Tomatoes and garlic from my garden, the rest store-bought. Smoked/grilled everything on the pellet grill, then went for a simple 2.5% salt ferment (by total weight). Letting it sit 2–3 days at room temp before moving to the fridge. Already smells unreal — smoky, garlicky, tangy perfection in progress.”
by Minimum-Art9125
6 Comments
Grilled & Fermented Garden Salsa (2.5% Salt Ferment)
Ingredients:
– 10 medium garden tomatoes
– 2 onions
– 10 cloves garlic
– 2 poblano peppers
– 1 jalapeño
– Juice of 3 limes
– Cilantro to taste
– ½ cube chicken bouillon (counted toward total salt weight)
– ½ tsp cumin
– 2.5% total weight salt (by weight of all ingredients combined)
Process:
1. Grill or char about half of the vegetables (tomatoes, onions, peppers, garlic) just enough to soften and develop flavor — leave the rest raw to preserve natural bacteria for fermentation.
2. Rough chop everything, then blend to your preferred texture (mine leaned smoother than chunky).
3. Weigh the full batch and mix in 2.5% salt by total weight, accounting for the salt in the bouillon cube.
4. Pack into jars, pressing down firmly to remove air pockets. Leave about 1 inch of headspace.
5. Ferment at room temperature for 2–3 days, burping daily and pressing solids down if needed.
6. Transfer to the fridge once it smells bright, garlicky, and tangy.
Notes:
This batch used garden tomatoes and garlic, with the rest store-bought. It’s my first time combining grilled flavor with a short ferment — aiming for that sweet spot between roasted depth and clean acidity. Already smells unreal.
Looks amazing!!
That looks packed full of flavor!
Nice work
Will roasting everything kill the lactobacillus and effect its ability to ferment?
Solid! What does the fermentation do? Give a little more bite?