Your Guide To Tomatillos

It’s here! Your Guide To Tomatillos has arrived!

Tomatillos can be a very foreign piece of produce if you’ve never even held one. I know, because that was my predicament. But I really wanted to try my hand at a homemade verde sauce (tomatillo salsa), so off to the store I marched.

I came home with 2 pounds of fresh tomatillos, and made that verde sauce the very next day. But I had to do my research to know exactly how to choose them, and what to do with them once I got them home. This is a collection of the information I found which I bundled up for you in this guide to tomatillos!

YOUR GUIDE TO TOMATILLOS:

Your Guide To Tomatillos. This image shows three tomatillos grouped together with their skins still in tact. The lettering over the image makes it look more like a book cover.

WHAT TOMATILLOS LOOK LIKE:

Tomatillos have a thin, papery layer called a husk, over the fruit. Once that layer is peeled back, it’s just like a tomato, only green.

Image of a tomatillo with the husk removed and sitting to the side of it. The bright green tomatillo sits just to the left of the husk which has been flattened out like a star.

When cut open, they have white flesh with small, yellowish seeds.

A tomatillo cut in half, showing it's white insides with small yellow seeds.

WHAT THEY’RE USED FOR:

Tomatillos are used heavily in Mexican recipes. They are used for Salsa Verde recipes, they can be fried and served with dipping sauce, or even used in curry, soups or jam, sweet sauce or margaritas!

WHAT IT TASTES LIKE:

They are tart and remind me a lot of a lemon, but with far less pucker.

SELECTING GOOD TOMATILLOS:

This was the part that stumped me the most. But it turned out to be very, very simple. When you select your tomatillos, feel through the husk to be sure the fruit underneath is firm and smooth all around. You can peel back the husk just slightly to see the color of the tomatillo as well. Be respectful of people who may want to purchase a tomatillo that you don’t by peeling just a tiny bit, enough to see the color underneath. You want it to be bright green. If you feel bumps through the husk, put it back because this sort of thing is most likely what you will end up with.

A tomatillo with it's husk pulled up to show overgrown, blistery sides. This depicts a tomatillo that should not be purchased.

Make sure the husk is a nice green color and that the tomatillo fills most of it. If there is a lot of air between the husk and the fruit inside, pass it up for another. Basically, the husk should be a nice, easy fit over the fruit. If it seems like the fruit is much smaller than the husk, it’s probably not a good option. You may have to feel a few of these to get an understanding of what feels right.

And lastly, when you take a peak under the husk, be sure you don’t see any cracks. Small ones aren’t the end of the world, but you really want a nice, smooth and unbroken skin.

A tomatillo with the husk removed showing cracks in it's shiny green skin depicts a tomatillo which should not be purchased.

PRE-USE STORAGE:

First and foremost, do not peel the husk off until you are ready to use the tomatillos. With that layer in tact, they can last a couple of weeks. Some people say you can keep them on the countertop, but I vote for the fridge. Most things  seem to last longer and stay safer in the fridge.

CLEANING:

When you are ready to use them, simply peel back the papery layer. It’s easiest to start peeling at the bottom end.

A single tomatillo having it's husk peeled away to show it's bright, shiny, green skin underneath.

Peel it completely off…

A single tomatillo with the husk pulled back looks like a star with the tomatillo still attached and sitting on top.

… then pull the stem off along with the papery husk.

A tomatillo having it's husk removed. Image shows the removal of the husk at the stem area.

You will notice that there is some stickiness involved. You’ll feel it on your fingers. Simply wash the tomatillos in water or a produce cleaner. If you find that water isn’t doing the trick, you can also wipe them down with a little white vinegar and it will come right off. You don’t want to eat that sticky stuff.

Cleaning your tomatillos is critical. Image shows the sticky coating of the tomatillo being wiped off with a white cloth and some vinegar.

HOW TO PREPARE THEM:

What you do with them at this point will depend on your intended recipe. They can be enjoyed raw or broiled/roasted. If you want to broil them, place them on a baking sheet (no oil) and roast them under the broiler, making sure that the shelf you set them on is about 4 inches from the broiler flame. You will broil them for approximately 4-5 minutes on one side, turn them over and roast them for 3-4 minutes on the other side. You want them to blister. Some of them may collapse if they get too much heat. If that happens, simply scoop up the tomatillo and the juices for your recipe.

Several tomatillos on a baking sheet that have blistered tops from being roasted.

CLEAN EATING RECIPES FOR TOMATILLOS:

As I mentioned above, this was my first time using them. So the only recipe I have so far is for Salsa Verde. But D.A.N.G. was that good salsa verde!!!

WHAT TO DO WITH A LOT OF TOMATILLOS:

If you grow them or somehow end up with a large amount of tomatillos, follow the steps for cleaning them, make sure they are dry  and then simply freeze them. It’s best to freeze them on a cookie sheet first so they don’t stick together. But if you don’t have room for that, you can put them in a zipper-top storage bag, be sure to squeeze the air out as much as possible, and store in the freezer for up to 10-12 months.

I hope this guide to tomatillos was helpful! If you know of something I didn’t include here, please feel free to share in a comment below.

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2 Comments

  1. Thank you for posting this helpful article on Tomatillos. I am in the process of making a salsa/salad which includes these tomatillos. The information I was trying to find was about the stickiness after washing them in water. Now, I will try the vinegar method because I don’t have a produce cleaner (natural cleaner is better).
    Once again, thank you for your help.