Mexican Red Chili Sauce

Red chili sauces are used in many Mexican and Tex-Mex dishes, such as red chile enchiladas or tamales. On doing research for this post I found references to many different ways of making red chile sauce; in Mexico alone there are as many ways to prepare this sauce as there are varieties of chilies, and even more when you take into account the regional twists. The following is a recipe for a basic red chili sauce, made with Ancho chilies (called by some Pasilla chiles – see notes). The basic technique was taught to me by my Mexican friend, Arturo Vargas, and helped along with notes from Diana Kennedy’s From My Mexican Kitchen: Techniques and Ingredients.

Why make your own sauce? Making your own chile sauce is not much different than making your own spaghetti sauce. If you have the time, it’s worth doing. In addition to creating a sauce with fantastic taste, dried chilies are inexpensive and easy to store. If you are making up a large batch of tamales, enchiladas, or chili beans you will likely need a lot of sauce, and if you make your own, you can easily make as much sauce as you need. Do you have a favorite recipe for Mexican or Tex-Mex chili sauce? If so, please let us know in the comments.

Mexican Red Chili Sauce Recipe

Ingredients

• 3 dried Ancho (sometimes called pasilla in the US*) chiles OR 2 Ancho and 2 Guajillo chiles
• Water
• 1 large clove garlic
• 2 whole cloves, crushed
• 2 black peppercorns, crushed
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt, more to taste
• Olive oil

* According to Diana Kennedy, Pasilla chilies are a long and skinny variety of chile, while Ancho chilies (dried poblanos) are shorter and wider. However, in certain parts of Mexico, the Ancho chile is called Pasilla, and because of immigration, is commonly known as Pasilla in many parts of the US.

Read More: Mexican Red Chili Sauce