Making Homemade Red Chile Sauce

Red Chile Sauce is the most common condiment for breakfast, lunch, and/or dinner for people who have lived in New Mexico.
The sauce is made either from the roasted dried red chile pods that are harvested every fall as New Mexico's most well-known crop, or from powdered chile from those same dried roasted pods.
Making red chile sauce from the powder is easily as simple as opening a can of enchilada sauce, but without all the preservatives you'll find in that can.
Making red chile sauce from the dried pods is a little more involved and will be handled in a separate article.
For those of you who don't know, both red and green chiles come from the same plant.
The green chiles are perfectly ripe and ready when they're bright green.
However, if you leave them on the plant a little longer, they begin to turn red and develop more color.
In New Mexico, red chiles are stored by stacking them along a length of rope into what is called a ristra, which is allowed to air dry, preserving the chiles.
This is a very common sight in New Mexico, numerous red ristras hanging outside the front door as the chiles dry in the autumn.
Here is the simplest and easiest Red Chile Sauce Recipe, it is made from powdered red chile: · 2 T.
oil · 3 T.
flour · 4 T.
red chile powder from New Mexico, Hatch or Chimayo · 2 cups water · 2 cloves garlic, minced · 1 tsp.
salt Heat oil in a skillet, add the flour and brown very slightly.
Add the red chile powder, stir, then add the water and whisk until all lumps are dissolved.
Add garlic and salt.
Simmer 10 minutes.
Serve this as an enchilada sauce, over eggs, potatoes, with cheese, with pinto beans, etc.
It is delicious and a true staple in our household.
Red Chile cheese enchiladas are the easiest meal imaginable.
Flash fry three corn tortillas in a bit of hot oil in a skillet.
Drain on paper towels.
Place one enchilada on a microwave or oven-safe plate, top with shredded cheddar and/or Monterey Jack cheese and some shredded onion.
Repeat layers, topping with a very generous portion of the chile sauce.
Microwave on medium heat until the cheese melts all the way through.
Top with more shredded onion and a fried if you desire.
This is fast food with style!