How to Make Red Enchilada Sauce
This recipe is for a classic Mexican red enchilada sauce or enchilada salsa. Try the out the recipe. You will use it over and over because it’s so good.
The main ingredients which give the sauce most of its flavor are ancho chiles and chiles de arbol. The chiles de arbol are what give this enchilada sauce its heat. Reduce their number if you want to prepare a milder sauce.
Provecho!
Ingredients for the red enchilada sauce:
- 12 ancho chiles (large chiles in the photo above)
- 4 chiles de arbol (small chiles in the photo above)
- 2 Roma tomatoes
- 1 small onion chopped into 4 chunks
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 teaspoon of Mexican oregano
- 1/8 teaspoon of cumin
- salt to taste
Prepare the red enchilada sauce:
1. Rinse the ancho chiles and the chiles de arbol under cold water and pat dry. Tear open the chiles and remove the seeds and veins. Toast the chiles, the onion, and garlic in a dry pan or comal over medium low heat until fragrant. This should take about five minutes. Keep turning the chiles so that they do not burn.
2. Bring six cups of water to a boil and add all of the chiles, onion, and garlic. Reduce the heat and simmer for fifteen minutes.
3. Transfer the contents of the pan to a blender and add the oregano and cumin. Blend for two minutes until the mixture is very smooth. Place a towel over the top of the blender while blending to protect from any splatters. Be careful because the mixture is very hot.
4. Return the contents of the blender back to the pan by forcing the mixture through a strainer with the back of a spoon to remove the tough bits of chile skin that remain. Don’t skip this step it greatly improves the texture of the finished sauce.
5. Simmer the strained enchilada sauce for 15 minutes to blend the flavors. Add salt to taste.
This recipe makes about 4 cups of finished salsa. Store the salsa in the refrigerator for 3 days or in the freezer for one month. The recipe for red enchilada sauce also works really well for chilaquiles.
More Mexican Salsa Recipes
Green Enchilada Sauce
Recipe for Authentic Mexican Salsa
Mexican Tomatillo Salsa Recipe
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chile ancho,
chile de arbol,
enchilada salsa,
enchilada sauce,
red salsa,
red sauce
How to Make Chicken Tostadas
This easy to make recipe for chicken tostadas can be completed in about thirty minutes. Tostadas make a nice light lunch and are very kid friendly. Tell your kids that they are eating flat tacos. They will get a kick out of it.
Chicken tostadas can be assembled from scratch or from store bought ingredients. We usually use refried beans from a can and a homemade salsa.
For this version of chicken tostadas, I used a red tomato based salsa, but you can you use almost any salsa that you like.
Ingredients for Chicken Tostadas
- 2 chicken breasts – shredded
- 8 corn tostadas
- 1 can refried beans
- 2 cups red tomato salsa
- 2 cups shredded lettuce
- 1/2 white onion sliced into rings
- 1/2 cup Mexican cream
Prepare the Chicken Tostadas
Bring 6 cups of water to a boil and reduce heat to low. Simmer the chicken breasts until just cooked through. Remove from the chicken breasts from the water and allow to cool to the touch. Shred the chicken breasts with a fork and set aside.
Heat the refried beans in a pan over low heat. Shred two cups of lettuce. Slice half an onion into rings.
Once the beans are warm assemble the tostadas. Spread the refried beans on the tostada. Add a quarter cup of shredded chicken. Add the shredded lettuce and a few onion rings. Cover with the red tomato salsa and a dollop of Mexican cream. Serve immediately.
Recipe makes 8 chicken tostadas.
A tomatillo salsa recipe that goes well with tostadas.
Tagged as:
chicken,
tostadas
A Tortilla Press for Your Kitchen
A tortilla press is a workhorse in any busy Mexican kitchen. Tortilla presses are used to make corn tortillas quickly and uniformly. The dough or masa is pressed between two plates to form the tortilla.
The tortilla press in the photo is made of metal but you will also find presses made of wood. Tortilla presses are available in many stores that sell specialty cookware.
Nothing beats fresh tortillas, hot off the comal. If you prepare Mexican food regularly, you will want to have a tortilla press in your kitchen.
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tortilla press,
tortillas
Quick Recipe to Make Leftover Turkey Soup
Here is a recipe for leftover turkey soup that I came up with to use all of the good meat and bones from our Christmas turkey. It’s a flexible recipe to make a hearty Mexican style soup from what you have on hand.
Make a Quick Turkey Stock
The first thing you need to do is make a quick turkey stock that is the base for this flavorful soup.
