Dianes Mexican Red Chile Sauce Recipes

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.

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.

DIANE'S MEXICAN RED CHILE SAUCE

Steps:

• Place chiles on a baking sheet. Toast lightly in a 400° oven for 3 or 4 minutes only or until they give off a mild aroma. If burned, chiles will become very bitter.
• Remove from the oven, let cool to touch, then remove and discard stems, seeds and any pink pithy materials inside the chiles. Rinse in cool water, drain briefly, then cover chiles with hot water, let stand one hour.
• Place chiles in a blender with enough of the water to blend; whirl until smooth, (or scrape pulp from the skin with a table knife, then, put through a wire strainer). Add remaining water, tomato sauce, garlic, oil, salt, oregano, and cumin. Simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, to blend the flavors. Chill up to 1 week, or freeze for longer storage.

RED CHILE SAUCE

Steps:

• Remove stems and seeds from dried chile pods. Rinse and place in 4-quart pot. Cover with water and bring to a boil. Remove from heat, cover, and let pods steep for 30 minutes.
• Drain pods in a colander and reserve juice. Place softened pods into a blender or food processor, adding just enough reserved juice to barely cover. Blend to a fine consistency. Pour the resulting pulp into a fine sieve or colander and allow the extra juice to drain out, stirring occasionally.
• Return this pulp to the 4-quart pot and add the salt, oregano, and garlic. Bring to a boil, then simmer uncovered for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Taste to adjust seasonings. If the sauce tastes bitter, add the tomato sauce. Simmer for 5 more minutes.
• Use red chile sauce over enchiladas, chile rellenos, or as a side or sauce for any other Mexican entree.