salsatime!

August 7, 2012 2:26 PM

I need your best salsa recipes suitable for canning.

We love making and canning our own salsa at home. I'm looking for a few new recipes from reputable canning resources to add some zip to those long winter months. I'm particularly interested in a roasted tomato/roasted pepper salsa. I'm not sure if anything like this is suitable for canning ....I've done a lot of Googling recently and haven't come up with much.

I've made several recipes from the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving. I've also got a copy of Food in Jars (and read her blog), and a copy of Putting Food By. I've also made one or two things from the National Home Food Preservation page.

(Botulism womp womp -> I'm an experienced canner and I've been making salsa without issue for a few summers now. It's high acid enough that I trust its safety in a boiling water canner. I generally trust recipes from cookbooks and canning-specific resources rather than your great-grandmother's sister's dog's sketchy wax sealing techniques. /womp womp)

posted by sararah to food & drink (6 answers total)

Have you got or can you borrow a copy of Canning for a New Generation by Liana Krissoff? Quite a few salsa recipes - I like her salsa verde and her Charred Tomato salsa is my husband's favorite. It's pretty spicy, but it's got great flavor. I also tend to put up a batch or two of Ball's Spicy Tomato Salsa, it's basic but good. When I think maybe I don't have enough salsa (we go through that stuff like crazy) I buy a few packets of the Mrs. Wages mix, which easily makes a perfectly serviceable salsa that's good for things like nachos. Oh, and I also liked Ball's peach salsa but I mostly give that one as gifts since it's "special."

This is a great question - I look forward to seeing other responses!
posted by hungrybruno at 2:37 PM on August 7, 2012 [1 favorite]

I've made the roasted tomato-chipotle salsa recipe (p. 206) from the Ball complete book of Home Preserving, and it was very good, although I think I will add some cumin in next time (it needed more of a bass note to the flavor).

my notes are:
--used some arbol and some some big chile (new mexico, maybe?) for the cascabel, which we didn't have (or maybe we used some guajillos, which the recipe says are the same as cascabels)
--needs more salt
--could use some more onion
--maybe some cilantro and cumin
--maybe swap some chipotle in adobo for some of the dried chipotles.

(none of this except maybe increasing the onion should affect the acidity.)

MeMail me if you don't have access to the recipe and want it.
posted by leahwrenn at 3:52 PM on August 7, 2012

Bought a new food mill yesterday (for making salsa) and Canning for a New Generation ended up in my cart, Haha. Glad to hear there is some good stuff.

We made the roasted tomato-chipotle last summer. It was too chipotley for me, but my boyfriend loved it. I may take some of your suggestions of we make it again!
posted by sararah at 6:04 PM on August 7, 2012

One of my favorites is the Southwest Salsa from The Book of Small-Batch Preserving.
- 4 C. chopped, peeled tomatoes
- 1 C. chipped onion
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 C. chopped sweet red pepper
- 2-4 chopped jalapenos
- 1/2 C. red wine vinegar
- 1/4 C. chopped fresh cilantro
- 2 tablespoons orange juice
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 1 teaspoon each sugar and pickling salt
- 1/4 C. tomato paste

Combine everything except the tomato paste in a large pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and boil gently (uncovered) for 30 minutes or until thickened. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes more.

Ladle salsa into jars with 1/2 inch of headspace and process for 20 minutes for both pints and half-pints.

(This only makes 2 pints -- I often double it)
posted by Ostara at 7:38 AM on August 8, 2012

We make salsa every summer at Casa Jam. Here's the recipe - very smoky, sweet and spicy. Makes about six to eight 8oz jars.
posted by jammy at 7:43 AM on August 8, 2012

Thanks, all! Did the charred tomato and chile salsa - my favorite this year! Could be a little spicier, so I think I will use hotter peppers next year. Also changed up the roasted tomato-chipotle a bit, and it is more delicious. I forgot to add cumin - next year, or I guess I can stir it in before serving!

p.s. unrelated - there's an awesome mustard (Oktoberfest beer mustard) in the Ball Complete book. Made it the other night and it's great! My mustard-loving friend really, really enjoyed it.
posted by sararah at 7:59 AM on September 6, 2012