# Mexican Food Lovers - Red Enchilada Sauce



## Recipes Make Magic (Sep 19, 2019)

For those of you who love enchiladas, here's a link to a fabulous recipe from Mexican Food Journal for putting together an authentic red enchilada sauce that's easy to make, and could well be the very best red enchilada sauce you've ever tasted !

I ran across this recipe 3 or 4 years ago, and have been making it ever since - several times each year because I love chicken enchiladas.
I experimented with this recipe many times, ending up with 2 or 3 versions from which I selected the one I now use every time.

These few changes I now incorporate each time I make it:

- Instead of using 8 Ancho Chiles and 4 Pasilla Chiles, I now stick to 4 Anchos, and 8 Guajillos. I like the flavor better as well as the redder color. 

- When blending the reconstituted chiles with the other ingredients in the recipe, I usually add 1 small chipotle pepper in adobo sauce for extra kick.

- I also add approx. 1 tspn. each of cumin, brown sugar, and tomato paste (puree)

- I don't find it necessary to cook the sauce at the tail end. I felt it didn't add anything beneficial to the sauce or it's making. 

I don't mind extra heat, and even use grated Habanero or Jalapeno Monterey Jack Cheese on top of the tortillas, and covering enchilada sauce, before baking. 

Try this sauce - you won't go back to whatever else you've been using to date! 

https://mexicanfoodjournal.com/red-enchilada-sauce/


----------



## CraigC (Sep 19, 2019)

Too many redirects and popups on that link.


----------



## Kayelle (Sep 19, 2019)

CraigC said:


> Too many redirects and popups on that link.




I had no problem at all with that link...you must not have Adblock Plus Craig.


Thanks for the interesting link Paul, but I prefer a much milder sauce.


----------



## Recipes Make Magic (Sep 19, 2019)

Here's pics before & after of my chicken enchiladas:


----------



## Recipes Make Magic (Sep 19, 2019)

CraigC said:


> Too many redirects and popups on that link.


 
Was that comment necessary in this thread ? The answer is no.


----------



## Recipes Make Magic (Sep 19, 2019)

Kayelle said:


> Thanks for the interesting link Paul, but I prefer a much milder sauce.


 

Actually Kay, I was quite surprised to find that both ancho and guajillo chiles are really quite mild - no truly discernible heat to speak of.

They do add a very pleasant flavor to the sauce though.
That's why I add chipotle in adobo, and jalapeno cheese to my enchiladas, in order to increase the heat/spiciness.


----------



## CharlieD (Sep 19, 2019)

Recipes Make Magic said:


> For those of you who love enchiladas, here's a link to a fabulous recipe from Mexican Food Journal for putting together an authentic red enchilada sauce that's easy to make, and could well be the very best red enchilada sauce you've ever tasted !
> 
> ...



do you happen to have your final version of the recipe in one recipe? 
It would be so much easier than trying to fix the original recipe, read all in one place, all fixed up.

Thank you.


----------



## CraigC (Sep 19, 2019)

Recipes Make Magic said:


> Was that comment necessary in this thread ? The answer is no.



Too each their own.


----------



## Recipes Make Magic (Sep 19, 2019)

CraigC said:


> Too each their own.


 
??

Your comment was unhelpful, if not plain rude, and certainly unappreciated. It would be polite for you to keep that kind of criticism to yourself.


----------



## Recipes Make Magic (Sep 19, 2019)

CharlieD said:


> do you happen to have your final version of the recipe in one recipe?
> It would be so much easier than trying to fix the original recipe, read all in one place, all fixed up.
> 
> Thank you.


 
I don't Charlie - I do it by memory each time - but I should have a version I could post - I'll prepare one when I can get around to it.


----------



## taxlady (Sep 19, 2019)

Recipes Make Magic said:


> ??
> 
> Your comment was unhelpful, if not plain rude, and certainly unappreciated. It would be polite for you to keep that kind of criticism to yourself.



I  thought the answer served three purposes: 1) to explain why Craig wasn't participating in the discussion, 2) to subscribe Craig to this post to see other replies, and 3) to warn other members who hate lots of pop ups.


----------



## pepperhead212 (Sep 19, 2019)

That definitely looks like what I call a "true Mexican" sauce. The toasting of the chiles, garlic, onions, and tomatoes, along with the "frying" of the sauce, are the things done in the best of the Mexican sauces. 

