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Thread: What’s Your Favorite Salsa?

  1. #1
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    What’s Your Favorite Salsa?

    I’m betting most everyone appreciates a good salsa. That term covers a lot of ground even when I exclude the term applied to a variety of Mexican music — which I am excluding in this food thread.

    This definition from Wikileaks seems about right —

    Salsa is the Spanish word for "sauce".. In English, especially in the United States, when the word "salsa" is used, it refers to the spicy tomato-and-chili-based preparation found in Mexican, Texan, Central American and South American cuisine.It is commonly used as a dip alongside tortilla chips, or as a condiment served along with dishes such as huevos rancheros or burritos.

    My favorite is my version made from scratch from ripe tomatoes out of my garden with acidy tomatoes and diced jalapeño & serrano peppers, cilantro, lime, garlic plus the secret ingredient tipped to me by one of my old house keepers, salt-free granulated chicken bullion. But, since I don’t grow tomatoes anymore, I am talking primarily about store-bought salsa here. Feel free to supply your recipe, but I am wondering what brands of salsa fit your fancy. My longtime favorite is Herdez Salsa Casera, yet there are a lot of salsas on the salsa shelf at the grocery store, some I’ve tried, but many I have not. Herdez is made in Mexico and has that acidy tang I prefer with the right chunkiness. One ingredient I have found that is a turnoff for my tastes in salsa is sugar. If it has sugar in any form, I skip it, including various fruit concoctions that end up tasting more like chutney to me.

    So, what is your favorite?
    ...............
    “You can vote your way into socialism, but you have to shoot your way out.” — Too fundamental to have an attribution


  2. #2
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    I'll wait for Puffy's response here, as I'm fairly sure she has an opinion on the subject......Ben
    The future is forged on the anvil of history...The interpreter of history wields the hammer... - Unknown author...

  3. #3
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    Can't say we get all those flavors in Joe.

    Usually Salsa Verde is what I find on the shelf. I prefer chunky if I can find that.
    Fred

    "Everyday I beat my own previous record for number of consecutive days I've
    stayed alive."

    'Take care of yourself, and each other.'

  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by FredK View Post
    I prefer chunky if I can find that.
    Then try Salsa Casera in medium, Fred, if it's available there...You can thank me later......Ben
    The future is forged on the anvil of history...The interpreter of history wields the hammer... - Unknown author...

  5. #5
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    I'm a Herdez fan as well when not making our nuklar guac sauce....

  6. #6
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    For store bought: Tostitos as number one and Chi-Chi's as number two. Both chunky style and medium hot (out of respect for my wife).

    The best---my own---but then only I can eat it I do party up the store brands for my own "lazy" enjoyment.

    I commonly use salsa over my eggs. I put it on top of the freshly cracked eggs and then cover while the egg cooks. Cheese often follows

    For a homemade party in my mouth I begin with this:
    Salsa Fresca
    MARK BITTMAN

    • YIELDabout 2 cups

    • TIME10 minutes

    INGREDIENTS
    • 2 large fresh ripe tomatoes, chopped
    • ½ large white onion, peeled and minced
    • ¼ teaspoon minced raw garlic, or to taste
    • 1 habanero or jalapeño pepper, stemmed, seeded and minced, or to taste
    • ¼ cup chopped cilantro leaves
    • 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice or 1 teaspoon red-wine vinegar
    • Salt and freshly ground pepper

    Nutritional Information
    o
    PREPARATION
    1. Combine all ingredients, taste and adjust seasoning as necessary.
    2. Let the flavors marry for 15 minutes or so before serving, but serve within a couple of hours.
    It is at the "adjust seasoning" point were I can go out of control
    Last edited by Dave Grubb; 06-19-2020 at 01:55 PM.
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity, an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty” ---Sir Winston Churchill
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  7. #7
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    This is my favorite
    Click image for larger version. 

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    "The only thing that we learn from torture is the depths of our own moral depravity"

  8. #8
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    Good info, Puffster. I picked up some Herdez Roasted Poblano Cremosa today upon your rec for my wife and son who particularly like that type. I have had both Huy Fong Chili Sauces for years in my frig...a little bit goes a long way...and use it primarily in Oriental food. I don’t much care for the one with garlic in it for some reason.

    I’ve seen those little round red peppers in the H-E-B deli section before the Kung Flu shutdown of open food bars and always wondered what goes there. I assumed they were akin to Italian no zip peppers. I’m glad I did not pop one now.

    While we are on peppers — I have sprinkled red pepper flakes on pizza and pasta for years and enjoyed it, good for some zip if not much else, but a few months back my wife ran across an article on a different version of the dried pepper flakes — Allepo Turkish Pepper Flakes that was said to be widely used in Turkey and that area. We ordered some (from Amazon, of course), and I have a taste for that stuff. It is not quite as pungent as the usual dried red pepper flakes predominant here and has a bit more flavor of its own that I like. I started putting it on fish and like, something I never put red pepper flakes on.
    Last edited by wacojoe; 06-23-2020 at 05:36 PM.
    ...............
    “You can vote your way into socialism, but you have to shoot your way out.” — Too fundamental to have an attribution


  9. #9
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    Now we’re talking Mexican food, or more properly Tex-Mex! I was reared in Waco, and the version predominant there in the 50’s, 60’s, when I was force-fed the stuff to make me a life-long devotee, is so different from the stuff we get in South Texas, where I have been exiled the last 50 years. I long for the good, properly artery-clogging stuff! Down here, you go into any Mexican food joint and the signatory dish of Tex-Mex, cheese enchiladas, are proudly described as covered in “chili gravy,” which should more correctly be termed “red goo w/ Ancho Chile powder.” Disgusting! A cheese enchilada MUST be covered in real chili con carne and putting some taco meat peccadillo in the red goo is not an acceptable substitute.

