Homemade Medium - Hot Salsa Recipe

Today I made a nice big batch of Salsa.  I like to call it Smoky Chipotle Salsa.  It is so yummy and tasty!  I tried making it for the first time last year.  Well, a few weeks ago we finally ran out and I just couldn't bring myself to go out and buy a jar of the store bought stuff.  So I made another batch.

Medium-Hot Salsa

16 cups very ripe tomatoes, cored & chopped (no need to peel or seed)

5 cups yellow onions, chopped

4 cups green peppers, chopped

1 canned chipotle chili (optional– or you can add more for super hot salsa)

1 sm can of chopped green chilli's

5 small green hot peppers (can't remember the name)

12 cloves garlic

3 teaspoons cumin

4 teaspoons black pepper

4 Tablespoon canning salt (also called pickling salt — it has no iodine)

2/3 cup white vinegar

30 ounces tomato sauce (homemade or from the store)

24 ounces tomato paste (homemade or from the store)

juice of 2 lime

1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

Chop tomatoes, onions, peppers, garlic and chipotle chilis by hand or in a food processor. Make it as chunky or fine as you like. In a large non-aluminum pot, mix everything together except the lime juice and cilantro.

Bring the mixture to a boil. Continue boiling 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and stir in lime juice and cilantro.

Fill jars with hot mixture. Wipe rims and add lids and screw-bands. Process in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes. Make sure the boiling water is deep enough to cover the jars by at least one inch, and start timing when the water returns to a boil after adding the jars.

Check the jar seals. If any haven’t sealed, you get to eat that right away! Keeps in the fridge for several weeks once opened.

If you want a very mild salsa, start by omitting the chipotle, cutting the cumin to 1 teaspoon, and removing the seeds from the hot peppers. Once the mixture has cooked for about 5 minutes, give it a taste, and season to desired “hotness” by adding the cumin, hot pepper seeds and chipotles (with or without the adobo sauce in the can). The recipe as listed makes a medium-hot version.

If it is not spicy enough, you could add a cup of chopped jalapeno peppers with or without the seeds.

This recipe is doubled so if you want a smaller batch, just cut the recipe in half.  I got 16 pints of Salsa today.

Enjoy!