Sometimes, to imitate the grilling or broiling of the tomatoes, when I don't need too many, I lightly char a couple tomatoes, then cut them up some, and MV them, just to cook them through, then blend them with the rest of the ingredients.


----------



## medtran49 (Sep 19, 2019)

taxlady said:


> I  thought the answer served three purposes: 1) to explain why Craig wasn't participating in the discussion, 2) to subscribe Craig to this post to see other replies, and 3) to warn other members who hate lots of pop ups.



#3 was the main reason (and we do have a popup blocker), but #1 as well.  Thanks Taxy for giving alternate reasons than the one assumed.


----------



## medtran49 (Sep 19, 2019)

Just curious and not a criticism, but your tortillas look pretty brown and crispy at the ends.  Do you do that on purpose for texture?  Reason why I'm asking is that the recipes in our Mexican cookbooks (1 by Diana Kennedy), Tex-Mex and various cooking shows have dipped the warmed tortillas in warm sauce before filling and rolling.  They still get a bit brown and crispy on the ends, but nothing like what yours look like.  Doing that also gives a little extra flavor since some of the sauce seeps into the tortilla.


----------



## Recipes Make Magic (Sep 19, 2019)

Let's please move on, shall we ?


----------



## bbqcoder (Sep 19, 2019)

Thanks for sharing the recipe!  I love Mexican food so I will have to try this out soon but first, I'm heading to FL so i won't have a chance to try this until the end of the month.


----------



## Recipes Make Magic (Sep 20, 2019)

CharlieD said:


> do you happen to have your final version of the recipe in one recipe?
> It would be so much easier than trying to fix the original recipe, read all in one place, all fixed up.
> 
> Thank you.


 

You asked for it Charlie, so here it is:


*AUTHENTIC RED ENCHILADA SAUCE*

*Ingredients:*

*- 4 Ancho Chiles*
*- 8-10 Guajillo Chiles*
*- 1 medium Onion - quartered *
*- 2 Plum Tomatoes - quartered*
*- 2-3 garlic cloves - peeled*
*- 1 Tspn. oregano (mexican oregano preferred)*
*- 1 Tspn. marjoram*
*- 1 Tspn. tomato paste*
*- 1 Tspn. brown sugar*
*- 1 Tspn. cumin*
*- 1 medium chipotle pepper in adobo sauce (if you wish to kick the heat up a bit,   but you may want to omit this on your first try)*
*- 1/2 Tspn. baking soda*
*- Salt to taste*

*- 2 T's cooking oil (for 'frying' the sauce at the tail end)*

*Preparation :*
*
*
*- Cut off the stem ends from all the chiles, split them open lengthwise with a paring knife, remove the seeds, and as much of the residual ribbing as possible.*
*
*
*- Toast both sides of the chiles in a pan on med./high heat for 10- 15 seconds max - this is important - anymore than 15 secs and you risk  over-toasting them, which could cause your eventual sauce to have a bitter flavor. *

*You should be good though, because your puree will contain baking soda & sugar - 2 ingredients that are not called for in the original recipe, except to be used to eliminate or offset  any bitterness from over-toasting.*
*
*
*There should be little or no smoke produced, and any aroma evident should be fragrant, not beginning to smell burnt. *
*
*
*- Place your pieces of onion, tomatoes, and the garlic cloves in a dry  pan, tray, or skillet & blacken them up somewhat either on high stovetop heat, or @ 400 oven degrees or by using the broiler element until charred to a degree. Don't use a non-stick pan or skillet.*
*
*
*- Add the chiles and the charred veggies to a saucepan with only enough water (or chicken stock if you have some handy) to almost cover all the ingredients.*
*
*
*When the liquid comes to a boil, simmer for 15 minutes to reconstitute the dry toasted chiles and soften the veggies.*
*
*
*- Place the contents of this simmer into a blender along with all the spices, baking soda, the tomato paste, sugar & salt (and the chipotle pepper if using).*
*
*
*Blend for about a minute or 2, adding some water little by little, IF necessary to blend to a less thick puree.*
*
*
*- Strain the resulting puree well, pressing firmly on the pulp to extract as much flavor as possible. Discard the heavy pulp that remains in the strainer (this will mostly be pulverized chile skins which you don`t want in your sauce.)*
*
*
*If it seems too thick, add more water or chicken stock for a smoother texture, or conversely, if too runny, simmer it  until it thickens up. The desired consistency  should coat the back of a spoon and stick well.*
*
*
*- Once strained, pour the sauce into a suitable saucepan in which you`ve well heated the 2 T`s of cooking oil. Fry it on fairly high heat for a few minutes. Careful of any spattering - don`t get burned.*
*
*
*(Note: The original recipe claims that`` frying`` the sauce is key to developing rich flavor, so you may want to do this on your first attempt at making this sauce, but I have not found it to do anything much at all, so I regularly omit this step. )*
*
*
*Reduce heat and simmer the sauce for about 30 minutes, then allow to sit for 2 hours for the flavors to meld.*
*
*

