There is nothing like homemade enchilada sauce.  This recipe here is how my mom and I make it, with a deep, dark and rich flavor.

First we start off with our chiles….new mexico….

california…and guajillo…

The majority of the chiles should be california and new mexico chiles.  Only one or two guajillo chiles are needed.  They have such a beautiful rich raisin flavor, a little bit goes a long way.

Take the chiles, rinse them and put them in a stock pot and cover in water.  Bring the water to a boil and cook them until they soften.

Once softened, cut them open, rinse out the seeds and place the peppers in a blender.  Just be careful not to lose the ‘meat’ of the chile when rinsing the seeds out.  Once they are blended a bit, you may need to add a bit of water as it can get quite thick.

Add a bit of the cooking liquid into the blender to loosen up the mixture.  This is what it should look like when the blending is done.

Next, we put it through a sieve to separate out the skin from the rehydrated pulp.

 

Using the back of a spoon, push the blended chiles through the sieve.  This can take some time…just be patient.  It’s the perfect time to make a margarita and put on some cumbias and have a little fun with it!

After you’ve squished and smooshed for a bit, this is what you will be left with…

This is where things really get yummmy and we start building flavor.  First, we add a bit of oil to a clean pan on low heat, toss in a few garlic cloves and just brown a bit.  The goal here is to infuse the oil with the garlic flavor.

Once the garlic has worked it’s magic on the oil, we remove the garlic, and add in a few tablespoons of flour to make a roux.

Then we brown it just a touch and add a bit more oil until we have a paste like this…

Now it’s time to add in the prepared chile mixture and things start to smell amazing

Once that has been mixed thoroughly with the roux, it’s time to add in  our seasoning…

Cumin, garlic powder, oregano, salt, smokey paprika and about 2 tbs of red wine vinegar.

Let it simmer for a few minutes an then use in your favorite recipes.  In addition to enchiladas, we use it in soups, chilaquiles, we add it to beef for chile colorado, and the list goes on.  There is nothing quite like it!