Salsa Quemada

July 13, 2026

Good morning Friends,

As you may recall, a few weeks ago, we introduced ‘Cowboy Taco Tuesday’ night at Tavern at the Mission along with a ‘burnt salsa’ that I developed years ago. It’s unique in that the tomatoes, scallions, chiles and cilantro are all grilled and charred, giving it an unusual flavor and appearance. No, this salsa is not going to win any beauty contest, but our guests are already loving it and have asked if I would consider providing the recipe for it which I have happily posted below. With all the summer grilling in swing right now, you can easily make this salsa start to finish in 30 minutes, however, it will taste much better the following day as all the flavors will meld and mature when refrigerated overnight.

I hope you’ll give it a try…you’ll be glad you did…

Happy Grilling!

David & Tino

Salsa quemada

(Home Version)

Ingredients

Step 1

4 pounds Tomatoes, stem end cored

2 bunches Scallions, root ends trimmed

3 ounces Serrano chiles, stems removed

1 bunches Cilantro, washed and stems removed

Step 2

1TBS Minced garlic

1TBS Fresh lime juice

1tsp Kosher salt

1tsp Ground white pepper

1TBS Dried Mexican oregano

Preparation

1. Combine all the ingredients in step one and place on grill turning frequently until blistered and blackened.

2. Place all ingredients from step one into blender and add all ingredients from step 2 and blend until smooth. Do not blend to a fine puree. Salsa should have some texture and chunkiness to it.

Note: Be sure and stir salsa before serving as liquids and solids will separate. You can ratchet up or down the spice level by adjusting the amount of serranoes.