Mexican RED sauce.

[vash]

That time of year again. I’m out. Time to blow my kitchen up. Put on a ratty red shirt and got to work. It was the better option over going into o TJmaxx with wife.

I use pods: New Mexico chilies, California chili, and ancho. The final result is not spicy. The flavor is crazy complex. If I want hot, I’ll chop in some chipotle peppers later into smaller batches. This is the Swiss Army knife of sauces. I freeze it into quart ziplocks.
Ove fried eggs, in a posole, in enchiladas.. I went nuts. I might have over two gallons. Might need to borrow freezer space from old lady next door. Oh! Maybe my office freezer!

[wdfifteen]

This stuff looks great! Any chance you would share the recipe? I have 8 San Marzano and 8 Jersey Giant tomato plants under grow lights that should put out some great tomatoes to make Red Sauce with.

[vash]

It started here

[wdfifteen]

Umm, OK ...

[vash]

Fried two eggs for a test drive.

[tabs]

Uhhhhahhhh...

My Red sauce..is a combo of DRIED Guilihajo, Chili Negro or Passilla Chilies...Put on a hot cast iron griddle or pan till fragrant, stemmed and seeded and simmered to re-hydrate. Then you have to sieve them to get the Chili skin and remaining seeds out. I use the cooking water to accommodate the sieving. I then put them back in the sauce pan with a bit of oil..to simmer for a while.

From there you can add some tomatoe sauce..etc.

I don't like Chipolte chillis...

I use it for Menudo and Enchiladas (Crab) primarily. You can use it to simmer a Chuck Roast to make Chili Colorado...

[vash]

Originally Posted by wdfifteen

This stuff looks great! Any chance you would share the recipe? I have 8 San Marzano and 8 Jersey Giant tomato plants under grow lights that should put out some great tomatoes to make Red Sauce with.

I’ll need to email you recipe after I type it up. It’s kinda tough from my phone.

[vash]

Tabs. That is a fantastic pod mix! I make mine mild since wife’s friends eat over so often. They don’t do spicy. I focus on fruity and complex.

[LWJ]

Please post recipe. I am drooling.

[drkshdw]

People that insist on sauce from a can do NOT know what they're missing! This is the stuff of champs! I prefer ancho and guajillo for my sauce. No tomatoes. I use it for enchiladas and chilaquiles (although I much prefer chilaquiles verdes). Here's the recipe I've used for years:

5 guajillo chile's, seeds removed
2 ancho chile's, seeds removed
1/4 small onion
2 cloves garlic
1/4 tsp oregano
1 tsp caldo de pollo
1/2 tsp salt
pinch sugar
1 1/2 cups water

In a small saucepan, cover chiles with just enough water to cover. Bring to a boil. Turn off heat, cover and let sit for 20 minutes. Drain.
In a blender, combine rehydrated peppers and remaining ingredients. Blend well. Strain into a small saucepan with 1 Tbsp oil on medium high. Simmer until desired consistency is achieved. Makes about 10 ounces of sauce.

[vash]

I’ll type on my iPad.

I use one bags of each. The bigger bags. You end up with a lot!
Cut off stems, cut open and dump out seeds. Don’t sweat it trying to get every bit; we are sieving it later. I DONT toast the pods because I never had a vessel large enough. Now I have a wok, I should have. It would be better. Duh! Next time.

Put pods into a pot of hot water to steep. You don’t need to boil them. Just soften and rehydrate them.

In the meantime, sauté two onions. Tiny bit of salt. When they are soft, stir in cumin. Dump in chopped garlic. Stir and sauté until you really smell the spice and garlic. I pour in some water quickly to deglaze and to keep garlic from scorching. Pull it off the heat.

Okay. I’ll ley you figure out your own pan logistics. I have my PHO soup pots steeping pods. I use my largest stock pot to receive the sauce.

