[0 - 2] - I'm Saul Montiel. I'm a professional chef.
[2 - 5] And today I wanna show you how to make delicious salsas.
[5 - 8] Salsa fresca, salsa martajada,
[8 - 9] and salsa morita.
[9 - 12] Fresh salsa, charred salsa and cooked salsa.
[12 - 14] There is so many different kinds of salsas up there,
[14 - 15] all different from each other,
[15 - 18] from texture, color, spiciness.
[18 - 21] But these three salsas are the most common salsas in Mexico.
[21 - 23] Let's make some salsa.
[23 - 24] This is Salsa 101.
[24 - 26] [gentle upbeat music]
[26 - 29] [gentle guitar music] [graphics whooshing]
[29 - 30] The first salsa that I'm gonna make
[30 - 31] is gonna be salsa fresca.
[31 - 34] Salsa fresca means fresh salsa
[34 - 37] and that means that we can use vegetables, fruit,
[37 - 39] but we need to keep them raw.
[39 - 41] You can puree them or you can dice them.
[41 - 43] In this case, I'm gonna do puree.
[43 - 45] I'm gonna use raw tomatillos.
[45 - 50] They're green, they are a little bit more on the bitter side
[50 - 51] than a regular tomato.
[51 - 53] It's very important that you remove the husk
[53 - 54] out of the tomatillos.
[54 - 55] You don't want to blend this.
[55 - 57] This will be a very bitter flavor.
[57 - 61] This is your classic taquera salsa, the mild one.
[61 - 62] You can make these salsa without tomatillos.
[62 - 65] If you can't find these, these are very hard to find.
[65 - 66] So we'll do three tomatillos.
[66 - 68] When it comes to jalapeno...
[68 - 72] If you want this jalapeno to be extra spicy,
[72 - 74] you have to kind of rub it,
[74 - 75] kind of break veins,
[75 - 78] so the jalapeno will be a little more spicy.
[78 - 80] But if you don't, just cut it in half.
[80 - 83] It's very hard to control the heat of any salsa, right?
[83 - 86] If the recipe says three jalapenos, you do one,
[86 - 87] you pure them, you taste it,
[87 - 91] and then you find out if it needs another one.
[91 - 94] So half, then we're gonna do one garlic.
[94 - 95] Again, everything is raw.
[95 - 97] [gentle guitar music]
[97 - 99] Alright, and I'm gonna do a little bit of onion.
[99 - 101] The reason why I'm using white onion
[101 - 105] because to me it has a a little mild onion flavor.
[105 - 107] And also when we puree this with the green stuff,
[107 - 110] it looks also nicer. Now, lime.
[110 - 114] How do you know your lime is going to be juicy?
[114 - 117] It's by the surface of the skin. It has to be smooth.
[117 - 121] If you see a lot of like little holes and thicker skin
[121 - 123] and more greener,
[123 - 124] it's gonna be dry.
[124 - 126] But this is smooth, slight green.
[126 - 128] It has a little bit of yellow,
[128 - 130] so this lime is going to be juicy.
[130 - 134] And you can also press them really hard. [knife thuds]
[134 - 137] Now why did I'm adding lime to this?
[137 - 138] 'Cause I'm using avocado,
[138 - 140] so I don't want my avocados to oxidize.
[140 - 143] I don't want them to turn brown.
[143 - 146] Cilantro adds a nice refresh flavor to this.
[146 - 148] Now, I'm using the stems and the leaves.
[148 - 150] The stems are closer to the soil to earth
[150 - 151] so it's full of flavor.
[151 - 156] The last and main ingredient of the salsa, it's the avocado.
[156 - 157] The first thing that I'm looking for
[157 - 159] is where is the avocado from?
[159 - 161] I have really good experience from avocado
[161 - 163] from Michoacan, Mexico.
[163 - 165] So it has to be from Mexico.
[165 - 168] The stem right here is to be more on the yellow green side.
[168 - 171] The skin of the avocado has to be like a little rusty,
[171 - 172] like this one,
[172 - 174] but dark brown without being black.
[174 - 175] This one looks perfect.
[175 - 177] When you're making salsa fresca,
[177 - 180] we want the avocado flavor to be 80% of the salsa.
[180 - 184] And then we want the tomatillo, the onion,
[184 - 186] the jalapeno, the cilantro, the lime,
[186 - 187] to be part of the salsa.
