It’s time for some Good Taste, your weekly look at the Bay Area food scene. Today, we’re turning up the heat to talk about the next salsa to make noise around here.
Benevolent local salsa master Miguel Escobedo is offering two new flavors for sale starting Tue/15 at his Al Pastor Papi food truck. The man whose burritos and salsa from his former restaurant reigned victorious on the Food Network series Beat Bobby Flay in 2010 (and is still legend in the Bay) is now making available jars of the two Al Pastor Papi salsas that are out on the truck’s ledge for customer use: Jalapeño-Tomatillo Salsa Verde and Chipotle-Habanero Salsa Roja.
Hoping to get a bit of that secret wisdom to use in the kitchen, I asked Escobedo for the qualities he finds most important when creating a new salsa.
Balance
The Jalapeño-Tomatillo Salsa Verde and Chipotle-Habanero Salsa Roja are both blended salsas. The latter is markedly spicier than the former, but isn’t so hot that it scorches your tongue. Escobedo doesn’t let that get out of control because he deems salsa great if he considers what he tastes to be well-balanced: “The spice must compliment or simply include great flavor,” he insisted.
When I order from his truck, I always put both of the salsas on my tacos because they go so well together. And when making research tacos at home for this column, I mixed the Verde with sour cream to put on a tortilla and then layered the main ingredients and top with the Roja. Fire!
Consistency
Escobedo thinks that a salsa should have “good chip cling,” meaning it shouldn’t be too runny that it all falls off a chip when you’re trying to taste it. I had never heard that term before, but I now hope to use it every chance I get.
A thick chip is best for tackling the Al Pastor Papi salsas; don’t go for anything flimsy! There are at least three locally made brands that won’t disappoint you in this department: Casa Sanchez’s “thick and crispy” tortilla chips, the yellow or blue corn tortilla chips by Sabor Mexicano, and the house-made tortilla chips at La Palma Mexicatessen.
Originality
When experimenting with your own salsas, be yourself! Originality scores big points in Escobedo’s book. “It’s nice to find unique approaches to salsas,” he said.
Beautiful salsas can emerge out of creatively combining raw and roasted ingredients, various fruits, nuts, chiles, and seeds. A stroll through the produce and bulk departments at Rainbow Grocery should easily set your imagination on fire.
If this has all left you burning to get some of Escobedo’s salsa, check out Al Pastor Papi’s weekly schedule, which varies but usually includes meal services in San Francisco as well as other cities around the Bay Area.
See more hot stuff at Tamara’s site California Eating.
