Habanero Salsa (Mexican Salsa De Chili Habanero)

Directions

• Before We Start

  Adjusting Heat Levels: You can go from no heat to very hot by separating the seeds and capsicum. We have a detailed guide in Step 2.
  Working with Habaneros: If you don’t want to sting your skin, it is a good idea to wear gloves when working with the Habaneros, be careful not to rub your eyes.

• Prep the Vegetables

  Tomatoes: Remove the stems and dice into large 1-2 in chunks.
  White onion: Cut in half and remove the skin, dice into 1/2 chunks.
  Garlic: Peel and smash with the side of your knife.
  Orange: Cut orange(s) in half and squeeze the juice into a medium sized bowl. (you can use a juice press as well). Transfer half to a small bowl, since this is split between two steps.
  Lime: Cut a lime in half and squeeze out the juice from half a lime in a small bowl. Measure out the 12 g of juice you need.
  Carrots: Peel and remove the top of your carrot, then grate the carrot on the large side of a box grater.

• Prep Habaneros

  Put some gloves on while working with the habaneros. First cut off the stems of all the peppers. Then slice them in half.
  
  The seeds and capsicum (a pepper’s white veins) is where most of the heat is. If you remove all of the seeds and white parts, the salsa will be very mild.
  
  TIP: I recommend keeping the seeds and capsicum set aside in a small bowl, so you can add it for more heat after you have initially blended it.
  
  Heat Guide
  For a moderate heat level: Removing the seeds and capsicum of 7 of the habaneros and keeping the seeds of 2 of them. This can be used as a spicy salsa with chips or to top foods.
  
  For a hot but tolerable level (our favorite): We recommend removing the seeds and capsicum of 4 of the habaneros and keeping the seeds of their 5 of them. This is kind of between a hot sauce and a spicy salsa in terms of heat level.
  
  For a melt your face off level of heat: Just go crazy and keep all the seeds. This is hot sauce level hot.

• Saute

  Add oil to a 12 in saute pan on medium the onions and carrots with the salt for 2-3 mins until starting sweat. Add habaneros, garlic, and tomatoes, cook another 3-4 mins. Add half the orange juice and cook another 1 minute. The vegetables should be softened.

• Put it in Blender

  Using a large serving spoon, transfer the contents of the pan to a blender. Add the other half of the orange juice, as well as the lime juice. Blend until smooth.

• Taste and adjust

  Taste and adjust salt levels if needed.
  
  If you want it spicier, then add more of the reserved seeds and capsicum from the earlier step and blend it for a few seconds again.
  
  Check the consistency, a splash of water can be added to thin out the sauce if it is overly thick. However, in our tests, this was not necessary.

• Just chill…til the next episode

  The easiest way to do this, is to just transfer the contents to a bowl and let it sit on the counter until it is cool enough to move to the fridge with an air tight lid.
  
  If you want to cool it down faster, prepare a bowl with ice water and place the pitcher in the bowl to help rapidly cool the salsa. After about 10-15 minutes, it should be cool enough to transfer to an air tight container and place in the fridge for when you are ready to use.
  
  Yes, that was a Snoop Dogg reference.

• Enjoy

  Once the salsa has cooled, it is ready to enjoy. Spice up your salsa, top your tacos and burritos. Use it like a spicy salsa or hot sauce. Go crazy!