Red Enchilada Sauce

Recipe from Ron Salisbury

Adapted by Kevin McKenna and Alexa Weibel

Published Jan. 4, 2023

Red Enchilada Sauce
David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
Total Time
30 minutes
Rating
4(166)
Comments
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Cooks at El Cholo in Los Angeles spend four hours, three times a week, to make each 35-gallon batch of sauce for their enchiladas. “Without the enchilada, we wouldn’t have survived,” said Ron Salisbury, the third-generation owner. Adapted from “A Taste of History: With Authentic El Cholo Recipes” by Ron Salisbury (2020), this sauce was created for El Cholo’s Sonora-Style Enchiladas but can be used for any enchilada recipe. The mild California chiles, despite their name, come from Mexico, where they are dried in kilns. (Years ago they were sun-dried in fields, giving them a richer flavor, but exposure to birds ended that practice.) —Kevin McKenna, Alexa Weibel

Featured in: How One Family Parlayed Mexican Food Into a Los Angeles Landmark

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Ingredients

Yield:About 3½ cups
  • 1medium yellow onion, chopped
  • 3guajillo chiles, torn, stemmed and seeded
  • 2California chiles, torn, stemmed and seeded
  • 1dried chile de árbol, seeds removed
  • 1large garlic clove, chopped
  • 2tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
  • Salt
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (7 servings)

50 calories; 4 grams fat; 0 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 3 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 3 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 1 gram sugars; 1 gram protein; 79 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    In a medium pot, combine onion, all the chiles and the garlic with 4 cups water. Bring mixture to a boil over high, then cook for 15 minutes over medium-high heat.

  2. Step 2

    Pour into a blender and purée until smooth.

  3. Step 3

    Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add purée and black pepper and season generously with salt. Cook for 5 minutes. Taste and add more salt, if needed. The sauce will keep, refrigerated, for up to one week.

Ratings

4 out of 5
166 user ratings
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Comments

Jack

Cut off the stem ends. Split the dried pods carefully, keeping the pieces as large as possible. Remove seeds. Steep the pieces in hot water, just enough to cover the pieces. After they reconstitute, carefully scrape the flesh from the skin, using a straight knife or spatula. Discard the skins. Blend the flesh with some or all of the steeping water. Simmer with garlic and some orange zest. Make a roux, not too dark. Now make the sauce. Add a little salt, maybe some veg broth. Freezes nicely.

Ajax

These are ALL dried chilis.

Molly-by-golly

Hi everyone, Where I live in Europe, I can only get dried chilis. Any thoughts on how to adjust the recipe to accommodate them? Would I need to reduce the number of chilis, for example? And, I can imagine it’d be best to strain the mixture to get out fibrous bits of skin. Any help would be much appreciated.

Making A Roux

I have made this sauce a handful of times and always seem to need to make an adjustment. Feedback I would give is make a roux instead of just adding oil. Use whatever stock you are using (e.g. chicken, pork) and some flour let that meld then add the blended Chile mix.

David Chavez

It's a good recipe but according to my tía in Mexico, you need to use chicken stock/broth instead of water and use only two cups to steep the dried chilies instead of four cups (you can add more later, if needed). And the last step, where you "shock" the puree, be sure to have the oil good and hot so that when the puree hits the oil, it produces the needed "shock". Also, I would suggest using three to five arbol chilies.

Don't Puree Boiling Hot Sauce

Remember to let the sauce cool before you puree it in your blender

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Credits

Adapted from “A Taste of History: With Authentic El Cholo Recipes” by Ron Salisbury (2020)

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