The Border Table · Source Edition
Salsa Picante
A cooked tomato-jalapeño sauce that gains body from a half-hour simmer.
A compact 2021 pantry salsa with vinegar and a night in the refrigerator.
Cook it
A compact 2021 pantry salsa with vinegar and a night in the refrigerator.
- Combine. Put the tomato purée, fresh onion, jalapeños, vinegar, salt, dried onion and dried garlic in a saucepan. Add the 1⅓ cups water specified in the archived directions and stir.
- Simmer. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 30 minutes, until the sauce thickens to a spoonable consistency.
- Chill. Let the sauce cool, transfer to a covered container and refrigerate overnight before serving.
Serve it
Spoon it beside tacos or use it where a smooth, tangy red sauce is more useful than chopped pico de gallo. Keep chilled when not serving.
Understand it
What makes this version work
This is a cooked picante sauce, not a fresh chopped salsa. Tomato purée makes the base smooth while fresh jalapeño provides visible flecks and heat. The water belongs in the saucepan at the beginning; simmering reduces it so the finished sauce is neither raw-tasting nor thin. Leave the jalapeño seeds in if you want to follow the old card exactly.
Know it
The recorded recipe and its place at the table
The owner’s 2021 card records this specific canned-tomato, vinegar and jalapeño combination. It does not identify a restaurant, an inventor or a date when the sauce originated. Tex-Mex cooking has many restaurant and household salsa variations; this one is especially convenient when fresh tomatoes are not at their best. Its overnight refrigeration is part of the archived method, not a claim that every salsa needs a full day to develop.
Sources and method
About this version
The ingredient proportions and core method come from the owner’s 2021 Authentic Tex-Mex Recipes card. The Border Table has clarified the instructions for readers without claiming an undocumented inventor or origin for the exact formula. The external source gives broader culinary context; it does not authenticate the owner’s private recipe.
- Texas State Historical Association, Tex-Mex Foods.
- FoodSafety.gov, Four Steps to Food Safety — refrigeration and safe handling guidance where relevant.
See our corrections policy to suggest an update.
