Need help thinning my too thick tomatillo salsa

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ratherbcooking

Assistant Cook
Joined
Jan 13, 2007
Messages
4
Hi all

I'm a new member and this is my first post so would love any help anyone can offer. I just experimented making tomatillo salsa last week, but it wasn't quite the same as some I tried from a restaurant in Arizona. I used canned tomatillos last week because that was what I could find at the moment. However, today I bought fresh ones, along with fresh serrano and jalapeno peppers. After roasting the tomatillos, I put them in the processor with the peppers, some canned green chiles, cilantro, spices, lime juice, a bit of olive oil and water, and some of the salsa I made last week. This batch turned out very very good. But before I can it, I put it in the fridge overnight to see how the flavors will blend and how thick the salsa becomes. The stuff I made last week is so thick, a spoon will stand straight up in it! LOL :chef:

I don't want to change the flavor of this new batch but if it turns out thick, I need to add something to it. My question is: WHAT? I think water or oil will change the flavor, but lime juice or a vinegar or anything else would also change it. Any thoughts? Thanks!!!
 
I've never seen a salsa that was too thick ... and if a spoon stands up in it that sounds about right. I hate thin, watery, runny salsas!

If you really feel the need to muck up a good thick salsa ... try adding a bit of canned diced tomatoes or tomato puree.
 
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Thanks Michael. If it was regular salsa, I might agree with the thick theory. But the tomatillo salsa almost seemed like GEL after it was refrigerated. Very odd, but then I never used tomatillos before and wasn't sure what to expect. I HAVE eaten the salsa though and it didn't have the consistency of gel so I wondered what happened. I followed a recipe, of sorts, because I always make food to taste. At any rate, I'm hoping the new batch isn't gel-like, and if it is, I don't want to add red tomato anything to it. But I might try something else green. Nice roasted green chiles from Hatch might be good but I don't have any left and now live in Oklahoma, so my options are limited for a few more months until I move back to AZ. Other suggestions? Thanks a lot.
 
Ratherb, thanks, never thought about roasting the tomatillos. Gotta try that.
 
I've been thinking about this and the only thing I can think of that would make it "gel" is the olive oil. In the absence of a recipe:

If you processed your salsa into a puree (I've had some like that) - the olive oil might have created an emulsion.

If your salsa was chunky and you just "blended" in the olive oil - it might thin out on it's own if you let it come to room temp.

Olive oil will thicken up when refrigerated.
 
Michael in FtW said:
I've been thinking about this and the only thing I can think of that would make it "gel" is the olive oil. In the absence of a recipe:

If you processed your salsa into a puree (I've had some like that) - the olive oil might have created an emulsion.

If your salsa was chunky and you just "blended" in the olive oil - it might thin out on it's own if you let it come to room temp.

Olive oil will thicken up when refrigerated.

I've experienced the 'gel' thing when I make cocktail sauce, too. The ingredients are horseradish, ketchup, worcesteshire, fresh lemon juice and minced garlic. No oil.....yet it still gels when I refrigerate...:mad:
 
Welcome, Ratherbcooking!

I've made a tomatillo salsa before and I love it with roasted tomatillos. How about adding a small amount of chicken broth? Start with teaspoons and go from there.
 
tomato or onion juice will work, and as Micheal says, olive oil will go waxy/thick below a certain temp, might be worth taking a little out and seeing how it goes when it gets to the temp you intend to serve it at.
just to make 100% sure first :)
 

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