Hello,

I moved to Texas from the East Coast three years ago. After enjoying the
cuisine, I started to cook the local fare, BBQ and brisket were easy
ramp-ups, but I'm having the worst time with Pico de Gallo.

The restaurants serve it "crisp" and "relatively dry" and that's the part I
can't reproduce. Mine always turns out "soupy," more of a salsa than a
relish, as all the Pico recipes say it should be.

My ingredients are, for a small batch:

2 large tomatoes, diced
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, or 1.5 Tbs of commercial ground garlic
Salt and Pepper
~1.5 Tbs Cilantro
1 large Jalapeno or 2 Serrano, or mixed

All combined and mixed --> it's just mush, to me

Nobody turns it away, and nobody refuses to eat it because of the
consistency. And most say the taste is more impt. than the consistency, but
I'd like to know the secret of making it "dryer."

Suggestions?

Craig

Driver wrote:
> Hello,
>
> I moved to Texas from the East Coast three years ago. After enjoying the
> cuisine, I started to cook the local fare, BBQ and brisket were easy
> ramp-ups, but I'm having the worst time with Pico de Gallo.
>
> The restaurants serve it "crisp" and "relatively dry" and that's the part I
> can't reproduce. Mine always turns out "soupy," more of a salsa than a
> relish, as all the Pico recipes say it should be.
>
> My ingredients are, for a small batch:
>
> 2 large tomatoes, diced
> 1 medium onion, diced
> 2 cloves garlic, or 1.5 Tbs of commercial ground garlic
> Salt and Pepper
> ~1.5 Tbs Cilantro
> 1 large Jalapeno or 2 Serrano, or mixed
>
> All combined and mixed --> it's just mush, to me
>
> Nobody turns it away, and nobody refuses to eat it because of the
> consistency. And most say the taste is more impt. than the consistency, but
> I'd like to know the secret of making it "dryer."
>
> Suggestions?
>
> Craig
>
>

Try different tomatoes. The Italian-type seem dryer and fleshier.


jim

Possibly seed the tomato.

Where on the east coast you from?

peace,
stephen s.

On Thu, 04 Mar 2004 03:33:14 GMT, "Driver"
> wrote:

>Hello,
>
>I moved to Texas from the East Coast three years ago. After enjoying the
>cuisine, I started to cook the local fare, BBQ and brisket were easy
>ramp-ups, but I'm having the worst time with Pico de Gallo.
>
>The restaurants serve it "crisp" and "relatively dry" and that's the part I
>can't reproduce. Mine always turns out "soupy," more of a salsa than a
>relish, as all the Pico recipes say it should be.
>
>My ingredients are, for a small batch:
>
>2 large tomatoes, diced
>1 medium onion, diced
>2 cloves garlic, or 1.5 Tbs of commercial ground garlic
>Salt and Pepper
>~1.5 Tbs Cilantro
>1 large Jalapeno or 2 Serrano, or mixed
>
>All combined and mixed --> it's just mush, to me
>
>Nobody turns it away, and nobody refuses to eat it because of the
>consistency. And most say the taste is more impt. than the consistency, but
>I'd like to know the secret of making it "dryer."
>
>Suggestions?
>
>Craig
>

On Thu, 04 Mar 2004 03:33:14 GMT, "Driver"
> wrote:


> I'm having the worst time with Pico de Gallo.
>
>The restaurants serve it "crisp" and "relatively dry" and that's the part I
>can't reproduce. Mine always turns out "soupy," more of a salsa than a
>relish, as all the Pico recipes say it should be.
>
>My ingredients are, for a small batch:
>
>2 large tomatoes, diced

<snip recipe>

As previous posts said, the plum-type tomatoes are less juicy, and
seeding (de-seeding?) before chopping will get rid of a lot of the
water. You might also salt lightly and drain the chopped tomatoes in
sieve for a few minutes before adding to other ingredients.

Driver wrote:

> The restaurants serve it "crisp" and "relatively dry" and that's the part I
> can't reproduce. Mine always turns out "soupy," more of a salsa than a
> relish, as all the Pico recipes say it should be.

Even though pico de gallo is something different to me not involving
chopped tomatoes, chiles and onions, I do sometimes make a coarse
and fairly dry salsa such as you describe. Works great for stuffing
boneless chicken breast or pork tenderloin and for spooning over
most any grilled meat or fish.

Here's what I do...

