Homemade Red Chile Sauce for tamales is made from dried chile pepper pods. Earthy and wonderful with warm spices, this red chile sauce is our go-to recipe to blend with shredded pork to make Red Chile Pork Tamales.
And if you’re interested in another version, take a look at this recipe for Red Chile Sauce from Powder.
I’ll never forget when our new neighbor, Miguel, popped up over the fence and offered us fresh grilled Carne Asada. Grilled steak that was simply placed in a warmed flour tortilla alongside a grilled jalapeno. Heaven.
That’s when the food conversations started. Miguel and wife Rosa became excellent resources for authentic Mexican food recipes. Including the invitation to attend several of their homemade tamale demonstrations.
Which is where I learned to make her homemade Red Chile Sauce she used for Tamales.
Made dried chile pepper pods, this tamale sauce can also be used for other recipes like this one for Ground Beef Enchiladas. Or for recipes like Huevos Rancheros.
Dried Chile Pepper Pods You Can Use
Dried Guajillo Peppers is what Rosa uses to make her sauce. Guajillo are the most commonly used peppers in Mexican Cuisine and readily available on the Mexican aisle at your local grocer. They are dried Mirasol chiles. The heat is considered to be mild to medium. PepperScale outlines the flavor profile perfectly.
I’ve also used a variety of New Mexico grown dried chile peppers. Including the most famous, Hatch Chile, a variety of peppers grown in the Hatch Valley. Dried Chile Peppers can come from anywhere in New Mexico. I like to describe the heat of a New Mexico chile as crisp and clear, and the flavor earthy and sweet.
The last time we visited Taos and Santa Fe, I brought home a passel of dried chiles.
Dried Chile Pepper Varieties You Can Use:
- Guajillo peppers are readily available and are mild in flavor.
- New Mexico Dried Chile Peppers are a good choice and are available in mild, medium or hot.
- Pasilla peppers are a good choice as they have a fruity flavor. They are mild to medium on the heat scale.
- Nora peppers (Spanish paprika peppers) are nice.
- I’ve used Mulata dried peppers, which are hot spicy.
- Nora Peppers: Are a Spanish dried pepper pod. I found them at a spice market in Taos. They’re not spicy.
- Chile de Arbol peppers are readily available are are spicy hot.
Each combo will add a different nuance of flavor to your sauce. Find a dried chile pepper or a mix of pods that you like, and make it yours.
Rosa’s Expert Tip
Since this sauce is typically made alongside traditional Red Pork Tamales, there’s a good chance you’ll have a pork roast cooking in the oven. Instead of using chicken broth, you can enhance the flavor by substituting some of the liquid from the bottom of the pan from the roasted pork.
Homemade Red Sauce For Tamales
A family recipe used for the tradition in making red sauce for tamales, Rosa’s tamale sauce is amazing. The flavors of the dried chiles amaze the palate and bring ground meat to life, and the color is a vibrant brick.
This tamale sauce alone is a very strong flavor, but once combined with your tamale ingredients or drizzled on enchiladas, it’s a beautiful thing.
More Mexican Sauce Recipes
- The Best Homemade Enchilada Sauce
- Mexican Chocolate Sauce with Kahlua
- Essential Mexican Restaurant Style Salsa
And speaking of condiments, a homemade recipe for Green Chile Sauce is a must have in any Southwestern kitchen. It’s easy and simple with ingredients. Check it out.
And if you love South of The Border Cuisine as much as we do, don’t miss my Mexican-Southwest Category. You’ll find tons of fun recipes, including the most popular on my site for Hatch Green Chili. Enjoy.
And if you love making homemade Mexican seasonings and sauces, don’t miss my recipe for Homemade Taco Seasoning. It’s easy and so much better in so many ways than those store-bought packets.
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Homemade Red Chile Sauce for Tamales
Ingredients
- 8 ounces Dried Red Chile Peppers 20 – 25 dried chile pods
- 1 Tablespoon whole cumin seed toasted, or 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 4 cup Chicken broth or water
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 small onion rough chopped
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 teaspoon Mexican Oregano or marjoram
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
Instructions
- Wear a mask and gloves! The particles emitted from breaking the dried chile pods are spicy and could be very irritating to eyes and throat. Handling of the pods could cause your hands to burn depending on the heat of the chile.
- Heat a large fry pan over medium heat. Dry roast the chile peppers in batches, until they release fragrance, about 1-2 minutes per side.
- Once the chile peppers have been toasted and removed from pan, add cumin seeds. Shaking the pan, toast until fragrant. This should take about 1 minute.
- Once the chiles are cool enough to handle, break the tops off and shake out the seeds.
- Place chile peppers in a blender and pour in half of the chicken stock (or water) and toasted cumin seed. Puree until smooth but with a few specs of the pepper remaining.
- Warm oil in a large saucepan. Cook the chopped onion until soft, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant. Pour in the blended chile mixture.
- Puree remaining chiles with remaining chicken broth and pour the puree into the sauce in pan. Add Mexican oregano and salt.
- Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for for 20 – 25 minutes. After about 15 minutes taste the sauce and adjust seasonings to your liking.
- When sauce is ready it will be cooked down enough to coat a spoon thickly but still drop off easily.
- Use the sauce warm or refrigerate for later use. The sauce keeps for 5 – 6 days and also freezes well.
Notes
- Guajillo peppers are readily available and are mild in flavor.
- New Mexico Dried Chile Peppers are a good choice and are available in mild, medium or hot.
- Pasilla peppers are a good choice as they have a fruity flavor. They are milk to medium.
- Nora peppers (Spanish paprika peppers) are nice.
- I’ve used Mulata dried peppers, which are hot spicy.
- Chile de Arbol peppers are readily available are are spicy hot.
- Each combo will add a different nuance of flavor to your sauce.
Nutrition
Homemade Red Chile Sauce for Tamales … It’s What’s for Dinner
Why Trust These Recipes? Lea Ann Brown has lived, worked and played in Colorado for 45 years. She has immersed herself in the Colorado Culinary space, is a Culinary School Graduate and publishes her Colorado food Blog, Cooking On The Ranch.
for two cups of raw red chile how much flour to thicken the sauce.
I don’t use flour to thicken this recipe. However, if you want to do that general rule is 3 tablespoons fat and 3 tablespoons of flour to thicken two cups of liquid.
I am on a very strict sodium restricted diet and cannot buy processed foods or eat in restaurants, so I am always so grateful when people share their recipes. From there I can make modifications to remove sodium and replace with a bit of acid/lemon/lime juice to meet my needs.
FYI, Badia brand is about all we get in our grocery stores here and they have a corner market on a lot of “Mexican” dried peppers and spices. Or about any spice that is larger than an oz or two in volume. We take what we can get sometimes!
Again, thank you! Without people like you, I would have to eat cardboard and dry beans!
Thanks for your note Sherri. Thanks for that recommendation about Badia. I’ll check for it next time I’m at the store. And you’re welcome. Homemade is always better and healthier. And we don’t want you eating cardboard! 🙂 Hugs.
In the instructions you say to remove the chiles use a slotted spoon to make sure you get the spices and the garlic. So my question is are the spices to be put into the blender?
Thanks in advance for your time
Pam
Hello and thank you for the recipe. The only dried chillies my grocery store has is the Badia brand New Mexico Chilli pods. Can I use these to make tamales? Thank you so much.
Audrey R
I’m not familiar with the Badia brand, but I would think they’d work quite nicely for this sauce. Thanks Audrey.
Delicious and earthy, turned out great!!!
Fabulous. And thanks for taking the time to write a review.