Red Chile Sauce

The depth of red color and the attributes of natural flavors are so magical in this simple sauce that you will want to eat it by the spoonful.

Red chile sauce is an essential basic ingredient for dishes like enchiladas, guisados (stews), and sauces.  Though it resembles a mole, fewer spices are used in this sauce.  The natural taste of chile stands on it’s own imparting deep and earthy attributes of flavor.

Many recipes for red chile sauce instruct you to toast the dry chile pods – I definitely do not and do not recommend it.    They instruct you to use hot water to soak them – I do not.  They instruct you to use a blender to produce the sauce – I do not.  Adding heat diminishes the wonderful natural flavor of chile and hot water increases the extraction of bitter compounds within the cellulose skin and seeds of the pods.  Use a food mill instead of a blender to eliminate much of the cellulose skin of the pod; the skin does not add any flavor and you produce a much creamier puree.

The most common dry pods sold in the US market will be the California, New Mexico and Pasilla varieties of chile.  New Mexico chile is flavorful, but it is usually hot to very hot in taste. California and Pasilla pods are low to mild in hotness. Having said that, sometimes you just might wind up with very hot pods with any of these varieties. So sample your pods by soaking one in cold water for 20 minutes, then scrape some chile from the inside of the pod and taste.  When purchasing pods, look for those bright in color and pliable to the touch.  Avoid those that are discolored and brittle.  California chile has a sweeter taste, Pasilla chile contributes body to the sauce, deep coloring and earthy flavors.   So let’s get started.

Mild version – 3 parts of California and 1 part Pasilla

Hot version – 2 parts California, 1 part New Mexico and 1 part Pasilla chile

Ingredients

3/4 lb California pods

1/4 lb Pasilla pods

2 cloves garlic, peeled and whole

Cumin, ground

Oregano, dried

Salt

Water

Remove stems and seeds from pods and rinse twice with water discarding the rinse water.  Place pods in a large bowl add 2 cloves of garlic and cover with water.  Soak the chile for about and hour or until the pods are completely soft turning them during the soak period.  Retain the chile-liquor for later use.

Set up a food mill over a glass bowl then add pods in the food blender in several batches and add sufficient liquor to cover pods.  Blend the pods for 30 seconds on a medium power setting to break up the pods about the size of a quarter coin then move the mixture to the food mill.  Churn the mill adding small amounts of liquor to keep the pods moist.  Stop milling when the density of extracted puree is thinned out.  Discard pod skins.  Repeat the process in batches.

When done with the extraction step, thin out the puree to the consistency of thin pancake batter using any remaining liquor or water.  Lightly season the puree with cumin and oregano sufficiently to give a hint of spices then salt to taste.  This puree can be frozen and but it’s at it’s best when used fresh.