[187 - 189] We're gonna do a little bit of salt.
[189 - 192] A little bit of water in the beginning.
[192 - 194] And then if we think it needs more we'll add some more.
[194 - 198] And we're gonna start slow. [blender whirring]
[202 - 207] It looks very buttery, creamy, fluffy, fresh.
[207 - 209] Again, this salsa can be for anything.
[209 - 211] [gentle guitar music] [tacos crackling]
[211 - 215] The level of spiciness, it's there, it's mild.
[215 - 217] This is my mild salsa, so it's perfect.
[217 - 220] [gentle guitar music] [graphics whooshing]
[220 - 221] The salsa that we're about to make
[221 - 225] is gonna be a medium heat salsa.
[225 - 227] I call it salsa martajada
[227 - 231] which is a semi-crunch, semi-blend salsa.
[231 - 233] The way how I prepare my salsa martajada
[233 - 235] is basically I char the vegetables.
[235 - 239] It will add this char, smoky flavor to my salsa,
[239 - 242] but also at the same time, keeping the vegetables semi-raw.
[242 - 246] So it's like a really pleasant balance of salsa
[246 - 246] when you're eating it.
[246 - 248] So I wanna start with the onion.
[248 - 250] The reason why I use red onion for this salsa
[250 - 253] is because it has a stronger onion flavor.
[253 - 254] I need a stronger flavor
[254 - 255] because this salsa is gonna be spicier.
[255 - 257] I'm gonna put more purples.
[257 - 258] So when you put more spicy,
[258 - 260] you have to use stronger ingredients
[260 - 262] to balance up the spiciness, too.
[262 - 264] I'm just gonna remove the stems out of this jalapenos
[264 - 265] and do this to it.
[265 - 267] Then the tomatoes, these are roma tomatoes.
[267 - 268] It's the classic way
[268 - 271] but you can use any other red tomatoes.
[271 - 273] Okay, now the garlic.
[273 - 276] I'm not smashing this because I want to char them.
[276 - 278] I don't want this to burn.
[278 - 280] I'm gonna do six cloves of garlic.
[280 - 283] For this salsa I'm also gonna use some fresh cilantro.
[283 - 286] I want this salsa to be really tasty and also colorful.
[286 - 288] I'm also gonna use some of the stems.
[288 - 289] And now the avocado.
[289 - 292] We're gonna dice it because I want chunks of avocado
[293 - 295] Our [indistinct] is ready.
[295 - 297] Now we're gonna char the vegetables
[297 - 299] for our salsa martajada.
[299 - 301] And the reason why I'm using cast iron pan
[301 - 303] is because it holds heat for a longer time
[303 - 306] and also it helps to char the vegetables
[306 - 307] the way it should be.
[307 - 308] And we're gonna start it
[308 - 310] with the vegetables that takes longer to cook,
[310 - 314] which is onion, Chef, onion.
[314 - 316] The neutral oil is going to help the vegetables
[316 - 318] get a better char and a little faster.
[318 - 323] We're starting with the red onion and now the jalapeno
[323 - 325] and the tomatoes.
[325 - 327] This will probably take 10 to 15 minutes.
[327 - 330] It all depends on how these vegetables are becoming.
[330 - 332] We're gonna do a little more oil. [vegetables sizzling]
[332 - 335] So this is just turning, turning, turning.
[335 - 336] So we're gonna throw some salt.
[336 - 339] It's going to help to get the moist out of the vegetables.
[339 - 341] It's gonna cook a little faster.
[341 - 343] And now we're gonna throw our garlic.
[343 - 346] This will probably cook faster than the other one.
[346 - 348] So right now I'm gonna get my eye on the garlic.
[348 - 351] I want the vegetables to be charred half way
[351 - 353] without losing their shape
[353 - 355] and without cooking all the way through.
[355 - 357] So it looks like we're almost done.
[357 - 358] The onions are ready.
[358 - 360] So we're gonna remove the onions and the garlic.
[360 - 364] Okay, this tomato, you see how sad it looks, that's ready.
[364 - 366] This is telling me, "Take me out of there."
[366 - 368] The name of this salsa is martajada
[368 - 370] that means that the tomatoes, the onions are crushed.
[370 - 372] It's not puree and it's not mashed,
[372 - 373] it's something in between.
[373 - 375] We have our vegetables already cooled down.
