of mine who once won a jalapeno eating contest decided to try and make a "salsa" out of just habaneros and a few cherry tomatoes and ended up on the floor in excrutiating pain, said he thought he was having a heart attack and almost called 911. Again, this was no lightweight – I think he overestimated his "heat" tolerance, however.
eggplant43
Some enhancements:
Use whole cumin seed roast it in dry pan till it pops, cool, grind. This really enhances the cumin flavor.
Add black pepper.
Smoked salt.
Smoked (Spanish) Paparika
jetan
Yes, I think it’s the citrus-y part of habeneros I don’t like. Though I’m not a full-bore Rod Dreher type, I have grown the things and i find I can get enough heat from other peppers while sticking with a (slightly) more subtle, less tangy, flavor. And i’m not even down on heat – my curries will just about make a strong man cry.
Now, I’m going to have to engage in some serious self-negation or perhaps even a self-criticism session. I never dreamed y’all were so pertickular about your habaneros.
reality-based
Jehan, Ahab
Oh, quit whining. You want pain? and stupidity?
I once crumbled dried red peppers into a spaghetti sauce –
then ran upstairs and performed an emergency tampax change –
WITHOUT washing my hands first.
The yelps and howls and the mad grab for the handheld shower nozzle were – according to my sister the bystander – quite hilarious.
TMI, I know – but if we’re talking pepper-induced PAIN here –
James K Polk, Esq.
@AhabTRuler – I knew I should have used the azz homonym…
This one time, in college, me and three others ate one whole (raw) Habanero each. It was literally hallucinogenic. There is no way I could have stood up and not crashed to the floor.
Mike in NC
Iguana Radioactive Atomic Pepper Sauce
AhabTRuler
Hey look, I only ever touched my eye before I learned to wash my hands!
Perry Como
Crap. Now I have to pull out the crock pot again. Luckily I still have some banana leaves in the freezer.
dnd
John,
You didn’t say if you wanted a salsa crude or a cooked sauce.
BTW, habanero’s are great in kimchee.
dnd
"I bet I have at least 20 different habanero hot sauces in my kitchen as I write this."
Dave’s Insanity Sauce?
Arachnae
Related question – does anyone know the name of the sauce that comes with the roasted chicken you get at the salvadoran and similar takeout places? It’s a pale, smooth green sauce, mildly spicy with a minty flavor and, I think, cilantro. I’ve searched online for a recipe but I’m hampered by not knowing what it’s called. The delivery guy can only say it’s ‘salsa’, that is, ‘sauce’. Hardly unambiguous.
Laura W
@AhabTRuler:
I feel obligated to tell you that last night when I shared my newly-acquired boiled kale fetish with someone they insisted it be cooked with pork "fatback". I don’t know what that is and I do not want to know. Feel free to not tell me if you know.
This is a person of dubious taste so take the reco with a grain of (bacon popcorn) salt.
jetan
Arachnae, that sounds like the Indian sauce they dump on your table with the bread and dahl. Very tasty.
Here is the standard recipe:
CILANTRO CHUTNEY
Yields 1 cup
Ingredients:
2 cups freshly packed cilantro leaves
2-3 small Thai green chilies, roughly chopped
2 large garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
juice of ½ a lime
salt
In a blender, blend all of the ingredients until smooth. You may need to add a little water to help the blending process. Refrigerate and use immediately. The chutney will last for 3-4 days in the refrigerator.
You can substitute mint leaves for the cilantro leaves or use a combination of both mint and cilantro. For a slightly tart taste, add a few pieces of green apple for a refreshing twist.
Krista
@reality-based: Oh damn…that just sounds wrong on so many levels. I only once made the mistake of scratching the very edge of my nostril after having chopped jalapenos. I had even washed my hands first, but it must not have been enough. Agony. So the thought of hot pepper oil on the whoo-hoo? Damn, woman…
AhabTRuler
@Laura W: Fatback ain’t gonna hurt none.
lynxnight
Homemade Salsa
Buy 3-5 mild jalapenos and 2 Serrano chiles. Poke a hole in each and boil for 10 minutes (until they just start losing their green). Cool; remove stems, but keep seeds if the jalapenos are mild. Dice into large pieces, then throw into blender with 1 clove garlic. Add 1/4 of can of diced tomatoes and blend. Then add the rest of the can of tomatoes and blend for 1-2 seconds (if you want chunky salsa; blend 4-5 seconds if you want smooth). Salt to taste. Keep in glass jar and use within the week.
James K Polk, Esq.
@Laura W: If you love Kale, try this out.
