Chile Rojo Recipes

CARNE CON CHILE ROJO

Steps:

• Cook the tomatoes and peppers together in a small saucepan, or in the microwave until softened. Place into the bowl of a blender with the garlic clove, and puree until smooth.
• Meanwhile, heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Season the beef with salt and pepper to taste, then fry in the skillet until no longer pink.
• Once cooked, pour in the tomato puree, and add the bouillon cube. Stir until the bouillon cube dissolves, then cook for 3 minutes.

CHILAQUILES ROJOS (TRADITIONAL MEXICAN BREAKFAST DISH)

Steps:

• Grill the tomatoes, chiles, garlic and onions until they have a slightly blackened skin. Do not burn!
• Bring 6 cups water to a boil with the blackened veggies until they are cooked through and soft inside.
• Pour the veggies with the hot water and a little added cold water into a food processor and process. Don't blend too much, you want the mixture to be chunky.
• In a large pot, heat up the oil until smoking. Then (carefully!) add a small amount of the sauce mixture and let it burn away for 1 minute (this is for a nice smoky flavor). Then slowly add the rest of the mixture and season with salt and some chicken base.
• Add the tomato puree for color, and mix well. Add the shredded chicken and cook until it is heated through. Add the cilantro. Add the chips and serve immediately on 4 plates. Top each plate with some sour cream, sliced onions, queso fresco and a sprig of cilantro.
• Serve with guacamole, refried black beans and pico de gallo on the side.

BASIC RED SAUCE (SALSA DE CHILE ROJO)

Steps:

• Soak chiles in warm water until softened, about 30 minutes. Drain; strain and reserve liquid. Remove stems and seeds and membranes from the chiles. Cook and stir onion and garlic in oil in a 2-qt. saucepan until onion is tender. Add chiles and 2 cups of the reserved liquid , the tomato sauce, oregano, cumin and salt. Simmer uncovered 20 minutes. Cool.
• Transfer to blender container; cover and blend on low speed until smooth. Strain. Refrigerate sauce no longer than 10 days.
• Note: I strain mine in a mesh strainer or colander. It takes a few minutes, but keep thinking of how great this is going to taste!

CHILE ROJO

Steps:

• Place all ingredients into a sauce pan except for salt. Cover the chiles with water and bring to a boil. Cover and continue to boil for 15 minutes.
• Drain the water and add the ingredients including the salt to the blender. Add in 1/2 cup fresh water and blend on high for 5 minutes.
• Add 1 tbsp oil into the empty sauce pan you used to boil the chiles. Pour in the red chile and cook on medium heat for 10 minutes stirring occasionally and adjusting salt to taste.

CARNE CON CHILE ROJO (CHUCK BRAISED IN CHILE)

Steps:

• To make the bison: Heat oven to 275 degrees.
• Sprinkle the sugar and salt all over the roast. Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over high heat. Add the roast and sear until dark brown on all sides, 7 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a plate and reduce the heat to medium. Carefully add 1 cup broth (the hot fat will spatter) and scrape up all the browned bits from the pan. Return the roast and any accumulated juices to the Dutch oven and add the tomatoes, onion, chiles, sage, bay leaves, syrup and remaining 3 cups broth. Bring to a boil, then cover and transfer to the center of the oven.
• Braise until the meat is very tender, about 3 1/2 hours. A fork should slide through easily. Uncover and cool for 15 minutes, then transfer the roast to a large bowl. Finely shred the meat using your hands if cool enough to handle or with two forks. Strain the cooking liquid and reserve.
• To make the chile rojo: Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil. Add all of the dried chiles, reduce the heat to medium, and simmer steadily until softened and lighter in color, about 10 minutes. Transfer the chiles to a blender, along with the garlic, onion, salt and 2 cups of the braising liquid. Save any remaining braising liquid for another use (see Tip). Blend until very smooth.
• Heat the oil in a large, deep skillet over high heat until shimmering. Carefully add the chile sauce (it will splatter) and immediately reduce the heat to medium. Simmer, stirring often, until thickened and brick red, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the shredded meat and any accumulated juices and stir to evenly coat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt. Serve immediately or cool to room temperature to use as a filling for tamales. The sauced braised meat can be refrigerated for up to 5 days or frozen for up to 3 months.

GRILLED NOPALES EN CHILE ROJO

Steps:

• Most markets sell nopales already despined and cleaned. If the paddles still have their spines, remove them: Hold a paddle by its stem and run a sharp knife along the skin, moving it away from you to scrape off spines. Then flip it over and repeat. Trim off the outer edges to remove any small spines, then cut off the stem. Repeat with all of the paddles. Rinse off the nopales, checking for any remaining spines and removing them. Pat dry. If cooking outdoors, prepare a charcoal grill or heat a gas grill to medium-high.
• Bring 2 cups water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add the chiles, tomatoes, garlic and a pinch of salt. Cover partially, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until the chiles have rehydrated and the garlic and tomatoes have softened, 15 to 20 minutes.
• While the chile mixture is simmering, grill the nopales. If cooking outdoors, place the nopales on the hot grate and grill, turning once, until pliable and slightly charred, about 10 minutes. If cooking indoors on a gas stove, turn the burners to medium-high heat and cook the nopales directly over the flame on the stove grates. Using heat-proof tongs and working in batches, place the nopales on the grates and move them around the flames until slightly charred, flipping once so they cook evenly, about 10 minutes. If using an electric stove, heat a comal or large pan over medium-high heat and lightly coat it with oil if you like. Cook, turning once, until evenly charred, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board to cool.
• While the nopales cool, use a slotted spoon to transfer the rehydrated chiles, softened garlic and tomatoes to a blender or food processor with the cumin and 1 cup of the cooking water. Blend until completely smooth.
• Slice the cooled nopales into 1/4-inch-wide strips that are 2 to 3 inches long. Heat a medium skillet over medium heat. Heat 1 tablespoon oil, then add the sliced nopales and a couple pinches of salt. Stir every now and then until the nopales are tender, have released their slime and that slime has evaporated, about 5 minutes.
• Reduce the heat to medium-low and pour in the chile mixture. Mix well, then simmer until the sauce has slightly thickened and the flavors have married, 10 to 15 minutes. Taste for seasoning and add more salt as needed (remembering that you're garnishing with salt before serving).
• While the nopales are simmering in the sauce, heat the tortillas on the grill or on the stove grates' open flames until softened and lightly charred, about 1 minute per side. Stack and wrap them in a dish towel to keep them warm.
• Remove the nopales from the heat and top with the toasted pepitas, cilantro leaves and flaky sal de colima. Serve with the charred tortillas.

CHILE COLORADO

Steps:

• Place chiles and 3 cups water into a medium stockpot, and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and steep for 30 minutes to soften. Strain into a bowl, reserving the cooking liquid. Place the chiles and some of the liquid into a blender, and puree until smooth. Add more liquid as necessary to form a smooth sauce. Pass sauce through a fine mesh strainer to remove any seeds and the tough skins; set aside.
• Cut the roast into 1 to 2 inch chunks. In a medium bowl, combine flour, salt, and pepper. Dredge the beef chunks in the seasoned flour; set aside.
• Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Saute onion until tender and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add beef chunks a few at a time, so as not to overcrowd the pot, and cook until evenly brown. Remove cooked meat, and continue browning remaining meat. Return reserved cooked meat to the pot. Stir in pureed chile mixture. Add beef stock to just cover beef chunks, or to personal preference. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to lowest setting, and simmer for 3 hours, or until meat is tender. If necessary, adjust with more stock during cooking.