Diane's Mexican Red Chile Sauce

Submitted by FLUFFSTER

"I've made this a lot of years,! LOL This is a sauce with several uses, at least in my house. I use this for enchiladas, for taco sauce,for simmering meats in, it's just a kind of all purpose sauce. It's my go-to Mexican sauce. You'll want to use the correct type of dried chile peppers; the large, dusky red mild ones. If you are unable to find them in your market, try a Mexican market. This recipe can get rather messy, but it's so worth it! It freezes well, so try doubling it. If you can't find dried ancho chiles, you may certainly use dried pasilla peppers, or a mixture of all three. If you cannot find Mexican oregano, regular will do."

 

• Ready In: 40mins
• Ingredients: 8
• Yields: 3 1/2 cups

ingredients

• 6 ounces about 10-12 whole dried ancho peppers
• 3 cups hot water
• 1⁄4 cup tomato sauce or 1/4 cup tomato paste
• 1 small garlic clove (or to taste)
• 1⁄4 cup salad oil
• 1 1⁄2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon mexican oregano leaves, dried and crushed
• 1⁄4 teaspoon cumin (to taste)

directions

1. Place chiles on a baking sheet. Toast lightly in a 400° oven for 3 or 4 minutes only or until they give off a mild aroma. If burned, chiles will become very bitter.
2. Remove from the oven, let cool to touch, then remove and discard stems, seeds and any pink pithy materials inside the chiles. Rinse in cool water, drain briefly, then cover chiles with hot water, let stand one hour.
3. Place chiles in a blender with enough of the water to blend; whirl until smooth, (or scrape pulp from the skin with a table knife, then, put through a wire strainer). Add remaining water, tomato sauce, garlic, oil, salt, oregano, and cumin. Simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, to blend the flavors. Chill up to 1 week, or freeze for longer storage.