Building heat without losing flavor — the chile stacking method

The problem with most hot salsas: they are hot but they taste like heat and not much else. The solution is to layer chiles that peak at different points in the eating experience. My current stack: fresh jalapeño for the immediate front heat you feel in the first two seconds. Dried arbol rehydrated and added to the blend for the middle heat that builds as you eat. A small amount of chipotle for the finish heat that lingers and has the smoke you cannot get from the other two. Each chile is doing a different temporal job. The result is a hot salsa with a flavor arc instead of just a wall of heat.