*This recipe may take some trial & error to get it ``right``, so be patient and make a couple of attempts till it turns out the way you like it.*
*
*
*The sauce will keep in the fridge for up to 5 days, and freezes well. Eventually you may want to double or triple the recipe.*


----------



## pepperhead212 (Sep 20, 2019)

*Paul*,  I noticed that you changed the pasilla chiles to guajillos.  I'm sure both are good.  Did you experiment, and tweak it to your favorite mix of chiles?


----------



## Recipes Make Magic (Sep 20, 2019)

Yes I did Dave. 
I tried a number of different combinations,  and my taste told me some anchos should be there so I kept them, but used less of them. 


 I then found that the guajillos  - anchos combination had a more pleasing flavor, at least to me, than pasillas with anchos. And the guajillos seemed to produce a brighter colored, smoother red sauce, especially when I increased their number in the recipe.


So It was also more than just the mix of chile types, but also the reversed ratio of anchos vs. the other chile. I chopped the anchos suggested in the original recipe by half & more than doubled the number of the smaller chiles, the guajillos.


But that doesn't mean you or any others will feel the same way. If you make this red sauce a few times, try it different ways & see what you think.


The biggest eye-opener for me, after having used store-bought canned red sauces for many years, was the flavor that the reconstituted dry chiles brought to the dish of enchiladas vs. the benign canned stuff.


----------



## skilletlicker (Sep 20, 2019)

In my corner of the world guajillos and anchos also have the advantage of being available in bulk at a reasonable price in Mexican grocery stores. Pasillas can only be found in small packages at five or ten times the price. And an aside that might further complicate the issue for some is that the big chain grocery stores including Kroger market poblanos as pasillas.


----------



## Recipes Make Magic (Sep 20, 2019)

skilletlicker said:


> In my corner of the world guajillos and anchos also have the advantage of being available in bulk at a reasonable price in Mexican grocery stores. Pasillas can only be found in small packages at five or ten times the price. And an aside that might further complicate the issue for some is that the big chain grocery stores including Kroger market poblanos as pasillas.


 
It's basically the same situation in my neck of the woods - the guajillos are more commonplace than pasillas, so it suits me just fine.

Marketing poblanos as pasillas though, that's a cardinal sin, isn't it ?


----------



## skilletlicker (Sep 20, 2019)

Recipes Make Magic said:


> Marketing poblanos as pasillas though, that's a cardinal sin, isn't it ?


I got over that outrage years ago. Apparently there is a long tradition in the wholesale produce business of labeling poblanos that way. Big chain produce managers have shown me their box and invoices.


----------



## pepperhead212 (Sep 20, 2019)

Recipes Make Magic said:


> The biggest eye-opener for me, after having used store-bought canned red sauces for many years, was the flavor that the reconstituted dry chiles brought to the dish of enchiladas vs. the benign canned stuff.


I agree, and I haven't bought any of those canned things since back in the 70s, when I learned how to make the real Mexican foods!  And back then, I had to make trips to NYC - an 85 mile trip from here - to get ingredients for Mexican, as well as many other cuisines.  Even Philadelphia had nothing, back in those days.  Amazing how times have changed!  

A method I have found very useful when making many of these Mexican sauces is Rick Bayless's method of toasting the chiles.  This toasts most of the surface, quickly, and there's less likelihood of getting burned spots, which can happen the usual way, since the surface is uneven on all of them.  In his method, the chiles are stemmed, and seeded (except in small chiles), then put flat out in a dry skillet over medium high heat, and you press down hard against it for just a few seconds, until it crackles slightly, then flip it, and do the same on the other side.  The color will actually lighten slightly, and get sort of a mottled look, but the entire surface on the inside and out of the larger peppers gets toasted.  