[375 - 377] Now what we're gonna do is gonna semi-puree them.
[377 - 379] So we're gonna do one jalapeno.
[379 - 380] Then we'll leave this two the last
[380 - 382] just in case we need more heat.
[382 - 384] 'Cause once the heat is here and already mix it
[384 - 387] there's no way how you can go back in time.
[387 - 389] See? Save this two just in case.
[389 - 391] Now we're gonna do a little bit of salt.
[391 - 394] I typically use more [speaks in foreign language]
[394 - 395] but I don't have that today.
[396 - 397] But I have this food processor,
[397 - 399] which is gonna do almost the same job.
[399 - 400] We're gonna do.
[400 - 405] [food processor whirring] One, two, three.
[405 - 407] Oh more, a little more.
[407 - 409] [food processor whirring]
[409 - 410] Okay, that's perfect.
[410 - 411] You're gonna taste this.
[411 - 413] See if it needs more salt, more heat.
[413 - 415] [gentle guitar music] It's perfect.
[415 - 418] Medium heat is there without overpowering it.
[418 - 421] And then I taste the char.
[421 - 423] It's kind of fresh at the same time but charred.
[423 - 426] Now every salsa needs some kind of acidity.
[426 - 427] I have the acidity from the tomatoes
[427 - 428] but I didn't put no lemon.
[428 - 430] So I'm gonna put red wine vinegar.
[430 - 434] And this is gonna brine the flavor of all the vegetables.
[434 - 436] Gonna have that kick.
[436 - 437] And now we're gonna do a little bit of cilantro.
[437 - 439] Now some avocado.
[439 - 441] This salsa looks amazing.
[441 - 443] It looks chunky without being too chunky.
[443 - 444] And I can see the avocados.
[444 - 445] I can see most of the ingredients.
[445 - 446] Let's see if it taste as it looks.
[446 - 450] [gentle guitar music] Little spicy.
[450 - 452] It's the medium salsa.
[452 - 456] The vinegar helps the salsa come up together.
[456 - 458] And texture wise, it's just on point.
[458 - 460] It's crunch but not being too over crunch
[460 - 462] and it's delicious. Perfect salsa.
[462 - 465] [gentle guitar music] [graphics whooshing]
[465 - 466] This is the final salsa.
[466 - 469] Salsa morita, the main pepper, it's the morita.
[469 - 471] It's very similar to a chipotle.
[471 - 475] It has that kind of smoke element, but also spicy.
[475 - 476] But it's a medium spicy.
[476 - 478] So this is when the chiles de arbol comes in
[478 - 480] 'cause this, it's spicy.
[480 - 482] That we're only using two.
[482 - 487] Little bit of spicy and flavor, heat.
[487 - 490] And then also another kind of spicy, serranos.
[490 - 495] Serranos has a pepper, spicy flavor. And guajillo.
[495 - 496] Guajillo for two things.
[496 - 498] Texture and color.
[498 - 500] It's gonna make it more red.
[500 - 503] My first step, cut my vegetables, de-seed my guajillos
[503 - 506] and then put on a tray and broil them.
[506 - 508] The reason why I use red onion for this
[508 - 510] is because like I say, it has a stronger flavor.
[510 - 513] It will also help the balance of the heat.
[513 - 516] Then the tomatoes. Serrano.
[516 - 517] Okay, so we have the garlic.
[517 - 520] I'm gonna add a little bit of neutral oil and some salt.
[520 - 522] The salt is gonna sweat them.
[522 - 524] My vegetables are broiling.
[524 - 526] In the meantime, I'm gonna work on my dried chilies.
[526 - 528] So I wanna start with the guajillos.
[528 - 530] When I remove the stem.
[530 - 532] The reason why I'm removing the seeds,
[532 - 533] because the seeds of the guajillos,
[533 - 535] since it's a long pepper,
[535 - 537] it has bigger seeds and it has a lot of seed.
[537 - 541] We're gonna go low heat, medium heat, something in between.
[541 - 543] You're dealing with dry peppers, right?
[543 - 544] This is like paper
[544 - 546] 'cause it's dry, so you can burn it really easy.
[546 - 549] And what happens when you burn it, they taste bitter.
[549 - 551] So this texture and color.
[551 - 554] Morita is the main chili.
[554 - 556] It adds smokiness flavor and spiciness.