Pull some chili pods into the blender. Add some of the steeping liquids so you don’t stall the blender.
Purée it. Kudos if you have a Vitamix. I don’t. I go in batches. Once puréed. I pour it into a mesh sieve and strain the contents into stock pot. Dump the “trash” into a vessel. Oh, the onion mixture. Add some to a batch of chili pods to blend. I just blended all onions and seived it into the stockpot. Whatever. It all gets mixed up in the end. Hopefully you started with enough steeping liquid. I use enough to cover the pods and it is always enough. Now all that reserved “trash”? I put it back into a blender add more steeping juice and do it again. I want every last usable bit. Now you can put that “trash into the compost or whatever; it’s done. When you sieve. Don’t forget to scrape the outside bottom of the basket. There is awesomeness clinging on there.

Mine has tomato. It goes in here. I blended a can of chopped tomatoes and added one can of sauce. Typically I would use three small cans of sauce. I didn’t have three. Pour it into the strained sauce. Any tomato would work. I had Passata I almost dumped in. It Adds acidity.

Now you have a big stockpot filled with smooth strained chili.
Wash the original pot,dry it and put it over heat. Pour in some oil. I used olive. It was within reach.

Pour in some oil into your freshly cleaned pot and get it hot. HERE COMES THE WEIRD CALIFORNIA PART. Add flour and make a roux. They don’t do this in Texas, but a restaurant over here uses a fairly dark roux and the nuttiness it adds is undeniable. The old lady leaked me that secret. ( local guys; I’m talking about NewMecca restaurant in Pittsburg CA).

My sauce is already kinda thick. Like a loose crepe batter. I add a bit of water if it is tighter. I get the roux just past “blond”. And pour in some sauce. Whisk like a fool! Now you can add the rest and bring it up to a simmer. Taste it. You’ll need salt. I use chicken bullion powder and salt.

Mexican ladies up here make their sauce from a homemade chicken stock. Me? No...that is just another level of effort I’m not willing to take on.

Add water to get it like a loose pancake batter.

You are done.

Now turn around add see what you just did to your poor kitchen.

I bag it into quart bags, lay them flat and freeze them like that. They stack neatly in the freezer and last a good long time.

Pour it over your bean dip to take it to the next level. Eggs.
I take a small batch, finely chop in chipotle and adobo sauce until it is super spicy. Grill a chicken breast. Pour on some of the modified sauce, top with cheese and put it under your broiler to melt. Then dump on a fistful of shredded lettuce and tomatoes. Watch out. “Hot plate!” It is profound.

[javadog]

Whenever I make a batch of any kind of a chili purée, my kitchen gets trashed. I don't think there's anything that makes a bigger mess than the stuff. You do well to keep yours as clean is those photos show.

You should consider cooking chicken thighs or leg quarters for a couple hours in a pressure cooker. Add the broth and the meat to your dog's food, and you'll always have tasty chicken stock for your cooking on hand. Chicken stock goes in at least half of the things I cook, from Asian to French.

[vash]

The booty

[MMiller]

Originally Posted by vash

Fried two eggs for a test drive.

That's a good looking plate... There's something special about the blended flavor of red chili and egg yolk.

[mreid]

You boys just don’t have an HEB nearby.

[vash]

Originally Posted by mreid

You boys just don’t have an HEB nearby.

they sell some?

i brought back a few bags from a store in El Paso. the flavor was okay, but the texture is way off..it was watery and when you thaw it, it separates. it is full of skin and seeds. they clearly didnt strain it.

the flavor, they used a single chili pod variety. is still have one bag left. i used it to chill my sore shoulder (as an ice pack)..the bag they used is very robust.

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by vash

.... i used it to chill my sore shoulder (as an ice pack)..the bag they used is very robust.

I read these threads in awe....and for a belly laugh on occasion

[wdfifteen]

I guess I’ll google it. I have enough trouble with recipes that say, “three medium tomatoes, half a cup of this, four ounces of that, and 6 grams of the other stuff”. Adding “bags” as a measure is too much for me. I have no idea what a “bag” of “pods” is.

[john70t]

Originally Posted by wdfifteen

I have enough trouble with recipes that say...

Meh. Recipes are just advice.
Bad advice which eventually needs to be modified anyways.

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by john70t

Meh. Recipes are just advice.
Bad advice which eventually needs to be modified anyways.

I agree. I almost never exactly follow a recipe, but it is the starting place. You can't hike the Grand Canyon if you're in Boston and you don't have a map of Arizona.