Local restaurant looking to beat hottest salsa record
Posted at: 11/20/2012 5:47 PM
| Updated at: 11/20/2012 6:25 PM
By: Stuart Dyson, KOB Eyewitness News 4
New Mexico's world famous El Pinto restaurant is taking another shot at making the hottest salsa on the planet.
El Pinto already holds the record for its Scorpion salsa, first whipped up in 2010, but this year's batch could exceed the heat for a new record.
It all starts with Trinidad Scorpion peppers grown here in New Mexico. We're talking chemical warfare grade heat here.
"El Pinto uses these to make the Scorpion salsa because these are extremely hot," said chile author and expert Dave DeWitt. "These are rating from 800,000 to a million Scoville heat units and the scorpion of course is the hottest chile pepper in the world."
That's 1,000 times hotter than the average green chile pepper, and it goes into El Pinto's regular salsa base of tomatoes, chile, jalapenos, onions, garlic and salt - all mixed together in a gleaming stainless steel stirring tank in El Pinto's industrial kitchen.
First taste honors went to Jim Thomas, who owns El Pinto along with his twin brother John. "Not too bad," he said after chewing a heaping teaspoon of the salsa. He did not say much more for a few minutes. This stuff does tend to attract your full attention.
"You know what I really like about it? It's got that heat and I really like very hot chile, but when I eat hot chile it causes hiccups," Thomas said. "I can eat the scorpion and feel the burn and not get the hiccups and it just has a really great feel."
After the tasting the first batch of salsa went into jars on El Pinto's automated assembly line. This year's new sizzle - you'll be able to get it in much more sensible small 2 or 3 ounce container cups. A little bit of the Scorpion goes a long way.
It'll be available starting Friday at elpinto.com or at the restaurant itself - 10500 4th NW in the valley north of Albuquerque.
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