Roasted Salsa Verde for Canning

This roasted salsa verde is among the best salsas we've had - the flavours are fantastic, the grilling brings a great smokiness to the mix!

Originally published November 5, 2014. Updated on 6/25/2021

The fact that October is the busiest time of year for me in no way prevents me from taking on last minute, totally unnecessary personal projects... because sometimes I'm just dumb like that.

Recently - in the middle of stressing out about our to-do list - a neighbour was selling fresh tomatillos, straight from his garden.

As is usually the case, we ended up "If-you-give-a-mouse-a-cookie"-ing all the way from "well, we could buy a lb or so and put on a small batch of salsa" to "let's buy 10 lbs and just make a batch for canning", adding a trip to the farmer's market, etc.

We had missed peak corn season, so my roasted corn and tomatillo salsa wasn't looking like the best option.. so I developed a whole new recipe for it.

Roasted Salsa Verde

This recipe was designed especially for my husband, who loves deep, dark, roasted/charred flavours. This is far more smokey than your average salsa verde, and it was perfect for him.

Says he:

"I love the smokey pepper taste, the flavor is incredible. If I'm not careful I could end up having this as a meal. The thick, chunky texture helps it stay on a chip, and makes it easier to mix in with something like sour cream."

So, if smokiness is your thing.. you should absolutely give this a try!

A Few Notes on Making this Salsa Verde

- USE GLOVES when handling the jalapenos. I like to keep a box of nitrile gloves in my kitchen for this (and handling beets - to avoid staining my hands)

- While usually leave the ribs and seeds of the jalapenos in place, you can remove them for a more mild salsa.

- I prefer to use a charcoal grill for this, but propane is fine also.

- No grill? Arrange the veggies - after brushing both sides with oil - on a roasting pan, and broil on high until charred.

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5 from 1 vote

Roasted Salsa Verde for Canning

This roasted salsa verde is among the best salsas we've had - the flavours are all balanced and work well together, and the grilling brings a great smokiness to the mix.

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time45 minutes mins

Processing Time15 minutes mins

Total Time1 hour hr 15 minutes mins

Course: Appetizer, Condiment, Snack

Cuisine: American, Mexican

Servings: 112 - 14 Pints of Salsa

Calories: 34kcal

Author: Marie Porter

Equipment

• Clean, sterilized canning jars and rings
• New, never-used, sterilized canning lids
• Jar Lifter, Canning Funnel
• LARGE pot to process them in

Ingredients

• 4 Large Red Onions
• 5 lbs Poblano Peppers
• 12 Green Bell Peppers
• 12-15 Jalapeno Peppers
• 10 lbs Tomatillos
• 10 Garlic cloves Peeled and roughly chopped
• 4 cups Vinegar
• ¾ Cup Lime Juice Freshly squeezed, ideally!
• Zest of 3 limes
• 1 ½ cups Granulated Sugar
• 1 tablespoon Salt
• 1 bunch Cilantro Chopped (optional)

Instructions

• Heat your grill – I like to use charcoal for this, but propane is fine also.
• While grill is heating, prepare your vegetables to roast:
• – Slice onions into ½″ thick slices
• – Slice poblano and bell peppers into large flat pieces, Cut jalapenos in half.*
• Brush peppers with olive oil, then grill everything until as “done” as you would like – personally, I like some dark grill marks for this, but not an overall char. If you have wood chips to smoke/grill with, use them – we used applewood chips. Remove items as they are ready – the peppers will cook the fastest. Allow everything to cool.
• Turn your (oven) broiler up to high.
• Prepare a couple cookie sheets with foil or parchment paper. Remove husks from tomatillos, wash well and remove any that don’t look fresh/good. Slice each in half, arrange in a single layer on baking sheets, toss garlic cloves in amongst the tomatillos. Roast under the broiler until as charred as you would like. Pour off excess juices, allow to cool, then puree in a blender or food processor.
• Once everything is cool, chop up the peppers and onion (I use a food processor for this). Add all roasted vegetables to a large pot, along with tomatilloes, vinegar, lime juice & zest, sugar, and salt, stir well.
• Heat to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until liquid reduces a bit, and mixture reaches a consistency you like. Stir in the cilantro, if using, and cook for one more minute.
• Ladle into hot, sterilized pint sized canning jars. Affix sterilized lids and rims, and process in a hot water bath for 15 minutes. (Add 5 minutes for altitudes above 1,000 feet; add 10 minutes for altitudes over 6,000 feet.) Allow to cool overnight.
• Check all lids for a proper seal: they should have sucked down into a vacuum seal as the jars cooled. Store properly sealed jars for later use; refrigerate any that did not seal for use in the coming weeks.

Notes

* For a more mild salsa, remove ribs and seeds.

Nutrition

Calories: 34kcal | Carbohydrates: 7g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 64mg | Potassium: 177mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 189IU | Vitamin C: 34mg | Calcium: 8mg | Iron: 1mg

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