Salsa de Chile Perón Martajada

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Volcanic stone molcajete with tejolote
• •Dry comal, clay comal, or cast iron skillet
• •Tongs for turning the roasted chiles
• •Small Capula black-burnished or Patamban green-glazed clay bowl for serving

Instructions

1. 1

   Choose the chiles

   Use chile perón from Michoacán if you can find it: yellow or orange, thick-fleshed, taut-skinned, with black seeds. It should smell floral and green before it ever touches the comal. If the chiles are soft, wrinkled, or dull, leave them at the market. Si no conoces el mercado, no conoces la cocina.

   Chile manzano is the closest name you may see outside Michoacán because it is also Capsicum pubescens. Jalapeño or serrano gives heat, but not the same perfume, flesh, or black-seed bite. That is a compromise, not an upgrade.
2. 2

   Roast on the comal

   Heat a dry comal over medium-high heat, over leña if you have it. Set the chile perón and unpeeled garlic on the hot surface. Turn the chiles often until the skins blister in dark patches and the flesh softens, 6 to 8 minutes. Roast the garlic until the papery skin chars and the cloves feel soft, about 8 to 10 minutes. Do not blacken the chiles all over. You want roasted fruit and chile oil, not bitterness.

3. 3

   Rest and trim

   Move the roasted chiles to a small bowl and cover them for 5 minutes so the skins relax. Pull off the stems. Rub away only the loose blackened flakes, but do not peel them clean. The blistered skin belongs in this salsa. For a firm heat, leave the black seeds and veins. For a table with mixed tolerance, remove half the seeds. Wear gloves if your hands are sensitive. No me vengas con atajos, but also do not burn your eyes because you were showing off.

4. 4

   Grind garlic and salt

   Peel the roasted garlic and place it in the molcajete with the sal de grano. Grind with the tejolote until you have a sticky paste. The coarse salt does two jobs: it seasons and it tears the garlic into the stone. A smooth blender paste is not the goal here. The molcajete gives you texture and control.

5. 5

   Martajar the chiles

   Add the roasted chile perón one at a time. Pound, press, and drag the tejolote until the chile breaks into a coarse pulp with visible skins and some black seeds. Martajada means crushed, not pureed. If the salsa is too tight, add one tablespoon of warm water or the juices from the roasted chiles. Stop while it still has body. Así se hace y punto.

   For a large batch, a blender can help, but pulse only two or three times after grinding the garlic and salt. If you turn it smooth, you changed the salsa.
6. 6

   Season with lime

   Stir in the limón criollo juice. Taste for salt, then taste again after one minute. The first hit should be floral heat from the chile perón, then garlic, then lime, then sal de grano at the back of the tongue. It should not taste watery, and it should not taste like raw garlic. Serve from the molcajete or spoon it into a small Capula black-burnished clay bowl for the table.

7. 7

   Serve the table

   Set the salsa beside warm corn tortillas, frijoles de olla, carnitas, corundas, or uchepos. This is a table salsa from Michoacán, not a tomato salsa wearing another chile's name. Cada estado, su propia cocina.

Chef Tips

• •Buy chile perón when it is firm, glossy, and yellow-orange. In Uruapan and Pátzcuaro, the market women will know it by name. If they hand you serranos, ask again.
• •Do not confuse this with atápakua. Atápakua is a Michoacán sauce thickened with masa de maíz, not a mole and not this salsa. This one is chile, garlic, lime, and salt.
• •The heat sits in the veins and black seeds. Remove half if you need to, but do not strip the chile clean. You would lose the character of the salsa.
• •If you cannot find chile perón, use chile manzano as the closest practical substitute. Jalapeño or serrano will make a hot green salsa, not salsa de chile perón. Say what you made honestly.
• •The molcajete matters. Its stone tears the roasted chile into a coarse pulp. A blender cuts it fast and makes the salsa thinner. Useful for volume, not the same result.

Advance Preparation

• •The salsa is best the day it is made, while the chile perón still tastes floral and bright.
• •You can roast the chiles and garlic up to one day ahead. Refrigerate them covered, then martajar with salt and lime just before serving.
• •For batch cooking, double or triple the recipe and crush in molcajete batches. If using a blender, pulse briefly and leave the salsa coarse.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 35g)