La Milpa Enchiladas Sauce (Chile Colorado)

La Milpa Enchiladas Sauce (Chile Colorado)

Traditional enchiladas are seasoned with chili pepper made from a variety of dried red chile peppers soaked or ground into a sauce with other spices. A mix of different chilies gives a better flavor.  It is important to cook the sauce until no graininess from chilies remains. I often include a dried chipotle pepper for smokiness. A rendered pork fat is more flavorful than plain lard. Do not use commercial chili powder as it usually has too much cumin.

2 Dried Ancho or pasilla chilies

1 dried aji amarillo chilies

Optionally, add 2 level teaspoons of hot New Mexico ground chile pow­der if you want a hotter sauce or 2 dried hot guajillo chili. Add additional arbor peppers if you want even more heat.

2 ½ Cups homemade chicken stock

2 Large clove of garlic or more if you like

3 Tablespoons rendered pork fat (manteca)

2 Tablespoons white all-purpose flour

Pinch of ground cumin

Optionally, pinch of ground Mexican oregano

¼ Cup cream or half-half

Salt

Pinch or two of sugar as required - see text

Break open chili pods discarding stems, internal tissues and membranes and seeds. (Optionally wash chilies, shake off excess water, and then toast in hot dry pan 30-45 seconds until fragrant.) Soak chili pods in hot water for 60 minutes until soft. Discard water. Place in blender with 2 ½ cups hot chicken stock and garlic. Add optional hot New Mexico ground chili powder if required. Process until very finely blended, maybe 2 full minutes. Strain results through a sieve using a wooden spoon and reserve sieved chili stock. Make a roux by blending 2 tablespoons of the pork fat and flour and cook it on low until it is a medium brown color. Remove from heat. Whisk in sieved chili stock, cumin and cook on stove over very low heat for 1 hours adding water or more chicken stock as needed. Taste the sauce for heat, and if not spicy enough, add more ground HOT chili powder. Stir occasionally with a wooden spoon. Correct salt and add sugar and cream as required. The amount of sugar should not be per­ceptible and is used to just take any bitter edge off. Salt will also help moderate the bitter undertones. The cream serves to mellow the sauce.

Note
1. Since this posting, I now have devloped a sauce based on an optimal blend of chiles - see my post for

Tex-Mex Enchilada Chilli Blend.