Smokey Salsa Verde

Tried this recipe?Tell others what you thought of it and give it a star rating below.

5 from 8 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

This smokey salsa verde will take your tacos to 10

Course:

Sauces and Condiments

Cuisine:

Mexican

Makes:

About 1 cup.

Servings: 4 people

Takes:

Prep Time: 10

Cook Time: 20

Ingredients

US Customary - Metric

▢ 4 tomatillos
▢ 1-2 jalapeños
▢ 1/2 red onion
▢ 2 cloves garlic
▢ 3 sprigs cilantro Some use only the leaves, but I like to throw in the whole sprig for a more rustic salsa.
▢ 1/2 teaspoon Morton Coarse Kosher Salt
▢ 1/2 teaspoon sugar
▢ 1/2 teaspoon cumin
▢ 1/2 lime (for juice)

Notes:

About the salt. Remember, kosher salt is half the concentration of table salt so if you use table salt, use half as much. Click here to read more about salt and how it works.

Metric conversion:

These recipes were created in US Customary measurements and the conversion to metric is being done by calculations. They should be accurate, but it is possible there could be an error. If you find one, please let us know in the comments at the bottom of the page

Method

Prep. Remove the husk from the tomatillos and wash off the sticky film on the skin. Wash the jalapeños.
Core the tomatillos to remove the stem and center and discard. Cut the stem off the jalapeño(s).
Fire up. To char the tomatillos and jalapeño(s), heat your grill to warp 10 (maximum heat). Alternatively you can use a skillet over high heat or in the broiler.
Cook. When using the broiler, use a shallow roasting pan and a wire rack to keep the items off the bottom of the pan where they might stew in the liquid. Place the pan within 3-4 inches of the heat source to get the best char. Place the tomatillos core down first. If you use a grill be aware that the tomatillos will start to break down as they char and it will be hard to move them without crushing them.
When the bottom of the tomatillos are charred, flip them core up. This is important because as the tomatillos cook, the core will fill with liquid which would otherwise drip into the pan. Be sure to also turn the jalapenos periodically so that they char on all sides.
Prep again. Once everything has a good char put the tomatillos and jalapeño(s) into a blender or chopper. Remove the seeds from the jalapeños or other peppers if you want to reduce the heat.
If you charred the ingredients under the broiler then there should be some liquid from the tomatillos at the bottom of the pan. This flavorful liquid is great to add to the salsa as well. If the liquid has caramelized, simply squeeze the lime juice into the bottom of the pan and use a silicone spatula to reconstitute it before adding to the blender or chopper.
Remove the outer skin from the onion and roughly chop. Roughly chop the garlic and cilantro. Add the onion, garlic, cilantro, salt, sugar, cumin, and lime juice to the blender or chopper and puree along with the tomatillos and jalapenos until the desired consitency is reached.
Serve. Serve the salsa in a shallow bowl to make it easy to dip your corn chips. You can serve the salsa as is or stir in a couple of tablespoons of tomato salsa for an extra layer of depth. In a sealed container, the salsa keeps for at least a week in the fridge.

Nutrition per Serving