This recipe is adapted from one that appears in Matt Martinet's Culinary Frontier: A Real Texas Cookbook by Matt Martinez, Jr. and Steve Fate (Doubleday, 1997).

It's great with chips, but it's heavenly with barbecue, steaks, and scrambled eggs. If you don't have a smoker, a barbecue pit will do.

Combine ingredients in a heavy pot, and place the pot (uncovered) in a smoker for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until the vegetables are soft. (Do not allow the sauce to become dry; add more water if needed.) Remove pot from smoker.

Mash (do not blend) the vegetables, taking care to mash one chili at a time until salsa tastes hot enough; discard any extra chilies. (Salsa will be chunky.) Adjust the salt to taste. Store in an airtight container in refrigerator (will keep about 2 weeks). Yield: 2 cups.

Note: For a thicker salsa, combine 1 Tbs. cornstarch with 2 Tbs. water, and drizzle the mixture into the salsa while it's still hot. Simmer on low heat for 5 to 10 minutes until salsa reaches the desired thickness. If it becomes too thick, simply add a bit more water.

Posted to the BBQ List by "Glen G. Hosey" <hosey@erols.com> on Apr 12, 1998.