Name: New Mexico Red Chile Sauce
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 40 min
Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients: 20-25 pods of Dried New Mexico Chile; 1 tablespoon garlic powder; 1 teaspoon ground cumin; 2 teaspoon salt; 2 tablespoons flour; 1 teaspoon crushed Mexican oregano; 2 tablespoons vegetable oil or lard

This spicy New Mexico Red Chile Sauce gets poured over huevos rancheros, and enchiladas, for smothered burritos, and is the perfect sauce for Red Chile Tamales

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Just like the Abuelitas in my family, we each have our own way of making Red Chile Sauce. I prefer my Mom's recipe because it's quick, easy, and delicious ...perfect for my Mexican dishes.

New Mexico Red Chile sauce can be used in enchiladas, burritos, tamales, or smothered on top of basically anything. Vibrantly red with mild zest and earthiness from New Mexico dried chile pods, this chile sauce is the perfect balance for dishes that require red chile sauce.

Step by Step Instructions:

I start with New Mexico chile pods, best tasting for red chile sauce. The chile pods can be found in Mexican grocery stores, or online.

Rinse and remove the stems and seeds from the chile pods.

In a pot, add enough water to fully cover the pods. Bring to a quick boil, and simmer for 20 minutes.

When red chile pods cool down, place them in a blender or food processor with some of the water from the pot.

Use a mesh strainer to run the puree through the device to remove any remaining seeds and the peel, (this step is necessary because the skin tends to be bitter ), and discard the peel.

Add garlic, cumin, and oregano to the sauce. Add oil to a large skillet, then flour and brown lightly. Remove from heat, and add chile puree to the flour mixture, continuing to stir until lumps are dissolved.

Why add flour?

Flour cuts down some bitterness of the chile sauce for a smoother taste for enchiladas, smothering burritos, and red chile colorado.

For Tamales, you can skip the flour method, and just add salt to taste to the blender then blend with cooked meat.

Return to medium heat and stir until a gravy-like consistency. Taste the sauce, and add salt to taste. This sauce will keep up to 6 days refrigerated and freezes well for up to 5 months.

The Busy Abuelita | New Mexico Red Chile Sauce