Opinions on red enchilada sauce

[lantana]

For those of you who make red enchilada sauce, can you tell me whether you prefer to make it with powdered chiles/chile powder or with whole dried chiles that you rehydrate and grind?

Is there a big difference in the resulting sauce between these methods?


Thanks.

Alice

[sneezles]

Personally, I haven't found much difference between the two. Using the chiles is certainly more work but I do like to remove the seeds for a milder sauce than I would get using ground chiles (last time I made it I used dried New Mexico chiles and it brought tears to my eyes and I like things hot).

[Robyn1007]

What Sneezles said.

[nanetteb]

DH uses a Rick Bayless red chile sauce that involves toasting the whole chiles in a cast iron pan, submerging them in water, pureeing them then pressing through a sieve. I put photos of his process here - http://nanetteblanchard.blogspot.com...ile-sauce.html

Whatever method you decide on I think the best flavor comes from chiles that are toasted whether they are whole or powdered. Here in New Mexico we also have a third option - using the frozen pureed red chiles but then you don't get the toasted flavor at all.

[Gail]

I prefer the result using the reconstituted chiles. I think using the powdered is OK, but I find that invariably I need to cook a sauce longer than recipe instructions advise or I still pick up a nuance of the raw powder taste.

[lantana]

Thanks for the replies. I tried a recipe sneezles had posted for red chile sauce. Her comments from the original post are in the parentheses.

Red Chile Sauce
Found at mexgrocer.com

8 large dried red chile pods (calls for ancho-pasilla but I used guajillo)
2 cloves garlic (I used 4-smashed)
1 medium onion, chopped
Water
2 tbs all-purpose flour
2 cups water
1 tsp Mexican oregano
1/4 tsp Ground cumin (used more like a tsp but I love the stuff!)
Salt to taste (used about 1/4 tsp)

Wash chiles, remove stems and seeds (leave seeds if you prefer a hotter sauce...guajillos are not that spicy and I left in the seeds that didn't fall out when I stemmed the chiles). Place chiles, garlic and onion in a 3 qt heavy pot and add enough water to cover. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, reduce and simmer for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Drain water (I ended up cooking a bit longer so the water was reduced quite a bit and decided not to waste that seasoned water so added it to the blender). Place chiles, garlic, onion and flour into blender; puree till smooth. Pour back into pot, add 2 cups water or stock and seasonings. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until sauce is thick and bubbly. Adjust seasonings as needed.

***

I had only ancho chiles, so I used those. I toasted the chiles in a skillet first. I did remove the majority of the seeds, but the initial puree is entirely too hot for us.

Do you think that trying this with guajillos would be a lot milder? Is the guajillo the same as the New Mexico chile? I think these chiles may change names state by state!

Thanks,

Alice

[Gail]

This page says no. You'd be going in the wrong direction subbing in the guajillos. Your anchos are already on the lower end of the Scoville heat spectrum. (www.foodsubs.com has another list, by the way, but not as comprehensive as this one )

PS I just read an interesting tidbit in one my assorted Mexican cookbooks (this one from Diana Kennedy) which stated that although anchos have a reputation as being a milder chile, sometimes they can surprise you depending upon where they've been grown. Perhaps you got one of those surprises?

[Beth]

I've also seen chili peppers mislabeled -- especially when they are dried and in bulk bins (not sure if someone in the produce section doesn't know their peppers or if the signs get knocked down and put back incorrectly). My ancho powder is my mildest followed closely by the pasilla and then the others. I've seen New Mexico chilies marked as ancho -- look here and see if what you got looked like anchos.

[lantana]

Beth, thank you for the link. The pictures are very helpful. They were lovely, fruity-smelling ancho chiles. Perhaps I need to get a milder chile, like the California chile, to give this another try.

I like "medium" heat, usually, in salsa or Indian food. I just found the puree chokingly hot. Perhaps it was a strong batch of anchos, but I think I want to move further down the Scoville scale for the next try.

Thanks,

Alice

[sneezles]

Alice,

I prefer the guajillo. The last time I made it with New Mexico dried red and it was way too hot so don't hold fast to what Cook's Thesaurus says about heat levels either.

BTW, I get the guajillos from Penzey's.