Put 10 cups of water in a pot. Add the leftover turkey bones that hopefully have some meat left on them to the pot. I used the legs, thighs and wings.
Add half an onion cut in chunks. Add one crushed clove of garlic. Add 1 carrot and one stalk of celery cut in chunks. Add 2 toasted ancho chiles and 1 chile de arbol that have the seeds removed.
Simmer on low for 45 minutes. Reserve the bones, vegetables, and chiles. This makes a rich spicy turkey broth.
Assemble the Leftover Turkey Soup
Once you have made the turkey stock you are ready to assemble the soup.
When the turkey bones have cooled to the touch remove all remaining meat and add to the turkey broth. If the meat from the bones is not enough, shred a cup of the leftover turkey and add it to the pot.
Thinly slice 2 carrots and and 1 stalk of celery and add to the broth. Then add one half of an onion that has been diced.
You can add any other vegetables that you have on hand. Diced potatoes or tomatoes would work well in the soup. It’s really up to you. Just add what you think will taste good.
Add 1 teaspoon of crumbled Mexican oregano and 1/4 teaspoon of cumin for more flavor.
Simmer the soup for 45 minutes and add salt to taste at the end of cooking.
Garnish the Turkey Soup
To garnish the soup you can add slices of avocado, a dollop of cream, and a squirt of lime if would like. Serve very hot.
My leftover turkey soup recipe is flavorful, easy to make, and a great way to use up your leftover turkey.
Tagged as:
leftovers,
soup,
turkey,
turkey soup
The seeds from dried chiles can be lightly toasted and used as a condiment to give a dish some extra heat. Traditionally, you place a bowl of seeds on the table and diners can add them to their food as desired.
I have never seen this done at anyone’s home or in a restaurant. I got the idea to use the chile pepper seeds from a Mexican cookbook. The cookbook doesn’t call for the seeds to be toasted but I liked the added nutty flavor toasting gives them.
Tagged as:
chiles,
seeds
Taco Stands, Cheers, a Happy Heart and Stomach
One of the best things in the world is a good taco stand. Taco stands serve two purposes, sustenance and company. You go to a taco stand for great inexpensive food and the company of the other patrons who are probably your friends and neighbors. It’s like the theme song from the TV show Cheers. “You want to go where everybody knows your name, and they’re always glad you came.”
Good taco stands are never fancy but always clean. You can be assured that if a taco stand looks really nice the tacos will be lousy. And you can also be assured that if the taco stand isn’t clean you will suffer the consequences.
On a side note, here is my decision making method for choosing a taco stand. Take a good look at the food prep area and how they handle money. If the food prep area is kept very clean and everything is in order and if the person who handles money doesn’t handle food, I figure my odds are good that I’ll be fine. Another thing to look for is a lot of repeat customers. A taco stand won’t get any repeat business if it’s making people sick.
Happiness on a plate. Pictured are a carne asada taco and a quesadilla with carne asada with some nice grilled onions on the side. If you don’t have a craving for tacos just looking at the picture, you have never had a great taco.
Typical Mexican tacos are very different than the tacos you find north of the border. First, they are much smaller. Second, they aren’t loaded with extraneous toppings such as sour cream, cheddar cheese, diced tomato or lettuce.
The main ingredients of a good taco are: the tortilla, the meat filling, minced onion and cilantro, a squirt of lime juice, a the salsa of your choice. It’s just the right number of ingredients to provide the perfect blend of flavors. The taco pictured also has beans, which I’m not fond of on my tacos, but are popular on tacos in Puerto Vallarta where these tacos come from.
Notice that the plate is covered in a plastic bag. Why would that be? We’ll I’ll tell you. It’s rare that a taco stand has running water so there is no way to wash the plates used by customers. So what they do is slip a fresh plastic bag over the plate every time they serve a new customer. It’s a hygienic and practical solution.
A great salsa makes a great taco. It’s the complement to the meat and provides the heat. Mexican food just isn’t Mexican food without the salsa burn.
Every good taco stand has it’s own personality, style of food, and fanatical following. People will argue passionately as to why their favorite taco stand is the greatest. Once a person has chosen a favorite taco stand it is nearly impossible to change that person’s opinion. Arguing the merits of a taco stand is ultimately pointless, just as arguing religion and politics is pointless. You are not going to change anyone’s mind.
