roja vs. verde: red salsa vs. green salsa

red, of course

since red is more ubiquitous i feel like there is a wider range of quality out there. so many bad red salsas. if green is available it tends to be pretty good.

go to on the border in woburn, ma. that's my advice.

marcos otm but it would feel so weird to vote green. like, a good green salsa will always be a very welcome thing but instinctively I reach for red first.

i don't know if i've ever had any. none that i can remember!

each has its place, although it seems like there are far more subsets of red

i like a deep, rich red salsa like the one in the picture i posted, but i really love the tanginess of a green salsa. plus if you broil the tomatillos you can get that same deep smoky flavor in a green salsa, too.

also i almost always prefer green enchiladas to red enchiladas

depends on if the red is red because it's pureed tomatoes or if it's red because of the color of the chiles used to make it. If it's the former, it's probably too ketchupy and so verde.
also i've made tomatillo salsa a bunch of times and tbrr it's always delicious

yea i've always had more luck making good salsa w/ tomatillos.

There is no "of course" here

especially when your example is "on the border mexican grille" chain restaurant in woburn massachusetts

making green salsas is fun and easy and they never come out bad but yeah it feels real weird to vote for green

(tbf markers i have been to the one in springfield and it worked in a pinch when my wife and son were all starving on the way to VT. though i wouldn't offer their salsa as proof for anything i'm trying to argue w/r/t good salsas)

also i almost always prefer green enchiladas to red enchiladas

― marcos, Thursday, April 17, 2014 10:21 AM (6 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Agreed. I wish there were more commercially available green salsas. I have definitely bought tomatillos again and again with the intention of making my own sauces, but I never end up husking them, because I'm a lazy bastard.

wth husking tomatillos takes like 2 minutes

hows life - tbh for something widely available, both the whole foods brand green salsa and trader joe's are available everywhere and they are both pretty good and cheap for mass-market salsa. better than pretty much all the other canned salsas in most supermarkets outside of the southwest and texas.

Yeah, I don't make it to whole foods very often, but have definitely had their green salsa.

depends on if the red is red because it's pureed tomatoes or if it's red because of the color of the chiles used to make it.

yea, definitely. if i like a red salsa a lot it's usually the kind of red salsa that is fairly thin in consistency and has a strong earthy taste of dried red chiles rather than tomatoes. tomatoes provide the base but the chiles should really be central

yeah the thinner salsa with flavors of salt and chiles, a few bits of diced onion, and cilantro, that's all you need

for one of the red salsas i make green tomatillo salsa is actually the base , then i add the roasted tomato puree later to make a delouse red salsa .

delicious*

for one of the red salsas i make green tomatillo salsa is actually the base

yea, i've noticed this is the case for a few red salsas. i make one with green tomatillos that includes a good number of guajillo chiles and the final color is a deep brick red

one of my fave places used to bring out three salsas: tomato, tomatillo, and a spicy avocado one

oh yeah guajillo -- totally rich color/flavor

what do you guys think about colombian ají?

http://img.food.com/img/recipes/37/73/31/large/picV8Usab.jpg

totally, you make the green salsa split it in half so you have some of the regular salsa verde and you take the other half to make some variation of red or whatever. xp

I think it's awesome, is what I think xp

xxp that looks amazing. looks very similar to some peruvian aji sauces i've had.

it's the best thing to put on meats/seafood/everything

some of the peruvian salsas like that can be fiercely hot, they're tangy and bright and amazing

omg an ILX thread hasn't made me this hungry since the last one we had about pizza.

have you guys seen Perú Sabe? it's all about Peruvian cuisine and this school that teaches disadvantaged kids how to cook and about their heritage and whatnot -- it's really good and there is a lot of food content. it made me want to go to Peru and dive into a produce market.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0tYsJc5JEw

that's the trailer, i forgot to remove the s

verde all the way though I don't mind red at all

xp i'll have to check that out!

the markets i went to were pretty incredible.

there's a place in l.a. (montrose/glendale, really) called la cabanita that has the best salsa roja, salsa verde, and the best chips. I go there almost for those alone. I'd pay good money for them but they're an endless free supply. if you're around these parts, check it out.

occasionally i feel like my favorite part of eating tex-mex is the chips and salsa.

green @ king taco

No preference, as I prefer red with grilled chicken and beef, and green with stewed chicken and pork.

