There must be a hundred varieties, if not more on how to prepare chile sauce. My go to sauce is this chile ancho sauce. When I am not in a hurry and want to prepare a sauce that will leave an impression, I like to use dried chile ancho as my main ingredient. Out of all of the dried peppers, I am most familiar with the chile ancho. My Mom would often use it for such recipes as Tamales, Chile Colorado, Menudo, Costillas de Puerco(ribs), Enchiladas and Pozole.
I know I am crazy, but I can probably walk into my kitchen at any moment and have all the ingredients to prepare tamales! Lol!
Go To the End of the Post for Red Chile Masa For Tamales!
One of the most accurate descriptions for the flavor of the chile ancho is that it tastes like a spicy raisin. On most days it’s pretty mild. Now and then, I will add some masa harina as a thickener for the chile sauce. It adds a subtle flavor of corn and requires no extra butter or oil, just a little water or broth. If you have the time, I suggest toasting your own cumin seeds. The flavor and aroma are incredible compared to already ground cumin. I have purchased an inexpensive coffee grinder just for spices and it works great, especially for when I make Molé with all its spices. Pick up these simple ingredients and prepare a batch of enchilada sauce for dinner or divide it into 2 cup portions for the freezer.
After purchasing my power blender(vitamix), I have not had to strain any chile sauce!
Tips~ Not only is this sauce great for enchiladas, but is also great for tamales, ribs, burritos, taco meat, soups and stews. It is freezer friendly and gluten free.
You can prepare chile sauce with all one pepper or mix the chile ancho with Guajillo, New Mexico or Chile California. If you like it a little spicier, you could add some chile de arbol, japones or piquin. Bottom right of the photo are the beans mixed with chile ancho sauce ready for tamales! They are great as refried beans too!
How To Prepare Red Chile Masa For Tamales Using This Chile Ancho Sauce!
Salsa de Chile Ancho (Chile Ancho Sauce)
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 8-9 ounces of dried chile ancho 15-20 peppers
- Water to fill pot
- 5 cups chicken broth or water
- 1/2 tablespoon Mexican oregano
- 1/2 tablespoon of cumin
- 4 large cloves of garlic or 1 TBS garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper
- 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar OPTIONAL
- Salt to taste
- 1 TBS chicken base or bouillon I use this when I don't have homemade broth
- 4 TBS pork lard(manteca) or grapeseed oil
Instructions
Directions
- Fill a large pot with about 7 cups of water and heat to medium. Remove the stems and seeds from the chile ancho and transfer them into pot of water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium/low and let the peppers slowly reconstitute. Stir now and then to turn peppers over. They will start to turn a brighter shade of red. Remove from heat and let cool for 10 minutes before draining all the water.
- Transfer the peppers to the blender. Add 5 cups of chicken broth or fresh water, oregano, cumin, garlic, pepper and salt to taste. Blend on high until smooth. Using a wire mesh strainer, strain the sauce into a larger bowl. Use the back of a wooden spoon or spatula to push all the pulp through. If using a power blender, there is no need to strain the sauce.
- In a large pot, preheat 1/4 cup of lard or oil to medium heat for a few minutes. Pour in the sauce from the blender. Mix in the chicken base or bouillon. Mix in the vinegar. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and continue cooking for 20-25 minutes.
- Adjust the seasoning as it cooks to your liking. I added and extra 1/2 teaspoon (or to taste) of cumin, oregano, pepper and the salt to taste. The salsa will thicken as it cooks and reduces. Cook for another 10 minutes. Cool completely before storing in an airtight container. It freezes well for up to 6 months!
Notes
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thanks
HI Sonia! Could you put this through a food mill to strain it? I hate the strainer. It is the worst part of making pozole for me. I think I will try it!
Donna, I don’t see why the food mill would not work. Let me know how it goes.
I adore your recipes! I’ve moved to Mexico and this blog is my go to for learning to cook local. This sauce is going on some shredded slow cooker pork very soon. Probably tonight. I’m sure I’ll use it in the future, so I have a couple of questions.
How much masa & water is in the thickening slurry? I can’t use bullion. I’m eating clean these days and there are far too many ingredients. Any suggestions for a substitute other than a bit of salt?
One of the reasons I love your recipes is that most of the ingredients are food in it’s natural form. You give me alternatives to canned sauces and packaged spice mixes. Thanks for cooking from scratch!
You don’t have to use any bouillon at all. If you have a homemade stock, that would be ideal and that’s how my mom would prepare it. as far as thickening the sauce, it depends on how thick you want it to be, I typically take 1/2 cup of masa harina and whisk in 1 cup of water until smooth. Then slowly whisk in half of that to the sauce. let it cook down for a bit or until it begins to thicken. You could add more if you like. When I prepare this for tamales, I don’t add any thickener.
Is it possible to do this without there pork lard? Or something else that can be substituted? Is it just for flavor or consistency/texture as well? Thanks!!
Absolutely Alex. Adding the lard or oil when cooking down a sauce is always optional. It is added to fry the sauce, if you will. It adds flavor in the end, but you certainly could use the oil of your choice.
To make this spicy, what would be the ideal combo and how many of each Chile?
To make it spicy, I would just add chile de arbol. How much depends on you. Some brands of chile de arbol are more spicy than others. You could soften some and gradually blend them into the salsa, tasting as you blend.