Using firm fleshed tomatoes (I use roma), peel and seed the tomatoes,
making sure to remove all the gelatinous material in the seed cavities.
Chop the tomatoes and everything else (onions, chiles, cilantro,
whatever) fairly coarse with a sharp knife (so as not to bludgeon
the veggies) and toss together with a few grinds of coarse black
pepper. Dice a couple cloves of garlic, sprinkle with coarse salt
and crush with the tines of a dinner fork. Blend crushed garlic into
the mix. Check for taste and texture, adding a salt and/or ground
black pepper if necessary. If it's too dry, add a squeeze or two
of lime juice, otherwise serve and enjoy.

Rich

Rich McCormack wrote:

> Even though pico de gallo is something different to me not involving
> chopped tomatoes, chiles and onions, I do sometimes make a coarse

What is pico de gallo to you? I am most familiar with it as minced fruit
with some chili. Excellent on fish and pork.


jim

Jim Lane wrote:
>
> Rich McCormack wrote:
>
> > Even though pico de gallo is something different to me not involving
> > chopped tomatoes, chiles and onions, I do sometimes make a coarse
>
> What is pico de gallo to you? I am most familiar with it as minced fruit
> with some chili. Excellent on fish and pork.

A sorta fruit "salad" of bite size wedges and pieces of fruit
(typically jicama, orange and whatever) served on a platter
with a shaker or bowl of mixed salt and ground chiles on the
side to sprinkle on per individual discretion. Came across
a recipe (actually more discription) back in the 1970s. I'd
never heard of it before, tried it and liked it. That's been
Pico de Gallo to me ever since.

Rich

Stephen,

I moved to Texas from Raleigh N.C, and miss things like trees, beaches, and
mountains

Will relocate back for job and can bring great pico de galllo --> now!

"Seed the tomato" is the secret. Thank you all.

"barchetta" > wrote in message
...
> Possibly seed the tomato.
>
> Where on the east coast you from?
>
> peace,
> stephen s.
>
> On Thu, 04 Mar 2004 03:33:14 GMT, "Driver"
> > wrote:
>
> >Hello,
> >
> >I moved to Texas from the East Coast three years ago. After enjoying the
> >cuisine, I started to cook the local fare, BBQ and brisket were easy
> >ramp-ups, but I'm having the worst time with Pico de Gallo.
> >
> >The restaurants serve it "crisp" and "relatively dry" and that's the part
I
> >can't reproduce. Mine always turns out "soupy," more of a salsa than a
> >relish, as all the Pico recipes say it should be.
> >
> >My ingredients are, for a small batch:
> >
> >2 large tomatoes, diced
> >1 medium onion, diced
> >2 cloves garlic, or 1.5 Tbs of commercial ground garlic
> >Salt and Pepper
> >~1.5 Tbs Cilantro
> >1 large Jalapeno or 2 Serrano, or mixed
> >
> >All combined and mixed --> it's just mush, to me
> >
> >Nobody turns it away, and nobody refuses to eat it because of the
> >consistency. And most say the taste is more impt. than the consistency,
but
> >I'd like to know the secret of making it "dryer."
> >
> >Suggestions?
> >
> >Craig
> >
>

Rich McCormack wrote:
> Jim Lane wrote:
>
>>Rich McCormack wrote:
>>
>>
>>>Even though pico de gallo is something different to me not involving
>>>chopped tomatoes, chiles and onions, I do sometimes make a coarse
>>
>>What is pico de gallo to you? I am most familiar with it as minced fruit
>>with some chili. Excellent on fish and pork.
>
>
> A sorta fruit "salad" of bite size wedges and pieces of fruit
> (typically jicama, orange and whatever) served on a platter
> with a shaker or bowl of mixed salt and ground chiles on the
> side to sprinkle on per individual discretion. Came across
> a recipe (actually more discription) back in the 1970s. I'd
> never heard of it before, tried it and liked it. That's been
> Pico de Gallo to me ever since.
>
> Rich

Essentially we're on the same boat. I was introduced to it back in the
60s. However, mere mortals have usurped the meaning and use it in the
most generic form. Their loss.


jim

On Thu, 04 Mar 2004 14:06:53 -0800, Jim Lane >
wrote:

>Rich McCormack wrote:
>
>> Even though pico de gallo is something different to me not involving
>> chopped tomatoes, chiles and onions, I do sometimes make a coarse
>
>What is pico de gallo to you? I am most familiar with it as minced fruit
>with some chili. Excellent on fish and pork.