Tuscan Kale Chips
12 Large Kale leaves, rinsed, patted dry, cut lengthwise in half, center ribs and stems removed
1T olive oil
Preheat oven to 250F. Toss kale with oil in large bowl. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Arrange leaves in single layer on 2 large baking sheets. Bake until crisp, about 30min for flat leaves and up to 33 minutes for wrinkled leave. Transfer leaves to rack to cool.
bemused
1 bunch cilantro (remove big stems)
1 bunch scallions
3-4 big garlic cloves
1 or 2 jalapenos (or pick your favorite amount/variety of fresh green hot pepper)
3-4 tomatillos
juice of 3-4 limes
Coarsely cop everything and put it in a blender. Pulse a few times until you like the consistency. MMMMM. You can leave out the tomatillos if you can’t find them and it is still quite good.
Btw, this is awesome when poured over salmon fillets, left for 30 minutes or so, and baked in the oven.
Laura W
@James K Polk, Esq.:
You have no idea how happy you have just made me.
Kirk Spencer
OK, you habanero lovers… What I’ve discovered over the past few years is that most of the habenero lovers are in it for the pain. How do I know? Because a while back I found out how to remove almost all the heat from a hot pepper. I did so, made a dish of which was the dominant element, and asked some hotheads to identify the fruit.
By the way, if you want to extract the heat, just remember that capsaicin is an alcohol soluble oil. My preferred way (if it’s the fruit I want, not the capsaicin) is to peel and pith the fruit before applying alcohol. For low-scoville peppers like jalapenos you can pretty much get by with rinsing the fruit. For high-scoville peppers like habaneros you need about 3 hours in a high-proof alcohol. I prefer changing the alcohol every three hours. Be advised that the citrus flavor is also soluble, but it takes longer to remove. Anyway, after you’ve applied the alcohol allow some time for it to evaporate from your fruit before use.
You can drink the alcohol if you wish. I’ve some friends that think habanero tequila is great. If you use a clear alcohol (everclear or vodka), it will get a reddish tinge (that’s the color of natural capsaicin). If you’re a true masochist you can let the alcohol evaporate and use the capsaicin oil direct – please be careful if you do, you CAN raise blisters with this stuff.
AhabTRuler
@Kirk Spencer: You can keep your tincture, I’ll stick with the fruit.
Kirk Spencer
@AhabTRuler: I prefer the fruit myself. The point was that if I remove the heat by making the tincture with skinned and pithed fruit instead of the more classic puree, I get a fruit that most of the people who claim they love habaneros for the taste cannot identify. (They like the tincture. It’s the heat, not the taste, that they like.)
James K Polk, Esq.
@Laura W: Just wait till you try ’em.
They are like (really) healthy potato chips. But kale instead. Drying on a cooling rack is key.
AhabTRuler
I will grant this, as it is also true of many of the fifty-bazillion hot sauces that are available. Still, put me down for both heat and flavor.
Just Some Fuckhead
@Laura W: Something that sounds so similar to "backfat" can’t be a good thing right?
neddie jingo
@MattF: Amazing… The Chile Man! His spread is about 10 minutes from my house. When we were house-hunting out here back in ’04, we looked at a place right next door to his outside Round Hill. The real estate weasel selling the place was effusive about the benefits of living right next door to the Chile Man!
I grow my own now, and if I may say so, my hot sauce is pretty damned good.
AhabTRuler
@Just Some Fuckhead: As long as you don’t mistake it for a fack-bat. Those are dangerous.
Laura W
@Just Some Fuckhead: Christ! You are exactly right! Every time I see "fatback" in my mind’s eye I see Rush’s sweaty, oily, pimply back.
Now I need ECT to unhook Rush’s image from my beloved boiled kale.
Laura W
@James K Polk, Esq.:
I wonder could you add some fresh lime juice to them so you could try to fake yourself into thinking you were eating lime flavored tortilla chips? The citrus might not work, overpowering the subtle kale.
2th&nayle
@jetan: Yeah, well that ain’t the half of it bucko! Just ask my ex-wife (if you can find her). Suffice it to say, spontaneous kitchen hanky-panky after manicuring peppers, should be highly discouraged! In other news….dried habanero pepper, ground with a dash of garlic salt, makes a great rub for poultry.
Kirk Spencer
@AhabTRuler: point.
On the other hand, I’ve met a lot of people who’ve discovered they LIKE habaneros. Just… not so much the heat. (I’ve made both jelly and ice cream with the de-heated peppers. So long as people don’t know in advance, it disappears.)
AhabTRuler
@Kirk Spencer: At least you don’t touch your own or other people’s junk after handling the peppers, which seems to be a major problem for some posters!
Thlayli
Get a Lodge. Tar-zhay has ’em, about $20-25 — which is a darn good price for something your grandchildren will be using.
2th&nayle
@Laura W: Well since you seem to find the term ‘fatback’ so abhorrent, perhaps you’d prefer "pork belly", aka bacon (hold the popcorn), and it will go quite well with your kale.
Laura W
@2th&nayle: I think the truth is I’m not a pork person. Most pig products are distasteful to me.
I love sausage! (I am nothing if not a walking mass of contradictions.)
John Cole
Re: Cast iron skillets.
