Red Enchilada Sauce

Name: Red Enchilada Sauce
Total time: 30 min
Yield: About 3 1/2 cups
Cuisine: mexican
Ingredients: 1 medium yellow onion, chopped; 3 guajillo chiles, torn, stemmed and seeded; 2 California chiles, torn, stemmed and seeded; 1 dried chile de árbol, seeds removed; 1 large garlic clove, chopped; 2 tablespoons vegetable oil; 1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper; Salt

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(173)
Comments: Read comments

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

Preparation

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.
Step 2
Pour into a blender and purée until smooth.
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.

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Ratings

4 out of 5

173 user ratings

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Comments

Jack3 years ago

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.

Ajax3 years ago

These are ALL dried chilis.

Molly-by-golly3 years ago

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.

Jshan4 weeks ago

I make it as is and make sure to add enough salt. In the rotation. And family finds it delicious

Tonic1 month ago

I’m curious. I have the El Cholo cookbook and this recipe differs? I guess I’ll have to do a cook off to see if I can determine which they actually serve, if either, in the restaurant. And which I prefer.

AE6 months ago

For a little more flavor, sub ancho for árbol, and toast the dried chilies to awaken their aroma. Leave the black pepper out.

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