Salsas are the second crucial building block of the Mexican grill. Colorful, spicy, and always fun, salsas enliven all types of food. Grilled foods seem to demand the picante, cleansing edge that they give. Using techniques from pre-conquest Mexico, we will make more than a dozen salsas, each a bundle of unexpected flavor. Fresh, soft tortillas form the third building block, bringing together seasoned meat and salsa.
Tortillas are indispensable to the Mexican grill.
And corn, not flour, tortillas are the whole-grain foundation of the Mexican grill. Finally, we need a fire to grill over. You can grill successfully over gas or charcoal briquettes, or even simulate a grill with a hot iron skillet, but nothing tastes of Mexico like mesquite. I will discuss fires, grills, and most important, what to grill and how to grill it. It is about a few ingredients, creatively prepared and combined to maximize flavor, then cooked over a fire, and served with spicy, contrasting salsa.