According to the the 'Food Lover's Companion' dictionary:

"Spanish for 'rooster's beak,' pico de gallo is a relish made of
finely chopped ingredients like JÍCAMA, oranges, onions, bell peppers,
jalapeño peppers and cucumbers, along with various seasonings. This
condiment was so named because it was once purportedly eaten with the
thumb and finger, an action that resembles a rooster's pecking beak."

However, current usage is to call chunky tomato/chile salsa 'Pico de
Gallo.' It's really 'salsa fresca', but if restaurants called it
that, people would ask where the soda pop was. :-)

You're absolutely right. I like to make mine with cucumber along with the
fruit.

Linda

"Rich McCormack" > wrote in message
...
>
> Jim Lane wrote:
> >
> > Rich McCormack wrote:
> >
> > > Even though pico de gallo is something different to me not involving
> > > chopped tomatoes, chiles and onions, I do sometimes make a coarse
> >
> > What is pico de gallo to you? I am most familiar with it as minced fruit
> > with some chili. Excellent on fish and pork.
>
> A sorta fruit "salad" of bite size wedges and pieces of fruit
> (typically jicama, orange and whatever) served on a platter
> with a shaker or bowl of mixed salt and ground chiles on the
> side to sprinkle on per individual discretion. Came across
> a recipe (actually more discription) back in the 1970s. I'd
> never heard of it before, tried it and liked it. That's been
> Pico de Gallo to me ever since.
>
> Rich

Hi,

Maybe you should try using more jalapenos. I use six or seven.


"Driver" > wrote in message
hlink.net...
> Hello,
>
> I moved to Texas from the East Coast three years ago. After enjoying the
> cuisine, I started to cook the local fare, BBQ and brisket were easy
> ramp-ups, but I'm having the worst time with Pico de Gallo.
>
> The restaurants serve it "crisp" and "relatively dry" and that's the part
I
> can't reproduce. Mine always turns out "soupy," more of a salsa than a
> relish, as all the Pico recipes say it should be.
>
> My ingredients are, for a small batch:
>
> 2 large tomatoes, diced
> 1 medium onion, diced
> 2 cloves garlic, or 1.5 Tbs of commercial ground garlic
> Salt and Pepper
> ~1.5 Tbs Cilantro
> 1 large Jalapeno or 2 Serrano, or mixed
>
> All combined and mixed --> it's just mush, to me
>
> Nobody turns it away, and nobody refuses to eat it because of the
> consistency. And most say the taste is more impt. than the consistency,
but
> I'd like to know the secret of making it "dryer."
>
> Suggestions?
>
> Craig
>
>

I dice the tomatoes -- seeds and all-- and put them in a colander to drain
while I'm chopping the rest of the ingredients. I don't add a ton of lime
(a couple of tablespoons tops) and add salt right before serving (salt is
necessary but brings all the juices out, use sparingly). all this cuts down
on the 'soupy' effect...

"Carol Klarr" > wrote in message
...
> Hi,
>
> Maybe you should try using more jalapenos. I use six or seven.
>
>
> "Driver" > wrote in message
> hlink.net...
> > Hello,
> >
> > I moved to Texas from the East Coast three years ago. After enjoying the
> > cuisine, I started to cook the local fare, BBQ and brisket were easy
> > ramp-ups, but I'm having the worst time with Pico de Gallo.
> >
> > The restaurants serve it "crisp" and "relatively dry" and that's the
part
> I
> > can't reproduce. Mine always turns out "soupy," more of a salsa than a
> > relish, as all the Pico recipes say it should be.
> >
> > My ingredients are, for a small batch:
> >
> > 2 large tomatoes, diced
> > 1 medium onion, diced
> > 2 cloves garlic, or 1.5 Tbs of commercial ground garlic
> > Salt and Pepper
> > ~1.5 Tbs Cilantro
> > 1 large Jalapeno or 2 Serrano, or mixed
> >
> > All combined and mixed --> it's just mush, to me
> >
> > Nobody turns it away, and nobody refuses to eat it because of the
> > consistency. And most say the taste is more impt. than the consistency,
> but
> > I'd like to know the secret of making it "dryer."
> >
> > Suggestions?
> >
> > Craig
> >
> >
>
>

Craig, I'm coming in late to this posting but, be sure to use red ripe Roma
tomatoes, cut of the end, squeeze out the seeds and juices. Lay them on their
side so that you would be slicing through the stem area parallel to the table.
Slice in half. Then lay both halves flat side down, and slice downward longest
length so that you halve them again, and cut fairly large dice in relation to
the onion which is a smaller dice.

The trick is to remove the placenta and seeds and then slice lengthwise.