New Mexico Red Chile Sauce for Tamales, Enchiladas and More

Red chile sauce made from dried chile pepper pods.

New Mexico Red Chile Sauce for Tamales, Enchiladas and More

Earthy and Wonderful with flavor. Homemade Red Chile Sauce made from dried chile peppers Perfect sauce for Tamales or Enchiladas.

Course Mexican

Cuisine Mexican

Prep Time 45

Cook Time 10

Total Time 55

Servings cups

Calories 51kcal

Author Lea Ann Brown

Ingredients

8 ounces Dried Red Chile Pepper Pods 20 - 25 dried chile pods
1 Tablespoon whole cumin seed toasted, or 1 teaspoon ground cumin
6 garlic cloves
1 cup onion rough chopped
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
6 cups Chicken broth or water
1 teaspoon Mexican Oregano or marjoram
1 Tablespoon 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 high heat. Dry roast the chile peppers in batches, until they release fragrance, about 1 minute per side. Use a large spatula to press them every once in awhile. As they toast they'll soften a bit, so pressing will help more surface of the pepper toast on the bottom of the skillet. Don't over toast them, as they'll impart a bitter flavor to the sauce.
Once the chile peppers have been toasted and removed from pan, add cumin seeds and garlic cloves.. Shaking the pan, toast until fragrant. This should take about 30 seconds. Remove from pan quickly or they'll burn.
Once the chiles are cool enough to handle, break the tops off and shake out the seeds.
In the meantime, heat oil in the skillet. And the chopped onion and cook until soft, about 5 minutes.
Add the peppers to a large Dutch oven and pour in the chicken broth. Simmer for 15 minutes, pressing down with a spatula every once in awhile to keep them in the broth.
Turn off heat, add salt, oregano, toasted cumin seeds, garlic and cooked onions. Cover and let this sit off heat for 15 minutes.
Once cooled, and in batches, place chile peppers in a blender or food processor. Puree until smooth but with a few specs of the pepper remaining. You can also use an immersion blender and blend directly in the Dutch oven. I like to use my food processor, placing some of the blended sauce into the skillet as I blend in batches. Then transfer all to the Dutch oven.
Place the blended sauce back into the Dutch oven and simmer for about 10 minutes. Adjust seasonings to your liking. If the sauce has a bitter flavor (probably due to over toasting the peppers) add Apple Cider Vinegar a little at a time to brighten flavor and sugar, a little at a time to tame bitterness.
The sauce should be thick enough to coat a spoon, but still drop off easily. If it's too thin, cook for 10 more minutes to reduce. If it's too thick add more chicken stock or water.
Place a fine meshed sieve over a large bowl and pour in the chile sauce. Use a spatula or wooden spoon to press the sauce through to remove any unblended seeds and skins.
Use the sauce warm or refrigerate for later use. The sauce keeps for 5 - 6 days and also freezes well.

Notes

Chile Pepper ideas:

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.

If you're not using right away, divide into 1 cup servings and freeze. This will last for nearly a year.

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