[556 - 558] Spiciness of this is kind of a little of sweet,
[558 - 560] for some reason because this is being dried,
[560 - 562] so it's nice and sweet.
[562 - 565] And now for spiciness, chiles de arbol.
[565 - 567] So I'm going to [indistinct] these peppers
[567 - 569] 'cause I want the flavors to bloom.
[569 - 571] If you burn it, they will be bitter.
[571 - 574] So that's why you start with low heat.
[574 - 577] So basically I wanna make sure everybody gets the same heat.
[577 - 579] This is a very quick process.
[579 - 582] Like you see here how easy, was almost burned.
[582 - 584] Even the color, look, the color is like waking up.
[584 - 586] This is ready, this is ready.
[588 - 590] This oil right here, I'm not gonna just toss it.
[590 - 593] I'm gonna save it because it has a chili oil flavor.
[593 - 595] Our vegetables are broiler,
[595 - 598] our peppers, our blister.
[598 - 599] Alright, so I wanna start with the tomatoes.
[599 - 601] [gentle upbeat music]
[601 - 604] Again, the ingredients are very similar on all the salsas
[604 - 606] but this is a little more complex
[606 - 608] because we're cooking it twice.
[608 - 610] We broiled them and then we're gonna simmer it.
[610 - 612] I'm gonna put all the serranos here
[612 - 613] because this salsa is the spicy one.
[613 - 617] I'm gonna take the chili oil that was there.
[617 - 618] I don't like to waste.
[618 - 621] And then I'm gonna do all the chilies.
[622 - 623] A little bit of white vinegar.
[623 - 625] I want the salsa to last longer
[625 - 627] and also I want the vinegar to bring the flavors
[627 - 628] out of this even better.
[628 - 630] A little bit of water.
[630 - 632] The water is gonna help to blend all this together.
[632 - 634] A little bit of salt, even though I already put.
[634 - 638] Now we're going to puree this. [blender whirring]
[642 - 644] That's it. Let's try it.
[645 - 647] I feel like it's gonna be too spicy.
[647 - 650] [gentle upbeat music]
[651 - 652] [Saul speaks in foreign language]
[652 - 654] The consistency is perfect.
[654 - 655] Very similar to a mole.
[655 - 660] The spiciness, it's right on point, almost little too spicy.
[660 - 661] But here's the thing with this salsa,
[661 - 662] when you let it sit overnight
[662 - 663] and you eat it the next day,
[663 - 666] for some reason the heat level goes lower.
[666 - 667] So what I'm gonna do right now,
[667 - 669] I'm going to [speaks in foreign language] the salsa.
[669 - 672] I'm gonna re-fry the salsa
[672 - 674] because this salsa has to be complex.
[674 - 676] And by cooking it on a medium heat
[676 - 679] it will bring those flavors even stronger and deeper.
[679 - 681] We're gonna do a little bit of oil.
[681 - 682] Charred it, heat off.
[682 - 684] You see that little smoke?
[684 - 687] That's gonna add some smokiness.
[687 - 691] This process is added another level of flavor.
[691 - 693] Now that our salsa it's simmering,
[693 - 695] we're gonna do this for 15 minutes
[695 - 697] and then it's going to be ready.
[697 - 698] It's been 15 minutes.
[698 - 699] Our salsa is looking pretty good.
[699 - 702] The color already changed, it's darker.
[702 - 704] So that means it's gonna have a lot of flavor.
[704 - 706] The texture, it's right on point.
[706 - 708] It's smooth without it being too dry.
[708 - 711] It will hold perfectly on a taco, on a tostada.
[711 - 716] I'm gonna let this cool down and then I'm gonna taste it. [taco crackling]
[716 - 719] Just the complexity is so different for the other salsas.
[719 - 721] This salsa has the perfect consistency,
[721 - 724] the perfect level of spiciness for salsa morita.
[724 - 728] The color and the texture, it's just, we nailed it.
[728 - 729] Alright, we made it.
[729 - 731] I just show you how to make three different kind of salsas.
[731 - 734] And if you learn how to make these salsas
[734 - 737] with every single different technique,
[737 - 740] you can become a salsa maestro or maestra.
[740 - 741] When I see these salsas,
[741 - 743] it reminds me of when you go a taco stand
[743 - 745] or you go to a Mexican restaurant.
[745 - 748] Each salsa plays a different reason into your taco.
[748 - 751] [gentle upbeat music] Mm.