I eat more green on the average.

voted green b/c it's way more consistent. red is great too tho! i'm usually pretty happy even with chili's/chevy's-style salsa tbh but no way will i say it's my favorite

habanero/orange salsas deserve some play too

yea those are great. there are some amazing salsa morenas too, though those are usually green salsas that have roasted ingredients

salsa rules so hard

just seeing the tray of squeeze bottles and plastic cups next to the soda machine or in the cooler on the side of the taco cart, it delights me.

there's a great belizean cart near my work and they have the most amazing habanero-based sauces (marie sharps) that are m/l salsas. i guess orange habaneros are super boring to belizeans because they can grow yellow and red habaneros down there, and there are all these amazing varieties like orange and prickly pear and... ok i know what i'm getting for lunch now

http://www.chilefoundry.com/wp-content/uploads/MarieSharpsRange.png

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

green is really flattered by this kinda stephen-shore-eats-salsa photo btw. that slight translucence, slight luminescence, green phosphorescence.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

correct

black or orange or those thick-like-milkshake beigey ones are where it's at tho

results match my feelings - they are both great but green has a very slight edge. tbh though if they are both on the table i will liberally use both red and green

In northern indinana, people mix red salsa with ranch dressing and dip chips in it

ranch dressing is vile

it's probably that shitty tomato paste + water kind of salsa too, huh?

Trying to imagine that.

Yes. You can see them separated here:
https://foursquare.com/v/hacienda-mexican-restaurant/4b54d641f964a520f8ce27e3

What country was it I was reading about where they refer to ranch dressing as "american sauce?" Sounds pretty accurate.

It is very common for people to order chips from Hacienda along with tub of ketchup salsa and another tub of American sauce.

and I thought central iowa's wipe-down tex-mex joints were bad

The shy ones will mix by dipping twice, but most people just mix them together in a big bowl of who gives a fuck

I spotted the owners of a joint not unlike that eating at chipotle one time

Scouting for culinary tips no doubt

oh heck no, they just wanted lunch

Ranch dressing is unfairly maligned IMO. Mixing it with jarred salsa doesn't appeal to me, but it's tasty as heck on a garden salad.

Oh, I ate some ranch dressing at home with a salad last night. It is totally good.

I just grew up with this particular use of dipping chips in it mixed with salsa. I've never seen it happen anywhere else.

oh, it's tasty. probably shouldn't use it as a crutch to the point where you're putting it on 2/3 of your meal items

the worry is that you'd ruin good salsa this way. But if all you have is THAT salsa, maybe some enranchment is called for.

I also hated on dipping pizza in ranch, but that's mostly because I don't think I'd recover psychologically. How will I eat a turkey sandwich and enjoy it after eating cheese pizza dipped in ranch dressing? I also won't listen to people's expensive stereos for the same reason

ie how will I eat a turkey sandwich and enjoy it after listening to your expensive stereo?

lol

Ranch has become synonymous with an uncultured, unadventurous American palate, thanks to people dipping their terrible chain pizza in it. I used to work at this redneck bar/restaurant in NC and I always felt like I came home covered in a thin layer of ranch dressing because it came out with everything.

I've been on kind of a personal mission to rehabilitate ranch dressing. A couple of weeks ago I made pork chops dipped in ranch and coated with panko and they were awesome.

Anyway, I still want some delicious salsa per this thread.

i'm not vegan but i file ranch dressing along with mayonnaise in the "i prefer the vegan version category". shit is gross otherwise

tartar sauce goes in that category too

ranch should not come in giant tubs or be reconstituted from powder, but hey, why not

iirc ranch was originally sold as packets to be mixed at home and not introduced as a bottle until later? though i know the O.G. HIDDEN VALLEY RANCH DRESSING was sold in bottles, but that was before its takeover of america?

otm -- before that it was sold as powder in packets and it was dip

also the USA apparently needs a widely popular salad-disguising liquid that ends in -nch because no one talks about French dressing anymore but it sure used to be everywhere

both are gross imo

You can still buy it in packet form! I had to bring one to a family gathering for someone's dip recipe.

We get it in premixed powder form. You can get a larger container of mix instead of packets at the big-box stores; I like it because I can make as much or as little as I want and it'll always be fresh.

if you guys don't stop talking about ranch dressing soon i am going to barf

that's your problem. the ranch I had most recently was powdered, and we added roasted garlic to it. pretty tasty.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gh4B6ghXkXA

i just ate lunch at work, and i had the opportunity to eat ile's worst nightmare. i ate a salad with ranch dressing and a slice of hawaiian pizza

I also see the original hidden valley ranch location quite frequently:

(see top question's answer)
https://www.hiddenvalley.com/about-us/faqs/

#ranchfacts

by "powdered" I didn't mean a seasoning packet that you add buttermilk or w/e to but an actual powder you combine with water to make ranch sauce

ew ew ew

I'm accepting of all permutations of ranch. Most people have a wine rack. I have a ranch rack. "We're opening up a 2009 bottle of Newman's Own for tonight's mozzarella sticks."