Chimayó Red Chile Recipes

RANCHO DE CHIMAYó CARNE ADOVADA

Steps:

• If using whole chiles, preheat oven to 300°. Break stems off chile pods, tear pods open a little, and pull out seeds. "Wear rubber gloves if you are not used to handling chiles," Malcolm advises, since chiles can cause a burning sensation. "A few seeds add more heat, but adding a lot of them can make the sauce crunchy."
• Put chiles in a 4- to 6-qt. pot, rinse, and drain. Dry pot to use later.
• Arrange damp chiles in a single layer on two baking sheets and toast in oven until fragrant, 3 to 5 minutes (they won't dry completely). Let cool, then break each chile into 2 or 3 pieces. "The time in the oven deepens the flavor, but the toasting probably goes back to cooks who had to grind the chiles by hand. Toasted pods are more brittle and easier to crush."
• Make sauce: Warm oil in 6-qt. pot over medium heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring, 2 minutes. If using preground chiles, sprinkle over garlic, then gradually whisk in 3 1/2 cups water.
• If using whole chiles, purée half of them in a blender with 1 1/2 cups water until you get a thick, velvety liquid with flecks of chile pulp, about 2 minutes. Pour into pot of garlic. Repeat with remaining pods and another 1 1/2 cups water. "Use 1 more cup of water to rinse out the blender, then pour it into the pot so you get all the good chile bits."
• Stir in onion, chile pequin, oregano, and garlic salt. "The chile pequin, a hotter, smaller red chile, adds heat and texture to the sauce." Bring to a boil over medium heat, covered; then reduce heat, uncover, and simmer 20 to 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until as thick as fudge sauce. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature. Stir in pork, making sure all pieces of meat are coated. Cover and chill overnight.
• The next day, preheat oven to 300°. Bake, covered, until pork is fork-tender and sauce has cooked down, 2 3/4 to 3 1/4 hours. Stir halfway through. If the sauce looks watery after 3 1/4 hours, stir well again and cook uncovered for another 15 to 20 minutes. Taste and season with more garlic salt if you like.
• Make ahead: Up to 1 week, chilled (add a bit of water to reheat in oven or on stove).
• *Find ground Chimayó chiles (in limited supply) at santafeschoolofcooking.com ($25/4-oz. pkg.). Ordinary New Mexico chiles can be found at well-stocked grocery stores and Latino markets.

CASA CHIMAYO RED POSOLE

Steps:

• You will essentially be preparing this recipe in three stages: pork, chile and posole. These are then combined into the final posole.
• For the pork: Place the pork shoulder in a pot and cover with water. Add the salt, bay leaf and onion. Bring to a boil, and then cook over medium heat until tender and falling off the bone, about 1 1/2 hrs.
• Remove the meat from the broth and let cool; reserve the broth for later. Pull the meat from the bones and cut into bite-size pieces.
• For the chile: Put the chile pods in about 2 cups of the hot broth (enough to allow the pods to puree easily in a blender) and let soak until soft, about 20 minutes.
• Put the broth, pods and garlic in a blender and blend until smooth. (Do not fill the blender more than halfway with liquid.) Add salt to taste and set aside.
• For the posole: Drain and rinse the posole. Put the posole in a cooking pot and cover with water; use about 2 parts water to 1 part posole. Add the onion and salt. Bring to a boil, and then lower the heat and simmer until the posole has started to "bloom", 1 to 1 1/2 hours. The posole will swell and start to resemble popcorn, but will still be chewy. At this point, add the pork, chile and any remaining broth into the posole and let it finish cooking. The key to a successful posole is watching for it to finish blooming. Posole is fully cooked when it has opened completely, and is tender when chewed. Taste and adjust seasonings.
• Serve in a bowl and place the garnishes on the table so that each person fixes their own.

NEW MEXICO RED CHILE SAUCE

Steps:

• Heat the vegetable oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Once hot, add the garlic and the onion. Saute in the oil for about 3 minutes, until the onion is translucent. Then whisk in the flour. Let the flour cook for 2 minutes, whisking it frequently. In a large bowl, whisk the red chile powder and the water together. While whisking the flour mixture, slowly add the red chile and water mixture. Whisk until smooth and bring to a steady simmer and let the sauce thicken over medium-low heat for 5 minutes. Stir frequently. Once the sauce has thickened, add the salt, cumin, and oregano. Let the sauce simmer on low for another 3 minutes. I like to bottle the sauce up in mason jars. I think the sauce tastes best after it has been sitting in the fridge overnight. This recipe yields 3 3/4 cups of red chile sauce. Charles and I ate it all in 5 days.

VEGETARIAN (OR NOT) RED CHILI SAUCE

Steps:

• Into a large, heavy saucepan, measure the chile, onion, garlic, salt and pepper.
• Slowly add the broth or water, stirring carefully. Break up any lumps of chile.
• Cook the mixture over medium heat until warmed through, and add the cornstarch.
• Bring the sauce to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer.
• Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• The completed sauce should coat a spoon thickly and no longer taste of raw cornstarch.
• Serve the sauce warm with enchiladas, burritos or other dishes.
• For a "meat" sauce, crumble and brown 1/2 pound of ground beef in pan first, then proceed with recipe.

RED CHILE BREAKFAST SANDWICH

Steps:

• Warm oil in a heavy saucepan over medium heat.
• Add chopped onion and garlic and saute until onion is limp.
• Stir in chile powder and let toast a minute while stirring.
• Add stock, 1/2 cup at a time. Stir well.
• Add oregano and salt and bring just to a boil. Reduce heat to a bare simmer and cook for 20-25 minutes until thickened. (This is a thin sauce but you may want to simmer it longer if you want a thicker consistency.)
• This sauce keeps for a few weeks in the fridge. You can freeze it also, but I think if it is in your fridge you will find a way to use it!
• Cook chorizo in skillet over medium heat. It crumbles easier if cooked on a lower heat and not on a high heat.
• Slice bread into thick slices. Toast and butter. Keep warm.
• Grate cheese and chop cilantro and onions.
• After chorizo is cooked, remove from skillet.
• Add 1T butter and melt. Slowly crack one egg into skillet and fry-one per person to your favorite degree of doneness. (Personally, I scramble mine but the rabbit hunter likes his fried).
• Top bread with a layer of chorizo. Top that with shredded cheese. Top that with the egg. Now ladle red chile on top. Garnish with cilantro and green onions.
• Prepare for a sultry, warm, rich, taste to enchant your senses. This is red chile!