Red Chili Sauce Recipes

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.

Steps:

• Rinse chiles and split open, discarding stems, seeds, and ribs.
• Heat a well-seasoned cast-iron skillet over moderate heat, then toast chiles, skin sides up, in batches, about 30 seconds (be careful not to burn them, or sauce will be bitter). Transfer chiles as toasted to a heatproof bowl and pour boiling water over them. Cover bowl and soak chiles, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 15 minutes.
• Purée chiles with three fourths of soaking liquid, reserving remainder, in a blender until smooth (use caution when blending hot liquids). Pour purée through a coarse sieve into a bowl, pressing on solids, and discard solids. Whisk reserved soaking liquid into chile mixture.
• Cook onion, garlic, cumin, and oregano in oil in a large heavy saucepan over moderately low heat, stirring, 2 minutes. Add flour and cook, stirring, 2 minutes. Whisk in chile mixture and simmer, partially covered, whisking occasionally, until reduced to about 2 1/2 cups, about 30 minutes. Season with salt, vinegar, and sugar.

Steps:

• Remove stems and seeds from dried chili peppers.
• Place peppers in a single layer on a baking sheet.
• Roast in 350°F oven for 2 to 5 minutes or until you smell a sweet roasted aroma, checking often to avoid burning.
• Remove from oven and soak in enough hot water to cover for about 30 minutes or until cool.
• Put peppers and 2 1/2 cups of the soaking water into a blender (save the remaining soaking water).
• Add garlic, cumin and salt.
• Cover and blend until smooth.
• In a 2-quart sauce pan, stir flour into oil or melted shortening over med heat until browned.
• Carefully stir in blended chili mixture.
• Simmer uncovered for 5 to 10 minutes or until slightly thickened. (If sauce gets too thick, stir in up to 1 cup of the remaining soaking water until you reach the desired thickness) Use this sauce for traditional tamales, recipe #15286.
• Note: When working with chilies, use rubber gloves to protect your skin, and avoid contact with your eyes. Wash hands throughly with soap and water to remove all of the chili oils.

Steps:

• Cut off stem ends of tomatoes and roast them in a cast-iron skillet over high heat until their skins blacken. Transfer to a blender or food processor. Dry skillet and return to high heat. Add dried chiles and roast them, stirring, until they begin to release their aroma, about 3 minutes. Transfer chiles to a bowl and pour water over. Leave to soften and rehydrate, 10 to 15 minutes. Add softened chiles to tomatoes. Taste chile water; if it is not bitter, add 1 cup to food processor and reserve remaining water separately, or use plain water. Wipe out skillet, heat olive oil over high heat, add onion and saute over medium heat until browned, about 10 minutes. Transfer onions to food processor along with chipotle pepper with its sauce, garlic, cumin, oregano and salt to taste. Puree to a fine paste, stopping once or twice to scrape down sides of workbowl with a rubber spatula. If needed, add a little more water to processor.
• In a large skillet heat vegetable oil until just smoking, add chile puree and heat until sizzling. Fry sauce, stirring continuously, 3 to 5 minutes. If sauce becomes too thick, thin it with a little more chile water.
• Serve warm with tamales or grilled meats. Or cool and refrigerate for up to 1 week.

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.

Steps:

• Remove stems and using a small knife slice the chilies lengthwise.
• Remove seeds and veins.
• Rinse with hot water.
• Put chilies in a large pot and cover with water, bring to a low boil.
• Let chilies boil until they turn bright red and soft, approximately 10 minutes.
• Remove from water and let cool; reserve water for later use.
• Working in batches fill a blender less than half way up with chilies and add about 2 cup of the water from the pot. Cover and blend on high (careful here, this stuff tends to splatter).
• Once the blender is going remove the lid and add more chilies and water depending on the consistency, you don't want it too thick or too thin. you'll know its the right consistency when you can see a spinning vortex while blending.
• These amounts will yield approximately 2 blenders full. Each batch should have approximately 4 oz chilies, 1 tsp garlic powder and 3 teaspoons sea salt. Add salt one tsp at a time and taste for preference.
• Let blend on high for approximately 10 minutes each batch.