And one of the best things I ever got for making these sauces, and moles, was the Vitamix.  The first time I ever blended one, then strained it, there was nothing in the strainer!  It ground everything up so fine, there were no seeds or skin left!


----------



## Recipes Make Magic (Sep 20, 2019)

Yes Dave, I actually saw Rick Bayless do that on one his TV shows, and copied it - so I do it myself every time now.


Vitamix - Linda knew all about that type of blender, but I didn't - I'll have to look into it - probably quite expensive, huh ?


----------



## Cooking Goddess (Sep 20, 2019)

Recipes Make Magic said:


> ...Vitamix - Linda knew all about that type of blender, but I didn't - I'll have to look into it - probably quite expensive, huh ?


Vitamix sells refurbished models online. My MIL had one from as far back as Himself could remember. Never gave her a lick of trouble. After she died, my FIL married a she-witch. The woman tossed everything and anything that had to do with Mom. After Dad died, my SIL and I both were looking for stuff we would have loved to have had that was Mom's, but no luck. I'm sure we would have fought over that Vitamix, though. 

I might get one some day. I have a list of  "I wants" for whenif we get ourselves moved back to OH. Vitamix is headquartered in suburban Cleveland, but I believe they don't sell them retail at their HQ. I would really like the fancy-schmancy model that makes hot soups and frozen desserts. Sounds like it would be fun to play with!


----------



## pepperhead212 (Sep 21, 2019)

Recipes Make Magic said:


> Yes Dave, I actually saw Rick Bayless do that on one his TV shows, and copied it - so I do it myself every time now.
> 
> 
> Vitamix - Linda knew all about that type of blender, but I didn't - I'll have to look into it - probably quite expensive, huh ?


Yeah, they are expensive, but I can't tell you how much I have used it - a lot more than my FP, for sure.  I won't tell you how much I paid for mine; suffice it to say that it was used only a few times, and I got it from a lady whose mother went into a home, and she had given it to her, but she almost never used it!
Would have been like me giving my mom one!

Besides the Mexican sauces, I have used it for Thai curry pastes, but the problem with those is that it thickens so much, that I'd have to put about 1/2c  water in, to a little less than a pint, so that it could circulate.  I just have to remember than they are diluted, somewhat.  Nothing like gazpacho made in it either; that I thicken by adding chia seeds, letting them gel for a few minutes, then blend until no longer visible.

A friend got one of those refurbished ones, after he fell in love using mine for Mexican (he did the same thing with a number of things in my kitchen, when he and his fiancé watched my house for me on a vacation), and has had no problems with it in almost 15 years.

On the topic of pasillas, there are many areas in Mexico that have different chiles, fresh and dried, that they call pasillas, the best known being _pasillas de Oaxaca _, which is another smoked chile, but fairly large, like a mulato.  If you ever see them, get some - incredible flavor in them!  Regular pasillas  have gotten expensive, but check this out: Pasillas  $17.99/lb  Bayless has a concentrated pasilla paste recipe in one of his books that I used to keep around all the time, along with his _salsa negra_.


----------



## CharlieD (Sep 21, 2019)

Thank you


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North (Sep 22, 2019)

Recipes Make Magic said:


> For those of you who love enchiladas, here's a link to a fabulous recipe from Mexican Food Journal for putting together an authentic red enchilada sauce that's easy to make, and could well be the very best red enchilada sauce.../[/URL]



I have this sauce you might like.  But then again, it's a little hot for most people, but has amazing flavor.  I call it Raging  Bull Sauce.  We start with a 19 oz can chopped tomato
5 drie Japone peppers
3 dried cayenne peppers
3 dried yellowTobaso peppes
2 fresh jalepino peppers
2 Poblano peppers
4 scotch bonnet peppers
1/8 Tsp each, powered Ghost Pepper, 7 pod Dugla, Trindad Scorpian Maruga, and Carolina Reaper,
1 onon, coarsely chopped
1 stalk celery, sliced
1 tsp freshly minced cilantro
1 tbs chili powder
1/2 tsp salt.

Place all in a pot and bring to a simmer.  Cook, Stirling frequently for 20 minutes.  Place in jars and chill util very cold. It is great on top of Chile relennos. tacos, enchiladas, burritos, tamales, and is very good on top of a burger..  The heat is tempered on the burger and it adds grart flavor. i like to eat it like salsa, with fried tortilla chips too.  But Raging Bull is not for the feint of heart.  Be forewarned, it's pretty hot.
Seeeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------

