Rick Bayless's blog on Epi gave basic directions for a hot sauce that I've been trying to duplicate.

M

michael-in-phoenix

Well-known member
My favorite family-owned mexican restaurants have a red sauce that they plop down on the table with the obligatory basket of chips (not directly on the table mind you, but in a small bowl). It is usually offered along with a couple of bowls of fresh tomato salsa. The stuff I love is different. It doesn't taste of tomatoes, although it is a deep red in color. It is wonderfully vinegary, with a strong taste of red chile.

I LOVE this stuff on chips, tamales, tacos, etc., but it is absolutely superb on omelets or any kind of eggs. It is heaven on rolled tacos with guacamole, and excellent on shredded meats.

I've never found the time to try and replicate this stuff at home, and the restaurants are very reluctant to give any hints as to the actual ingredients. I happily stop by and buy a quart or so from these establishments every couple of weeks, just to keep my addiction at bay.

Here's Rick Bayless's take on it:

That said, try this: Choose a combination of dried chiles (it could be arbol or pequin chiles for heat, chipotles for smoke, the little round cascabels for nuttiness), break off their stems, toast them lightly in a dry skillet over medium heat, soak them in just enough hot water to cover for 30 minutes, then blend them with half water, half cider vinegar (use enough to give the final sauce a hot sauce consistency) until it's as smooth as you can make it. I throw in a few cloves of garlic, perhaps a little black pepper or Mexican oregano. Some like cumin, but I don't. And some even put in a pinch of cloves or cinnamon--if you do, go light. My favorite version blends in a little sesame seeds (or tahini).

I'm going to give it a go soon, and I'll report back if I find anything comes of it that is worth eating.

Michael

 
I just made a chile sauce very similar to this for my Critique and Potluck for my. . .

Ceramics class this summer.

I used 2 or three pasilla, about 8 guajillo, 3 dried chipotles, 6-7 chiles japones. All chiles were lightly toasted, then stemmed and seeded. Hot water was poured over, just enough to cover then all was simmered till soft. Poured this into my VitaMixer, pureed it with a couple of fresh garlic cloves then added oil to balance the bitter and salt to taste. Simmered for 15 minutes or so. Was ok the first day, but great the second when it went to the Critique and Potluck to be put on Carne Asada Tacos. Several people wanted the recipe, and most of those had definite mexican food "proclivities!"

I should try adding vinegar, perhaps apple cider vinegar and testing it to can for storage at home. Pretty good stuff.

 
Michael, maybe this is what you are looking for. At any rate, it is a wonderful salsa.

This doesn't call for vinegar, but a little would certainly be good. Sometimes I add a pinch of sugar if the tomatillos are too tart. I got this recipe from a Mexican lady here in Fort Worth that is a wonderful cook. This salsa will thicken a little after it has been refrigerated, so you may need to add a little broth or water when you serve it after you have kept it for a few days.

Espino’s Salsa Roja

Chiles de cascabel (the round ones) {about 15 or so}
Chiles de arbol {about 25 or so}
2 dried New Mexico chiles
1 chile chipotle
2 cloves garlic (leave peel on)
2 tomatillos
Little bit of chicken buillion granules
Little bit salt


Wipe dust off chiles with damp cloth. Pull stems off chiles and empty out as many seeds as possible.

Peel the husk off the tomatillos, rinse them off and dry them.

Lightly toast chiles, on comal or heavy cast iron skillet. Turn them often so they don’t burn. {Be careful not to burn the chile. If you smell an acrid burnt smell, throw them away, you will ruin the salsa. What you want to smell is a toasty, nutty great smell.}

Put the garlic and the tomatillos on to toast along with the chiles. From time to time, turn them so they brown on all sides. When the garlic is done, take the peel off. {You can get the tomatillos pretty black -- that is good. The garlic should be only a little brown on the outside, and should get soft and fragrant on the inside -- not dried out.}

As soon as the chiles are toasted, put them in a small bowl and pour on just enough boiling water to cover. You may want to put something on top of the chiles to hold them under water. Let them soak about 20 minutes or until soft. Drain chiles, but reserve the water.

Put the soaked chiles, roasted tomatillos and garlic into a blender jar. Add just enough of the reserved water to make the blender blades go. Blend this mixture until very smooth. Once it is as smooth as you want, add the right amount of water to make the consistency you like. Add about 1 teaspoon of the chicken bullion granules and salt to taste. {The chicken bullion is practically all salt, so you won’t need to add much more salt.}


NOTE: One thing I do that seems to help toast the ingredients is to lightly oil my hands with canola oil and rub a little on to the chiles, tomatillos and garlic before I toast them. This seems to help them make contact with the bottom of the pan, and they seem to toast better and get a nuttier flavor. It also helps keep the tomatillos from sticking to the pan.

This makes about a pint. It is very hot. If you would like it milder, you can use more tomatillos, or you could cut back on the chiles de arbol -- or you could leave out the chipotle. Some people use ripe red tomatoes instead of the tomatillos, but this gives an altogether different taste -- good, but different.

 
Mistral, if you do add cider vinegar, please report back with your

canning directions. I would love to can some of this. Thanks!

 
Michael, this sounds like the sauce a local Mexican restaurant serves.....

The next time I'm there (it's in Springfield) I'll pick up a bottle and send it to you. It's red, hot and thick. I actually prefer a fresh salsa type sauce with my food but this stuff is pretty good. They also serve what they call 'sweet sauce' and it's like a thinned down sweet and sour-type sauce. They use it to dress their tacos before serving and I like it in my hot sauce to thin it down as it is so thick.

If you'll pm me your address I'll get it to you in the next month or so. The restaurant is called Mexican Villa. It was the first and only Mexican restaurant in the Springfield area back in the 50's. Family owned. There are about 5-6 locations now as well as drive though 'fast food' versions.

I doubt they'd share their recipe, either, but I'd like to get your take on it.

Let me know.

 
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