Earthy and Wonderful with flavor. Homemade Red Chile Sauce made from dried chile peppers Perfect sauce for Tamales or Enchiladas. This red chile sauce is our go-to recipe to blend with shredded pork to make Red Chile Pork Tamales.
My love for Mexican food is always elevated to a new level when a recipe like this is shared.
Rosa is my former next door neighbor and an excellent source for Mexican specialities and authentic Mexican food. So, I’m taking her lead and combining my intuition for this New Mexico Red Chile Sauce recipe.
Made from three kinds of dried chile peppers this is her recipe that she uses for homemade Tamales. It can also be used for enchiladas.
I’ve added some New Mexico flair to her version, to make my version. Really not much of a change from her original recipe, I’m just using dried New Mexico Chile Peppers.
Related Material: Mountain Mex Enchiladas
Red Sauce For Tamales
I’ll never forget when Miguel, Rosa’s husband popped up over the fence and offered us fresh grilled Carne Asada that was simply placed in a warm flour tortilla alongside a grilled jalapeno. Heaven. That’s when the food conversations started.
Since then, I’ve been to two of Rosa’s Tamale making demonstrations and so much appreciate her knowledge of authentic recipes like this one. As this is the recipe from her family, their tradition in making tamales, her red sauce for tamales.
This 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.
The sauce alone is a very strong flavor, but once combined with your tamales or enchiladas, it’s a beautiful thing.
What Dried Chile Peppers Are Used for New Mexico Red Chile Sauce for Tamales?
I use Dried Guajillo Peppers. As this is what Rosa uses. Guajillo are the most commonly used peppers in Mexican Cuisine. They are dried Mirasol chiles. The heat is considered to be mild to medium. PepperScale outlines the flavor profile perfectly.
And it wouldn’t be New Mexico Red Chile Sauce without New Mexico Dried Chile.
Most famous are 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.
Note: This recipe calls for dried Pasilla Chile Peppers. Those are hot, so you may want to only use a couple. I’ve included affiliate links for your convenience.
I’ve also thrown in a couple of Buena Mulatas and few Nora Peppers. All bringing a bit if difference in the end flavor result. And all bring a deliciousness of their own.
Secret Ingredient
When Rosa taught me to make this sauce, she included a generous tablespoon of spicy Mexican Pickling Spice. This spice mix can be hard to find if you don’t have a Mexican market available. Or you can order it online with the link I’ve provided.
It’s a unique blend that routinely includes cinnamon chips, yellow mustard, dill seed, brown mustard, allspice, cloves, coriander seed, mace, black peppercorns, bay leaf, cardamom, chili peppers, ginger root.
Only use a generous tablespoon and be sure to grab that little hot dried red chile pepper. This spice mixture will add a complex layer of flavor to your sauce.
Recipe for Homemade New Mexico Red Chile Sauce For Tamales
I hope you give this homemade New Mexico Red Chile Sauce recipe a try. And if you do, please come back and let me know how you liked it and give the recipe a star rating.
Your feedback is valuable to me for developing future recipes. And if you have a favorite recipe dried chile peppers, let me know, I’d love to give it a try.
More Mexican Sauce Recipes
- The Best Homemade Enchilada Sauce
- Mexican Chocolate Sauce with Kahlua
- Essential Mexican Restaurant Style Salsa
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.
Earthy and Wonderful with flavor. Homemade Red Chile Sauce made from dried chile peppers Perfect sauce for Tamales or Enchiladas.
- 15 dried Guajillo Chile
- 15 dried New Mexico Dried Chile
- 2-3 dried Pasilla Chile
- 1 heaping tablespoon Mexican Pickling Spice Be sure to include the dried red chile pepper in addition to the tablespoon
- 1 small onion rough chopped
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 Tablespoon whole cumin seed toasted
- 2 teaspoon Mexican Oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup water from boiled chile
Remove the tops of the chiles and shake out as much of the seeds as possible. In a large pot, add chiles, Mexican pickling spices, onion and garlic cloves Add enough water to cover. Cover and cook on low for about an hour.
Once the chiles have cooled some, and are soft, in batches transfer to a food processor. Use a slotted spoon to make sure you get the spices and the garlic. Puree until smooth adding some of the chicken broth and the chle water to each batch.
Place a strainer over a large bowl. Pour the pureed chile sauce into the strainer and with the back of a wooden spoon, push the mixture through the strainer to remove skins, remaining seeds and any remaining chunks of spices.
Once the chile mixture is strained, adjust seasonings. I’m a cumin fan, so I always add ground cumin and salt. I like to add in 1/8 cup cider vinegar 1 tablespoon sugar to balance flavors.
In place of the New Mexico Dried Chile, you can use an assortment. Nora peppers are nice, and I’ve used Mulata dried peppers. Each combo will add a different nuance of flavor to your sauce.
Most times I’m braising a pork shoulder BUTT at the time I’m making this sauce. For enchiladas, or tamales. Don’t hesitate to add a couple big spoonfuls of the pork broth to this sauce. It will add some great flavor.
If you’re not using right away, divide into 1 cup servings and freeze. This will last for nearly a year.
Looking for more homemade Mexican sauces? Take a look at this:
Homemade Taco Seasoning
Homemade New Mexico Red Chile Sauce … It’s What’s for Tamales and Enchiladas
Audrey R. says
October 16, 2019 at 11:46 amHello 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
Lea Ann Brown says
October 17, 2019 at 5:36 amI’m not familiar with the Badia brand, but I would think they’d work quite nicely for this sauce. Thanks Audrey.
Sherri says
March 16, 2020 at 11:34 pmI 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!
Lea Ann Brown says
March 27, 2020 at 8:50 amThanks 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.