Not cayennes.. eww!

For salsa fresca, Jals, Serranos, and maybe some roasted Anaheims.

But I make a fire-roasted salsa where everything but the herbs and spices get roasted. For that, I use Fresh Jals, Serranos, and Anaheims. I also add dried, toasted, and reconstituted Chiles de Arboles and Quajillos and for the hotter version, some dried Bhut and/or Naga powder.

Kevin

my favorite fresh mix: red fresno peppers as the main pepper component, some jalapeno/serrano for the green flavor, thai types, and some finely chopped super hots.

I've had good results with these spicy white/yellow-ish peppers they have at this market i go to. they don't always have them, but when they do, they add what i can best describe as a spicy crispness, neither green nor red pepper flavored. I realized recently I've always forgotten to grab seeds from them :(. they're medium sized, i think they are 'aji amarillo' or a spicy hungrarian type.

Generally, you would want to use meaty and juicy peppers. Serrano and Jalapeno fit well in this respect. I prefer Jalapeno for salsa for that reason. Use green ones for green salsa and red ones for red.

I'd use whatever flavor you like.
The hotter the pepper,the longer I'd let it blend before eating.

I like Chinense and especially 7 pots a LOT,BUT I only put them in salsa until I can taste them,mildly.

Let the salsa blend and it is the heat I like.

Find a taste you like better than what you are using for your taste.
I also like to combine peppers for flavor,seldom use only 1 pepper.
As suggested above,roast a few peppers in your heat range and combine them as needed for the perfect Salsa for your tastes.

Your post seems to be that you are looking for a more complexed blend rather than heat.

Add a few similar heat rated peppers like cascabel,Poblano,Chile Negro for flavor.
I grow several different peppers,I like blends best in general.
I do like some supers but the blend makes ends meet.

I use a lot of Chile Negro(chilaca),Cascabell and new mex varieties in my salsas,powders and rubs.
Blends are way better than any single pepper in my opinion.

Made some tonight with Tabascos...wow I really like the heat level of these little peppers :p
Jerry

I'm totally devoted to habaneros! I especially like the orange ones. The red ones from the farmers market taste like pure heat without the flavor that the orange ones have. But I may try growing a couple of carribean red ones next year just to see if I can get any better results. I like to grow them in containers so that I can bring them inside if its going to rain. Not giving them too much water seems to markedly improve the taste!

I also love to experiment and invent my own recipes. I'm still trying to perfect my homemade salsa recipe, but I am having ever so much fun doing it!

I made up a bunch with the peppers I had growing that I didn't have other uses for. I used Poblano and Anaheims. Yes, I know, not much if any heat there at all, but if I make it too hot, then no one wants to heat it around here. My next batch will probably have some Thai chilis however. I also have a plant that was supposed to be a Jalapeno and is similar but is putting out longer, skinnier peppers than Jalapenos. I may use some of them. It must be a cross. At least as hot as a Jalapeno though.

This might be considered sacrilege for some on this forum.. but I prefer making 'salsas' without tomatoes or citrus acid. My reasoning being that without them, you can highlight more of the pepper flavors. In a similar way ketchup can overpower other flavors. Especially for custom selected combos of pepper types.

I usually do ~equal amounts of peppers, onions and cilantro, with salt, vinegar and water. of course, there are variations with some simple spices, and other things to amp up the basic flavors in there.. its not meant to be a salsa per se, but whenever i bring it to an event, thats how people use it. (even the anti-cilantro-ites)

anyways, hope this helps with your interest in trying different pepper blends.

btw.. i confirmed yesterday at the market, those yellow chiles I mentioned are 'aji amarillo'. picking some seeds from them and the fresnos tonight. :-)

-E

There is a recipe for making salsa using fresh guajillos as the base. It's excellent and very mild. I had to throw in a couple Serrano's to kick it up.

John

Here is My Take : If you want moderate heat, it would be better to use just lots of moderately hot peppers like Jalapeno an Serrano. This way you do not need too much filler. But if, eg, you use Bhut, then you have to add a lot of filler to mellow it down. Unless your are a person who can eat a Bhut like a cucumber. LOL.