Homemade Enchilada Sauce

This is the homemade enchilada sauce I always come back to.  Ancho chili peppers give it a rich, complex flavor that works wonders when it's gooped over some crispy corn tortillas.

Enchilada sauce also happens to freeze quite well, so I've gotten in the habit of making an oversized batch and freezing a few portions.  This recipe will make 10-12 cups of otherworldly enchilada sauce that will officially outlaw store-bought enchilada sauce from your pantry.

Homemade Enchilada Sauce

You've got some leeway on the chili peppers used in this recipe.  If you've got Guajillos or New Mexican chilis on hand feel free to add some in, but the Anchos seem to create the most flavor so I would recommend building the sauce around those.  (Are Ancho chilis hot?)

These guys were a bit smaller than usual so I'm using 20 of them for this batch -- 15 normal sized Anchos would be a good equivalent.

If you're new to Anchos try to buy the ones that are soft and pliable, like big raisins.   If they're brittle they are probably older and will have lost a bit of their flavor.

Start by giving them a once-over and wipe off any dusty crevasses with a damp paper towel.  Cut off the stems and de-seed them, but don't worry about getting rid of every last seed.

Roasting dried chilis will wake up some dormant flavors, so I typically throw these in a 400F oven for 1-2 minutes.  An alternative would be to use a hot, dry skillet to give them a flash roast (15-30 seconds).

Keep in mind that burnt chilis will turn your sauce bitter, so definitely stay on the cautious side when roasting them.  If the edges crisp up and start to disintegrate then you've crossed into the dreaded Burnt Zone.

Once roasted, add them to a bowl and cover them with the hottest tap water you've got.  This will reconstitute them and make them more amenable to being ground up.

If they float to the surface you can use a small plate or bowl to keep them submerged.  These will need about 20-30 minutes to reconstitute and this will give you plenty of time to gather the other ingredients.

Add 7-8 plum tomatoes to a 400F oven and roast them for 20-30 minutes.  This is about 1.5 pounds of tomatoes; feel free to substitute other tomato varieties.

Meanwhile, roughly chop up 3 onions and saute them in a dollop of oil over mediumish heat.  You can also add 7-8 garlic cloves but don't worry about mincing up the garlic as all of this will head to the blender eventually.  Cook until the onions are lightly browned.

Okay before we blend the sauce together I want to mention the Bitter Dilemma that comes about when using dried chilis.

By now the chilis have fully reconstituted.  Take a taste of their soaking liquid.  Does it taste bitter to you?

It usually tastes a little bitter to me so I tend to not use the soaking liquid in sauces.  Instead, I typically use stock to liquefy the sauces.

But half the world will say it tastes earthy and will crave more of that flavor.  Those peeps are good candidates for using the soaking liquid.

Also keep in mind that there are other ways to reign in the bitter undertones of sauces.  For example, in our Colorado Enchiladas we use a sliver of chocolate and some adobo sauce to counter the earthy flavor and the result is delish.

To summarize, I like this sauce best when the earthy flavor is mild, so we're using stock and the sweetness of the roasted tomatoes to keep it that way.

Okay enough chatting, in a blender we're going to combine the drained chilis, tomatoes, the onion mixture, and the stock.

You'll probably have to blend this in two batches because there is loads of it.

Give it a whirl until it's thoroughly combined and strain this mixture through a fine-mesh sieve.  You can discard the leftover seed and skin remnants.  You'll probably have to smoosh it through the sieve using the back of a spoon.

You're left with a bowl full of unlimited potential.  Nice!

But don't eat it yet!

Heat up a dollop of oil (or lard!) in a saucepan over medium heat.  Add the sauce to the pan along with:

1 tablespoon Mexican oregano
1 teaspoon cumin
2 teaspoons salt
freshly cracked black pepper

I think Mexican oregano works really well in this sauce so keep an eye out for some if you don't normally stock it.  But don't sweat it if you don't have any, you can just omit it altogether and you'll still end up with a good batch.

Let this simmer for 30-45 minutes, or until it has reduced down to a velvety consistency.  It'll cling to the tortillas better if it's a bit thicker.

This simmer also helps the flavors meld together so trust me it is worth it even if you're getting hungry!

Take a final taste for seasoning.  I added another pinch of salt to this batch.

You're left with 10-12 cups of otherworldly enchilada sauce.  I typically freeze a few portions in Mason jars.  You'll fit just over 2 cups of sauce in each jar and this is a good amount for a 2-person meal.

I think it's easiest to freeze these with the lids off and then once frozen you can cap them.  Be sure to leave a bit of headroom as it will expand a bit as it freezes.

You can also freeze some of the sauce in Ziploc bags if you want to.

Okay you've got some awesome red enchilada sauce, now what?!!

My default is to use this sauce for a batch of chicken enchiladas.  We have a detailed post on these enchiladas here, but here's the quick skinny on them...

Shredded chicken works best for the enchiladas, so you can use shredded rotisserie chicken or you can poach chicken breasts while the sauce is simmering.

Once you've got cooked chicken on hand, warm up 7-8 corn tortillas; this will make them easier to roll.  (I usually put them in the oven for a couple minutes to warm them up.)

Add some of the sauce to a plate and dredge a tortilla in it.  Flip it over and fill with chicken, cheese, and some finely chopped onion.

Roll tight and add them to a baking dish.  You can put a layer of the enchilada sauce on the baking dish to prevent sticking.

Drench them with the enchilada sauce and give the dish a jiggle so that you get sauce in between the enchiladas.

Bake this at 400F for 10-15 minutes or until the cheese is all gooey and delish.

You can serve as is and your fam will be plenty happy, but of course garnishing with Crema, cilantro, or a bit of Cotija never hurts.

That's 8 enchiladas in the above baking dish and 2 cups of enchilada sauce is a good amount for that batch; this will easily feed two hungry people.

And if all went according to plan you've now got 10-12 cups of the enchilada sauce on hand.  If cooking for two, that's easily 5-6 meals you've got on standby.  Well done!

Okay, please let me know if you have any questions about this enchilada sauce.  It's worth getting familiar with the technique as the flavor will knock the socks off the local competition.

Buen Provecho.

We use similar techniques to make a batch of authentic Adobo Sauce.