“Dog’s Snout” Salsa

The world’s most colorfully named salsa—xni pec (pronounced shnee pek)—is also one of the hottest. Xni is Mayan for dog, pec for nose or snout. Just why it’s got this name is a matter of debate. The likely explanation is that the habañero peppers make your nose run, an effect I can readily attest to—and a dog’s nose is always wet. Or maybe it has to do with the salsa’s pugnacious bite. I’ve given a range of peppers; in the Yucatán they’d use the full eight (for less hea