One of the first things you look forward to at a Mexican restaurant is the chips and salsa. Usually, the server will place a bowl of juicy, slightly spicy, slightly sweet chunky tomato salsa on the table with crispy, hopefully warm, tortilla chips. But, if you’re truly lucky, the restaurant will also have salsa borracha.
The key to any flavorful salsa may be the tomatoes, but the bold taste of salsa borracha comes from alcohol (“borracha” is the Spanish word for drunken). Although some salsa borracha recipes use mezcal or tequila, most rely on beer’s maltiness to enhance the flavor. In most recipes, about ¼ to ½ cup is used as the cooking liquid for simmering chili peppers or poured over and mixed in as ingredients are browned in a pan. Despite the salsa’s name, the alcohol evaporates during cooking, so you won’t have to worry about any “drunken” guests at your table.
Chefs and home cooks don’t seem to prefer one beer or another, noting that dark Mexican beers like Negro Modelo will add a bolder flavor to the salsa while a light lager like Dos Equis will bring a refreshing, crispness. Either way, finding a beer that meets your taste preference won’t be difficult since some of the most popular beers sold in the United States are made in Mexico.
Roasting the ingredients brings out smokiness
The other element to salsa borracha that makes it different is its smokiness, which is layered into the dish using dried chilis and roasting or browning the ingredients before blending them. Antonio Nuño, the executive chef at the Grand Hyatt Playa del Carmen resort, told Chowhound that roasting the ingredients is one of five essential tips for making restaurant-style salsa at home. While any pepper might do for this particular salsa, recipes often call for those with a little more heat, like chilis de arbol or a sweet touch with pasilla chili, a dark chocolate-brown dried pepper with a slight raisiny flavor.
There are many variations and twists when making salsa borracha. However, most recipes call for a mix of beer, tomatillos, tomatoes, onion, garlic, cilantro, salt, and oil. Once all the ingredients have been cooked, combine them in a blender or food processor. Or, if you really want some Mexican flair, use a molcajete, the mortar and pestle made from lava rock often used for guacamole.
Despite its strong smoky flavor, salsa borracha pairs well with chips, but is particularly refreshing on chicken, meat, and fish tacos. It is also great with barbacoa, the slow-cooked meat popular in Mexico. No matter how you serve it, this salsa will make you say, “Cheers!”
