Traditional New Mexican Red Chile Sauce Recipes

SALSA ROJA RECIPE - MEXICAN RED TABLE SAUCE

Steps:

• Add tomatoes, onion, peppers, garlic, cilantro and lime juice to a food processor. Process until fairly smooth.
• Heat a large pot to medium heat and add olive oil. Add the salsa and it will sear quickly.
• Add cumin and bit of salt.
• Bring to a quick boil and reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer for 15-20 minutes.
• Season with salt if needed and stir.
• Cool and refrigerate until ready to use.
• Serve it up in a squeeze bottle like they do in Mexican restaurants for fun!

EASY NEW MEXICAN RED CHILE SAUCE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.
• Arrange 20 chile pods on a cookie sheet and roast for 20 minutes
• Flip chiles halfway through roasting process
• After chiles have cooled to touch,remove stems and seeds
• Add chiles and onion to large pasta pot and cover with water
• Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes
• Strain the chiles if desired, or reserve 2 cups of water for blending
• Carefully remove chiles and onion from pot and add to blender
• Add remaining ingredients and blend until smooth

MEXICAN RED CHILE SAUCE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
• Place chiles on a baking sheet. Toast lightly in oven, 3 or 4 minutes, until they give off a mild aroma. Do not burn, otherwise, chiles will be very bitter.
• Remove chiles from oven and set aside until cool enough to handle.
• Remove and discard stems, seeds, and any pink pithy materials.
• Rinse chiles in cool water, drain briefly, then cover with hot water and soak for an hour.
• Process chiles in blender with enough of the soaking water to obtain a nice, blended consistency.
• Add remaining water, tomato sauce, garlic, oil, salt, oregano, and cumin. Simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Sauce can be refrigerated for up to 1 week or frozen for later use.

AUTHENTIC MEXICAN RED CHILE SAUCE

Steps:

• Remove the stem of each dried chile. Shake out as many of the seeds as possible. (Make sure you are wearing gloves, and avoid touching your eyes/face).
• Heat your skillet on medium heat. Place your dried chiles on the skillet, pressing them down to toast them slightly on each side (10-15 seconds). You don't want to burn them or it will result in bitter sauce.
• Add your chiles to a small saucepan, add water (just enough to cover). Bring to a boil, turn off the heat. Allow them to sit for up to 10 minutes to rehydrate.
• Remove the chiles from the soaking water and place them in a blender. Add just under two cups of the soaking liquid. (If your soaking liquid is bitter then discard and add regular water).
• Puree for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Pour through a fine mesh strainer into a skillet with the olive oil. Bring the sauce to a low simmer, add your salt, and any additional optional ingredients.
• Brown sugar will tone down the spice, while cocoa/cacao will compliment the spicy sauce. Consider adding a pinch of any of the optional ingredients or more based on your preference.
• Skim off the foam as the sauce simmers, then remove from the heat and store in a glass jar. Refrigerate and use within one week.

NEW MEXICO RED CHILE SAUCE

Steps:

• Coat the bottom of a heavy saucepan with oil; add chile pods. Toast over medium heat until aromatic, about 3 minutes.
• Stir in onion and garlic; cook and stir until fragrant, about 5 minutes. Add enough chicken stock to allow pods to float; simmer until they develop the texture of wet leather, 5 to 7 minutes.
• Fill blender halfway with chile-stock mixture. Cover and hold lid down with a potholder; pulse a few times before leaving on to blend. Pour into a bowl; repeat with remaining mixture. Strain sauce through a fine mesh strainer into a saucepan over medium heat. Discard solids.
• Stir cumin, coriander, and oregano into the saucepan; add honey. Cook until sauce is thick and evenly coats the back of a spoon, about 10 minutes.

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.

BASIC RED CHILE SAUCE

Steps:

• In a heavy saucepan, melt the butter. Add the flour and cook, stirring, until the mixture turns slightly golden. Remove the pan from the cooking heat and stir in the chile powders. Stir in the stock. Continue stirring until the mixture becomes smooth.
• Add the garlic, oregano, and cumin and simmer for about 10 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasonings, adding salt, if desired.

AUTHENTIC ENCHILADA SAUCE

Steps:

• Start with that all important step: Roasting! Heat a heavy non-stick skillet (I like to use cast iron) over medium-high heat. Don't add any oil. Lay the dried peppers on the skillet and toast them for a minute or two on each, just until they become very fragrant. It's better to under-toast than to over-toast them as they will become very bitter if scorched. Remove and set aside. Next place the onion, garlic and tomatoes on the skillet and toast until lightly browned.
• Remove the stems from the peppers (using gloves if you're using hot peppers), slice the peppers open and remove and discard all of the seeds and the membranes (contrary to popular belief, it's the membranes not the seeds that are hot, the seeds are bitter). Place the peppers in a bowl.Pour the boiling water over the peppers, cover the bowl and let them sit for 20-30 minutes until soft.
• Place the peppers and their liquid along with the onion, tomato, garlic and all remaining ingredients (except for the chocolate if using) in a blender and blend until completely smooth.Note: At this point determine for yourself whether your sauce needs to be strained. I use a Vitamix blender which does an excellent job of blending the sauce to a very smooth puree, so I don't bother straining it.
• Time to cook the sauce: Heat a tablespoon or so of oil to a pot then add red sauce. Simmer it uncovered for about 30 minutes. Add a little more water if you prefer it thinner. The sauce should be the thickness of heavy cream.Optional: For an added flavor touch, add a small piece of semi-sweet chocolate at the end and stir until melted.If the sauce is very bitter, add a touch of brown sugar. SEE NOTE.
• Store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks or freeze it for several months. I like to freeze about a cup of it per freezer bag so I can conveniently grab a bag as needed.Makes approx. 5-6 cups.

TRADITIONAL NEW MEXICAN RED CHILE SAUCE

Steps:

• Place the chile pods on a foil lined cookie sheet and warm in a 375º F.
• oven for just a few minutes until they become soft and leathery.
• Working in small batches at a time, fit pods into a blender or food processor.
• Purée with the onion, garlic, oregano and salt until smooth, adding small amounts of water as needed to make a sauce the consistency of thick cream.
• Place each batch of puréed mixture in a large bowl until all have been blended.
• Stir the batches together.
• Store in refrigerator.