Authentic Red Chile Sauce Recipe (Enchilada Sauce)

4.86 from 7 votes

Authentic Red Chile Sauce Recipe (Enchilada Sauce)

An authentic dried chili based red sauce that is mixed in a blender and can be used as an easy enchilada sauce or enhanced for other recipe options.

Prep Time10

Cook Time30

Total Time40

Course: Entree

Cuisine: Mexican, Mexican American

Servings: cups

Author: Mary Cressler

Cost: $5

Equipment

1 Blender
3 quart saucepan

Ingredients

3 ounces Dried New Mexico Red Chile Pods, (Seeds and stems removed)
6 cloves fresh garlic
4 cups cold water
1 teaspoon kosher salt

Instructions

Boil Chiles: Fill pot with cold water and bring to a boil. Add the garlic and the dried chile pods and reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 30 minutes.
Blend Chiles: After 30 minutes turn off the heat. Put the chile pods and garlic into a blender with a strainer. Don't discard the water yet.
Add Water: Add one cup of the water that the chile was simmering in and blend the chiles until they become a thick chili sauce (about 3 minutes). It should be smooth with no seeds or skin.
Optional: Sift the sauce through a strainer or fine sieve to get any chunks or remaining seeds out.

Notes

When Picking Dried Chile:

New Mexico (or California) Dried Chile will be bright red and have an earthy flavor with slight heat. These are hatch chiles.
Guajillo or Pasilla peppers will be darker in color and sweeter with a flavor that is richer with no heat.

Optional: If there is still skin and seeds in the red chile sauce then pour the red chile sauce through a mesh strainer to separate.

Storage: This can be used immediately or you can store in a mason jar for up to 10 days in the refrigerator. Otherwise freeze in quart sized baggies to make it last up to one year.

Nutrition