It’s impossible to leave your favorite taco stand in a bad mood. First, the people who work the stand will have made you feel like you were in your own home. Maybe, even better for that matter. Second, you will have filled yourself to the point of bursting with some amazing food. Third you will have enjoyed your meal with your best friends, even if those friends you just happened to meet when you arrived.
Provecho!
You can read about my favorite taco stand in Puerto Vallarta.
Tagged as:
taco stand,
tacos
Picadillo, Mexican style ground beef, is a popular lunch meal particularly in Northern Mexico. Picadillo is an easy dish to prepare that’s in every home cook’s repertoire. Picadillo is great for making ground beef tacos, too.
Picadillo almost always has diced onions, potatoes, chiles and carrots and sometimes peas. Like most Mexican dishes, measurements are flexible. You add what you have on hand. My version calls for chile Poblano but you can substitute any type of chile of your choice.
Serve with a stack of hot corn or flour tortillas on the side.
Recipe for Picadillo – Mexican Style Ground Beef
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 pounds of ground beef
- 2 cloves of garlic minced
In a large skillet, brown the ground beef and set aside. In the same pan, add the diced onion, diced poblano chile, and minced garlic and cook over low heat until the onion is translucent. Add the tomato, potato and ground beef and mix well. Add a half a cup of water and cover the skillet and cook over low heat for 30 minutes stirring occasionaly.
Tagged as:
beef,
picadillo
Using Serrano Chiles in Your Mexican Dishes
Serrano chiles are called for in many Mexican recipes. Serranos have a bright, sharp taste and are substantially hotter than Jalapeno chiles. Serrano chiles are a medium to dark green when picked and as they mature turn orange and then red. Typically they are used when they are still green.
An average Serrano chile ranges in size from 2 to 3 inches long and about 3/4 of an inch across. Serrano chiles do not need to be peeled as do many other chiles. You can incorporate Serranos into your dishes two ways: minced or in rounds. To reduce the heat of Serrano chiles be sure to remove the white veins and seeds.
Working With Chile Peppers
If you have sensitive skin, wear rubber gloves when working with chiles. Serrano chiles are very hot and the capsacin in the chiles which causes the burning sensation stays on your skin all day.
I speak from experience. The last time I chopped up some Serranos I rubbed the side of my face before washing my hands and where I touched my face burned for nearly four hours. Even after you wash your hands much of the capsacin stays on them.
Mexican Recipes that use Serrano Chiles
Chicken Breasts with a Spicy Tomatillo Salsa
Authentic Mexican Table Salsa Recipe
Charred Tomatillo Salsa Recipe
You might be interested in The Great Chile Book.
Tagged as:
chiles,
chillis,
Serrano chiles
Recipe for Mexican Style Beef Tips
Beef Tips a la Mexicana is the type of dish that you will find served all over Mexico at family restaurants that offer a comida corrida, a daily lunch special. It’s hearty dish that is easy to prepare at home. A word of warning though, Beef Tips a la Mexicana is very spicy.
When you make Mexican style beef tips, choose a cheaper cut of meat that benefits from the longer cooking time. Better cuts of meat lose their flavor and the meat becomes chewy.
This recipe makes 4 large portions or 6 modest portions. Serve Mexican style beef tips with rice or beans and a stack of tortillas on the side.
How to make Mexican Style Beef Tips
Ingredients:
- 1.5 Pounds beef tips
- 5 Roma tomatoes diced
- 1 Medium onion diced
- 4 Serrano chiles cut into rounds- jalapeno chiles can be substituted. Dice the jalapeno if used.
- 1 Clove of garlic minced – add an extra clove if you really like garlic
- 1 Sprig of cilantro minced – parsley works too
Put two tablespoons of oil in a pan. Add the onions, chiles, and garlic over medium-low heat and fry until the onions turn transparent. Add the tomatoes and continue to cook over low heat for about 15 minutes.
In a separate pan, brown the beef tips with two tablespoons of oil over a medium-high heat. When the beef is browned on all sides, add the vegetable mixture to the beef. Add one cup of water to the pan. Cover the pan and simmer the mixture over low heat for 25 minutes. Add the cilantro and cook for 5 more minutes.
That’s all there is to it. A simple recipe for hearty Mexican style beef tips.
Tagged as:
beef,
recipe
A great Mexican beer is Noche Buena. It’s a dark beer available only around the Christmas holidays. If you find it at the store, grab a case while you can.
The direct translation of Noche Buena is a good night. Noche Buena has two meanings. It’s the Spanish name for a poinsettia plant and it also means Christmas Eve.
Tagged as:
beer,
Christmas
