• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
DadCooksDinner
  • Home
  • Rotisserie
  • Recipes
  • Tools
  • Books
  • Merch
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Recipes
  • Books
  • Tools
  • Merch
  • About
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • RSS
    • Twitter
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • Recipes
    • Books
    • Tools
    • Merch
    • About
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • RSS
    • Twitter
  • ×

    Home » Recipes » Grilling

    Grilled Tomato-Tomatillo Salsa

    Published: Aug 20, 2013 · Modified: Jan 26, 2015 by Mike Vrobel · This post may contain affiliate links · 4 Comments

    August means local abundance. Every year I make it through my first few months of CSA and the farmers market season, excited about the fresh, local vegetables I was waiting for all winter.
    Local storage vegetables are great…but they get old by the time June rolls around.

    July is when things really start to roll. Local corn starts to come in, green beans are in season, and the variety at the market starts to pick up.

    And then, suddenly, TOMATOES.

    The chalkboard at my CSA says things like “take five pounds”, “take six pounds”, or one glorious year, “take eight pounds”. And it’s not just that week - the entire month of August is like that. Week after week, pounds of tomatoes.

    And, since tomatillos and hot peppers come in at the same time, salsa is the obvious way to use them up. This year the tomatillos were a little sparse - only a pint of them - so I combined them with tomatoes for a tomato-tomatillo salsa.

    Recipe: Grilled Tomato-Tomatillo Salsa


    Adapted From: Rick Bayless, Salsas That Cook

    Cooking time: 8 minutes

    Equipment

    • Grill (I love my Weber Summit, but it’s overkill for a batch of salsa at medium heat. Now, if I’m using the rest of the grill for fajitas, then I’m actually using the extra space.)
    • Grill Pan (not absolutely necessary, but it helps keep from chasing vegetables all over the grill, or losing them through the grate)
    • Food processor

    Ingredients

    • 1 ½ pounds fresh tomatoes
    • 1 ½ pounds fresh tomatillos, husk removed and sticky coating rinsed off
    • 2 jalapeno peppers
    • 2 cloves garlic, still in their peel
    • ¼ cup cilantro
    • salt to taste

    Directions

    1. Preheat the grill for direct medium heat

    Preheat the grill, then set it up for direct medium heat. On my Weber Summit, I preheat the grill with all burners on high for 15 minutes, brush the grate clean with my grill brush, then turn the burners down to medium.

    2. Grill the vegetables over direct medium heat

    Put the tomatoes, tomatillos, jalapenos, and garlic cloves on the grill over direct medium heat. (This is easier of you have the grill pan - put everything on the pan, and plop it on top of the grill grate). Grill until blackened in spots on the bottom, about 4 minutes. Flip everything and grill until the other side is blackened and the tomatoes and tomatillos are softened, about 4 more minutes. Remove the vegetables from the grill. (Again, if working with a grill pan, just pick it up - but watch out for drips through the holes in the grate.)

    3. Process the salsa until smooth

    Peel the garlic, then drop it through the tube of a running food processor, and let it process until it is completely minced. Turn off the processor, stem the jalapenos, then put the jalapenos and cilantro in the food processor and process in one second pulses until minced. Pour in the tomatoes, tomatillos, and any juices, turn the processor on, and process until smooth, about 1 minute.

    Notes

    • Process the salsa longer than you think you should. I usually wind up with one stubborn tomatillo that won’t break down like the others. Of course, I don’t notice it in the food processor - I notice it as I pour the salsa into a bowl to serve, and I have to fish it out. Or pour the salsa back into the food processor and process it some more. (And by “pour the salsa back into the food processor”, I mean “pour the salsa back into the food processor…and down the sides, and onto the counter, and make a big mess.”)
    • If you can choose your tomatoes, get Roma tomatoes - they’re less watery than regular tomatoes, and make a thicker salsa.

    What do you think?

    Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.

    Related Posts:

    Grilled Skirt Steak Tacos with Grilled Onions and Jalapenos
    Quick Red Salsa
    Chiltomate - Grilled tomato and habaerno salsa

    *Enjoyed this post? Want to help out DadCooksDinner? Subscribe to DadCooksDinner using the RSS or Email options on the right, recommend DadCooksDinner to your friends, buy something from Amazon.com through the links on this site, or donate through my tip jar. Thank you.

    More Grilling

    • Grilled Frozen Ribeyes | DadCooksDinner.com
      Grilled Frozen Ribeye Steak
    • Beef short ribs on the grill, with some flareups in the background
      Grilled Short Ribs with Smoked Spanish Paprika Rub
    • La Caja China Pig Roast | DadCooksDinner.com
      Matt’s La Caja China Pig Roast
    • Grilled Beef Sirloin Kabobs | DadCooksDinner.com
      Grilled Beef Sirloin Kabobs

    Sharing is caring!

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Mike V @ DadCooksDinner says

      August 30, 2013 at 10:24 am

      Great - glad you liked it!

      Reply
    2. Howard Thompson says

      August 30, 2013 at 12:40 am

      I made this to have with nachos tonight. The smell of the roasting vegetables was sublime. Mine came out very watery. I ran it through a fine mesh strainer and that fixed it up nicely. I also removed the seeds from one of the jalapeños; didn't need to as it was very mild.
      Thanks for the recipe.

      Reply
    3. Justin @ Marlows Kitchen says

      August 29, 2013 at 4:10 am

      I'm right there with ya.... tomatoes around every corner I turn. This looks delicious and a great idea to use up those darn tomatoes!

      Reply
    4. Mike V @ DadCooksDinner says

      August 20, 2013 at 11:27 pm

      Thank you.

      Reply

    Questions? Made the Recipe? Leave a Comment Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    Primary Sidebar

    Welcome to Dad Cooks Dinner! I'm Mike Vrobel, a dad who cooks dinner every night. I'm an enthusiastic home cook, and I write about pressure cooking, rotisserie grilling, and other food topics that grab my attention.

    More about me →

    Popular

    • Three bowls of cooked Pinto Beans on a wood table
      Instant Pot Pinto Beans (No Soaking)
    • Pressure Cooker Beef Shank (Osso Bucco)
    • Pressure Cooker 7 Hour Leg of Lamb (in 90 minutes)
      Pressure Cooker 7 Hour Leg of Lamb (in 90 minutes)
    • Pressure Cooker Brown Jasmine Rice

    Recent

    • Shredded pork on a bed of rice, with an Instant Pot, jar of Recaito, and Sazon packets
      Instant Pot Puerto Rican Pulled Pork (Pernil al Caldero)
    • Mexican Brown Rice in a bowl
      Instant Pot Mexican Brown Rice (Pressure Cooker Recipe)
    • A plate of brisket slices with a pickle, onion, and bbq sauce
      Instant Pot Beef Brisket
    • Two jars of chicken broth on a wood table in front of an Instant Pot
      Instant Pot Chicken Broth

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • Privacy Policy

    Newsletter

    • Sign Up! for emails and updates

    Contact

    • Contact

    Copyright © 2022 Dad Cooks Dinner

    39 shares
    • 6