I have a set I got from my grandmother in varying sizes. They are great.
mcd410x
Whenever I find a pepper that has the maximum amount of heat, still allowing all of the flavor of the fruit to emerge, it’s a beautiful day. Tres magnifique.
AhabTRuler
@John Cole: Just don’t tell me you wash them with soap. I have a friend who also inherited a number of cast iron skillets who always washes them with soap, to which I ask "What is the point then?" It’s ok though, he also denies the utility of unsalted butter. Why? I don’t know!
jetan
Ahab:
I thought yu wuz down wit’ soap.
"Wash it in soap
Wash it in soder
Yu jus’ cain’t git rid of
That fishy odor"
Lest we get accused of a flame war, let me hasten to add that I am just kidding with you.
John Cole
@AhabTRuler: No. I just wipe em out with a dry cloth and then season em with kosher salt.
Tsulagi
If you want to try a salsa verde maybe a little different than you’re used to, try one simply called Aji in Peru. They use it on everything there even for bread dipping as it uses an olive oil base. I love the stuff and luckily know a Peruvian woman locally who gives us some when she makes batches of it. Aji peppers are hotter than jalapenos, but not as hot as habaneros.
Doing a 30 sec. google, this looks like a decent stock recipe for Aji. Easy to make using a blender and you can bring as much heat as you like adding jalapenos, ajis, or habaneros.
With the lime juice it goes well with pork and fish. If you could find it, substitute a SA herb called huacatay for the cilantro. It’s much better. Has more of a mint taste. Aji made with huacatay is really good on lamb.
Good thing also is that it freezes well. Make a big batch and what you aren’t going to use in the next few weeks put in the freezer.
Wini
@crustaceanette: Pretty sure I have you beat in the loser department: I ended up at Chipotle today after reading this thread. (I do not cook)
The Grand Panjandrum
I’ve been away from the intertons for this weekend so I know this is too late for our immediate needs but I will post my apple-jicama salsa as soon as I can dig it up. You can use it for another time.
Gladhe8er
John
The foundation for any good chili and especially salsa verde is GREEN chili powder. You can get all things chili from these guys- http://www.dagiftbasket.com/index.php?cPath=106
You are now thanking me in advance. Enjoy.
datacine
Mentioned as a McDonald’s owned mexican chain is Chipotle.
Chipotle chiles are stewed (in adobo) jalapenos. If you want to add a smoky heat, they can be very sublime. Experiment slowly with these as they can be overpowering. Start using one chile and a little adobo in your burrito meat.
JenJen
If you’ve never tended a bar at a cheesy nightclub, you’ve probably never experienced the agony of cheap well tequila combined with lime splashing into your eye. And if you’ve never tended bar but have still experienced this, I think you should tell everyone your story, because it’s gotta be good.
You don’t know pain until you’ve felt that. Plus, you have to keep working, and pretend it doesn’t feel like your eye is coming out.
So bring on the habs! More, the merrier.
Stooleo
If you don’t want to make fresh, this canned version is very good.
AhabTRuler
@John Cole: You are indeed a wise child.
James K Polk, Esq.
@Laura W: Kale must be dried, though. Water=Steam at 212°F, so they won’t crisp up unless they are quite dry. Don’t know how much lime the leaves would be able to soak up.
After they are cooked perhaps?
cleek
@Arachnae:
sounds like a chimichurri
Krista
Details, please. I just got a Lodge pan and want to make sure I don’t fuck it up. Any good resources on how to season, how to clean, etc?
AhabTRuler
whistles
Krista
AhabTRuler: Is that supposed to be a link? Linky no worky…
Krista
That’s better. Thanks! I had actually clued in after writing that, and figured "Well, it’s a Lodge pan, so just go to the Lodge website, dumbass."
protected static
Next time, how about beef tongue? I tried it last week in a torta, and it was delicious…
[edited to reflect that fact that I’m late to the party…]
2th&nayle
@protected static: Thought I’d leave you a little sumthin cause you’re late to the party.
Guy goes into a little cafe to get a bite and he asks the cook/waiter what’s the special? The cook sez, "Today’s special is "Hot Beef Tongue Sandwiches"!" The guy gives the cook a puzzled look, and answers, "Hot Beef Tongue? Are you kiddin’? Ahh, nawh! None for me man, thanks. I ain’t eaten nothin’ been in a cows mouth….. just fix me an egg."
Booger
"…kick up my burrito meat up a notch…"
Is that what the kids are calling it nowadays?
GG
Best bet is dried or ground peppers —
Chipotles — try ground (Google the Spice House for a great online store), or buy them in adobo sauce (in this case, restrain yourself to using a teaspoon or so of the sauce).
Pasilla — sweet, mild flavor.
Ancho — smoky, dark, medium heat.
Also, Dean & Deluca puts out ground varieties of several of these that are fantastic.
Other ideas include giving your meat a squeeze of lime.
Svensker
@GG:
My husband likes this.