Salsa Bruja Veracruzana

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Dry comal or heavy skillet for toasting chiles
• •Small nonreactive saucepan
• •Clean 1-quart glass bottle or jar with tight lid
• •Clean spoon or small funnel

Instructions

1. 1

   Sterilize the bottle

   Wash a 1-quart glass bottle or jar with hot soapy water, rinse well, and pour boiling water through it. Let it drain upside down until dry. This sauce sits for weeks, so start clean. A cloudy bottle with old pickle smell will give you cloudy, tired vinegar.

2. 2

   Toast the chiles

   Heat a dry comal over medium. Toast the chile de arbol for 10 to 15 seconds, just until fragrant and a shade darker. Toast the guajillo strips for about 20 seconds, pressing them flat with tongs. Do not blacken them. Burned chile in vinegar becomes harsh and bitter, and the vinegar will carry that mistake for weeks.

   Chile de arbol burns quickly because it is thin. Keep it moving. If a chile turns black, throw it away and use another. Así se hace y punto.
3. 3

   Warm the vinegar

   Combine the vinegar, water, salt, and piloncillo in a small nonreactive saucepan. Warm over medium heat until the salt and piloncillo dissolve, about 2 to 3 minutes. Do not boil it hard. You are waking the vinegar, not cooking it to death.

4. 4

   Pack the aromatics

   Put the toasted chiles, jalapenos, garlic, onion, carrot, bay leaves, Mexican oregano, thyme, epazote, black peppercorns, allspice, and cloves into the clean bottle. Pack loosely so the vinegar can move around everything. The herbs and spices should look like a Veracruz market stall in a bottle.

5. 5

   Pour and seal

   Pour the warm vinegar mixture over the packed aromatics, making sure everything is submerged. Tap the bottle gently on the counter to release trapped air. Seal tightly. If any chile or herb floats above the liquid, push it down with a clean spoon. Vinegar preserves what it touches.

6. 6

   Infuse and wait

   Let the bottle sit in a cool, dark place for at least 2 weeks, shaking it once a day for the first week. Four weeks is better. The vinegar will turn amber-red, the garlic will mellow, and the chile will move from raw heat to a clean bite. This is the part impatient cooks ruin.

7. 7

   Serve at the table

   Set the bottle on the table with seafood: oysters, shrimp cocktail, fried fish, crab, or ceviche. Shake it, spoon out the vinegar, and leave the solids in the bottle. When the liquid gets low, top it with more vinegar once or twice, then make a new batch. Recetas probadas y garantizadas.

Chef Tips

• •Use cane vinegar or pineapple vinegar if you can find it in a Mexican market. White distilled vinegar works, but it is sharper and flatter. A substitution is a compromise, not an upgrade.
• •This is not a blended salsa. Do not put it in the blender. Salsa bruja is an infused table vinegar, and the solids stay in the bottle to keep giving flavor.
• •The heat should come mostly from chile de arbol. Guajillo gives color and a little fruitiness. Jalapeno brings the Veracruz escabeche feeling. Do not replace all of it with habanero unless you want the sauce to shout over the seafood.
• •Keep the bottle clean at the table. Pour or spoon the vinegar out. Do not dip used seafood forks into the jar. The señoras who perfected these kitchen habits were practical, not decorative.

Advance Preparation

• •Salsa bruja must be made at least 2 weeks ahead. Four weeks gives a deeper, rounder vinegar.
• •Store in a cool, dark place while infusing, then refrigerate after opening if your kitchen runs hot.
• •The vinegar can be topped off once or twice as long as the solids stay submerged and smell clean. After that, start a fresh bottle.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 75g)