    North Texas Tex-Mex is all together different from South Texas Tex-Mex. I am not very familiar at all with Fort Worth Tex-Mex, but have heard of one joint that has a reputation, I think is in the Stock Yard area. Of course a “reputation” means little...San Antonio Tex-Mex has a big reputation, which is totally undeserved. The stuff here is pathetic from my standpoint save for a couple of places I have meticulously searched out. I am sure you can fill in some facts on your local joints.

    Your sister Metroplex city of Dallas, I am a bit more familiar with although I have tried all my life to stay away from that snooty pesthole. The one exception is to eat in my favorite Tex-Mex joint of all — Tupinamba. I have not been there in 20 years or more (I told you I avoid Dallas as best I can) and since they moved from close to the Gallaria to their new location off the Central Expressway, so if you are in Dallas and close by because of some evil circumstance, your assignment, if you choose to accept it, is to give it a shot and bring me up to date on quality. The last time I was in Tupinamba, I talked to the owner trying to get him to open a decent Tex-Mex restaurant in Houston, where I lived at the time, and which had none, but he said he couldn’t even be sure his children would keep the Dallas one open because they did not participate in his current place. I’m hoping the new location carried on his efforts properly rather than just the name. Let me know before I make a planned pilgrimage.

    http://tupinambacafe.com/
    Last edited by wacojoe; 06-24-2020 at 12:33 PM.
    ...............
    “You can vote your way into socialism, but you have to shoot your way out.” — Too fundamental to have an attribution


  10. #10
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    The previous Tupinamba location was not a dive, in fact it sat a couple of hundred patrons, had a large bar area for waiting and usually people outside because the inside was always full. The photo of the new one looks kind of upscale too. Like you, this is not the usual type restaurant that serves the best Mexican food, but this is an exception...or it least was. Besides the perfect cheese enchiladas, I particularly like their deep-fried beef tacos and soft cheese tacos, something totally unavailable south of Waco and requires top quality chili con queso (a subject for another dedicated thread, btw).

    As for Penzey’s, I ordered from them and bought at an outlet in Houston in the past, but the revelation that their owners are radical Lefty nitwits has sworn me off from putting a penny in their pockets no matter their products. For chile concoctions I prefer a Corsicana outfit, Mild Bill’s Gunpowder Foods, a favorite of chili competitors (as is Penzey’s).

    https://www.mildbillsspices.com/
    ...............
    “You can vote your way into socialism, but you have to shoot your way out.” — Too fundamental to have an attribution


  11. #11
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    Uuummm, Long John Silvers...one of my favorites!
    ...............
    “You can vote your way into socialism, but you have to shoot your way out.” — Too fundamental to have an attribution


  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by wacojoe View Post
    Uuummm, Long John Silvers...one of my favorites!
    Me, too!
    The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible - Arthur C. Clarke

  13. #13
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    On Puffy's recommendation, I tried the Herdez Salsa Casera on my eggs...I bought the medium strength not even knowing there were other levels...I liked the chunky texture for a change after years of sloshing Louisiana Brand red sauce on my three scrambled eggs every morning, it was a nice change...In a private consultation she informed me of the other varieties, so while at HEB this week I picked up a jar of the hot...Today was my first try with it, and I found it had just the right heat for me, while retaining the chunky texture...It's certainly not tongue-searing, but just enough bite...I'll be alternating between the Herdez and the Louisiana Brand now...It's still a shame they don't sell Trappey's Red Devil in quart bottles, but until they do I'll continue with Louisiana Brand...

    As a bonus, Herdez is reasonably priced at HEB......Ben
    The future is forged on the anvil of history...The interpreter of history wields the hammer... - Unknown author...

  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by Puffy Cravinmore View Post
    I wonder where Ben stands on the Long John Silver's Issue? ..
    All you had to do was ask...I went to the one in Conroe at least once a week until I read in the paper of the manager of the joint being busted for running a large scale marijuana operation out of the back door...I always got the 10 piece fried shrimp plate (with 3 extra shrimp for a dollar)...It came with fries, hushpuppies and cole slaw...I stopped at the condiment bar and filled about six of those little paper cups with tartar sauce so I wouldn't have to get back up for more...Now there's not one close enough to me to eat there anymore...

    I suppose I was one of those sad, lonely, elderly goofs you used to see eating by himself......Ben

    [Edit: I remember the Conroe location being closed for awhile after the incident...It stayed wrapped in yellow crime scene tape for awhile, then it was torn down and rebuilt as a combination LJS/A&W Root Beer/Baskin-Robbins place...I never went there as it didn't seem the same...I think it's a payday loan store now...]
    The future is forged on the anvil of history...The interpreter of history wields the hammer... - Unknown author...

  15. #15
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    Sorry to hear about the demise of the Conroe LJS, where I loaded up on fat intake too many times to count before I moved a decade ago. I was not aware of the desert bar in the back though. The only remaining Long John Silvers in San Antonio is 30-45 minutes away, but I manage to get there every couple of months. It is pretty ratty though. You have to want to be there to be there. This is definitely a franchise that is going down for the count...I can’t foresee any of them surviving the Kung Flu purge of restaurants.
    Last edited by wacojoe; 06-28-2020 at 01:56 PM.
    ...............
    “You can vote your way into socialism, but you have to shoot your way out.” — Too fundamental to have an attribution


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