[Sue1]

I got this recipe from a local mexican restaurant. We love it on our enchiladas.

ENCHILADA SAUCE

1 10 OZ CAN BEEF BROTH
½ C BUTTER
½ C. FLOUR
8 CLOVES GARLIC, PRESSED
2 8 OZ. CANS TOMATO SAUCE
2 T CHILE POWDER
2 t RUBBED SAGE
2 t GROUND CUMIN

Pour beef broth into measuring cup and add enough water to measure 2 cups. Combine beef broth and remaining ingredients in saucepan – cook over medium heat, stirring constantly till thick. Turn down and simmer for 15 minutes or so.

[nanetteb]

DH makes his red chile sauce from guajillos with the occasional addition of an ancho or pasilla chile. He doesn't like hot foods so the mild guajillos are his fave and they are easily found whole in nearly every supermarket here. I am more of a green chile person but I do love the aroma of the guajillos when they are being toasted.

For a dried mild red chile powder we prefer Chimayo chile powder.

[Robyn1007]

Originally Posted by Sue1

I got this recipe from a local mexican restaurant. We love it on our enchiladas.

ENCHILADA SAUCE

1 10 OZ CAN BEEF BROTH
½ C BUTTER
½ C. FLOUR
8 CLOVES GARLIC, PRESSED
2 8 OZ. CANS TOMATO SAUCE
2 T CHILE POWDER
2 t RUBBED SAGE
2 t GROUND CUMIN

Pour beef broth into measuring cup and add enough water to measure 2 cups. Combine beef broth and remaining ingredients in saucepan – cook over medium heat, stirring constantly till thick. Turn down and simmer for 15 minutes or so.

Just say no to tomato sauce in enchilada sauce! I know some like it but it's not authentic to me having learned to make red enchilada sauce in Southern New Mexico.

[Gail]

To be fair, there are so many regional variations on enchiladas and their sauces out there, we can't say that none of them contain tomato. I think you just meant to comment that an authentic version of New Mexican red chile sauce doesn't include tomato.

What's important here, I think, is simply that this member very much enjoys the sauce she presented here to the extent that she wants to share it with others.

[Robyn1007]

Uh, yeah, I understand that. That's why winky and smilies were included in my original post.

[Gail]

I KNOW you know. I'd just hate for someone else not to get it...

[Beth]

Sounds like you got a surprise batch. You see that the heat unit ranges on some of those peppers is pretty wide, and then there are the ones that get goofy and surprise you. I got some Chimayo that was a lot hotter than I expected it to be. Fortunately, I blended it with some others. If I had used it on it's own, the first dish I made with it would have been too hot for most of us to eat. I had to chuckle when I saw nanetteb refer to it as a mild chile powder.

[Gail]

...then when you throw in the issue of mismarked chiles, regional differences in names and the very use of the word "hot" meaning something a bit different to each of us, it gets more and more complicated.

I honestly cannot tell you WHAT variety of chiles I use when I opt to make the sauce fresh...

[lorilei]

I'm with Gail -- trying to find specific chiles around here can end up being quite the adventure (I've purchased mismarked dried chiles on more than one occasion -- makes for some interesting results sometimes in recipes).

As far as favorite chile-based enchilada sauces go, I'm also a big fan of Rick Bayless' technique/recipe. Some of the best homemade sauce I've made, in fact. Sneezles recipe is also good!!

[sneezles]

Originally Posted by lorilei

-- trying to find specific chiles around here can end up being quite the adventure

Let's face it, considering where you live you're lucky to get dried chiles of any sort!

[Gail]

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooohhhh!

[lorilei]

Susan... for shame! Picking on the girl from Wisconsin.
Don't make me start cracking cheese jokes!

Seriously, though -- we actually have some great ethnic grocers up here (El Rey happens to be my source for dried chiles).

Come on up for a visit. You'd be impressed!

[sneezles]

LOL! I'm sure it's changed from my last visit in 1968! I would never make cheese jokes as it's my main food group!

[lorilei]

Um... 1968?
Yeah, I'd say you're due for a visit. The place has really grown up. Just let me know when you're making your pilgrimage! (We've got the Bronze Fonz, after all).