Give Your Salsa The East Texas Treatment With One Squeezable Addition

Chips and salsa are staples of any Mexican restaurant table, but in the realm of Tex-Mex, this appetizer can be a whole different story. At most Mexican restaurants, you'll be served a green salsa, a red salsa, and maybe a pico de gallo variety. But in East Texas, you might be served all three along with a side of squeezable butter.

Now of course, a squirt of butter doesn't exactly scream authentic Mexican cuisine, but it actually does scream Tex-Mex. Traditional Mexican food usually lands on the spicier side, and often comes with fresh herbs and more complex flavors. However, Tex-Mex toppings, food, and ingredients are known for creaminess, and often incorporate lots of dairy.

While squeezing butter into salsa does fall in line with this flavor profile, many have emphasized that this is a very regional practice specific to Northeast Texas. On Reddit, one person even said that no "civilized Texan" would participate in this practice. On the other hand, a Northeast Texas chain told Chron that it's been serving the butter-and-salsa combo for more than 30 years.

While all of Northeast Texas hasn't laid claim to the practice of adding butter to salsa, the consensus on why it's done is pretty clear. People say adding butter to salsa helps reduce its spice level and add richness.

Jalapeño Tree, a restaurant chain based in Tyler, Texas, told Chron that the convention of adding butter to salsa has been around for a long time. "Although we didn't introduce this custom, it's become a popular choice for customers seeking a richer texture and unique flavor," said the restaurant's representative. "Some people also say it takes the heat out of the salsa a little bit." As the restaurant noted, people aren't sure about who or when the addition of butter to salsa first started. However, one Reddit user who said they lived in Northeast Texas during the 1980s said the practice was common during this time. They also expressed their surprise and mild disgust at finding out that it's still being done today. 

Another proposed theory around the origins of this practice stems from the beginnings of the Albert's Hot Sauce company, which began nearly 100 years ago. It started when founder Jose Alberto Madariaga II moved to Kilgore, Texas from San Luis Potosi, Mexico, and eventually opened his own restaurant, Albert's Mexican Village in the Northeastern Texas city. The restaurant served Albert's Hot Sauce with saltine crackers and butter instead of tortilla chips. But whenever this odd butter and salsa combo started, it doesn't seem to have gained enough popularity to be beloved outside of this particular region of the Lone Star state.