I do not at all care for the too strong flavoring of just a canned
enchilada sauce, so I have watered these down with beef or chicken broth
in the past. What I am hoping for is a milder flavor, darkness with
depth, and merely a hint of sweetness. Would this recipe suffice, or
how may it be improved?

ENCHILADA SAUCE
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
2 Tbsp. flour
1/4 cup red chile powder, mild
2 cups beef broth, fresh or canned
2 cups tomato puree, canned
1/2 tsp. oregano, dried
1/4 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. granulated garlic
1 tsp. salt (to taste)
Heat oil in large saucepan; add flour to make a roux. Stir and cook
over medium heat for 2 minutes until browned. Add the rest to the roux;
simmer over low heat for 15 minutes.

Picky ~JA~

"Richard's ~JA~" wrote in message
...
I do not at all care for the too strong flavoring of just a canned
enchilada sauce, so I have watered these down with beef or chicken broth
in the past. What I am hoping for is a milder flavor, darkness with
depth, and merely a hint of sweetness. Would this recipe suffice, or
how may it be improved?

ENCHILADA SAUCE
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
2 Tbsp. flour
1/4 cup red chile powder, mild

Use ground Chimayo or Ancho, or both here. They're both mild and the flavor
improvement would be worth it. If you aren't in a hurry, grab some dried
ancho chiles, remove stems and seeds and rehydrate them, and then puree
them. Well worth the extra effort.

2 cups beef broth, fresh or canned
2 cups tomato puree, canned

Try skipping the tomato, unless you're really married to including it; make
up the volume in stock/broth. Chicken stock works well for this too.

1/2 tsp. oregano, dried
1/4 tsp. cumin

I think you'll find cumin to be a variable for you. If you use it, I'd
recommend toasting whole seeds in a dry skillet and then grind them to
powder with a mortar and pestle.

1/2 tsp. granulated garlic

Fresh minced is way better, but granulated will do.

1 tsp. salt (to taste)
Heat oil in large saucepan; add flour to make a roux. Stir and cook
over medium heat for 2 minutes until browned. Add the rest to the roux;
simmer over low heat for 15 minutes.

15 min may be a bit short of a time for the sauce to simmmer, but may work
with a small batch, just so long as it's not watery.

Jack Sauced

Jack Schidt® wrote:

"Richard's ~JA~" wrote in message
...

I do not at all care for the too strong flavoring of just a canned
enchilada sauce, so I have watered these down with beef or chicken broth
in the past. What I am hoping for is a milder flavor, darkness with
depth, and merely a hint of sweetness. Would this recipe suffice, or
how may it be improved?

ENCHILADA SAUCE
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
2 Tbsp. flour
1/4 cup red chile powder, mild


Use ground Chimayo or Ancho, or both here. They're both mild and the flavor
improvement would be worth it. If you aren't in a hurry, grab some dried
ancho chiles, remove stems and seeds and rehydrate them, and then puree
them. Well worth the extra effort.


2 cups beef broth, fresh or canned
2 cups tomato puree, canned


Try skipping the tomato, unless you're really married to including it; make
up the volume in stock/broth. Chicken stock works well for this too.


1/2 tsp. oregano, dried
1/4 tsp. cumin


I think you'll find cumin to be a variable for you. If you use it, I'd
recommend toasting whole seeds in a dry skillet and then grind them to
powder with a mortar and pestle.


1/2 tsp. granulated garlic


Fresh minced is way better, but granulated will do.


1 tsp. salt (to taste)
Heat oil in large saucepan; add flour to make a roux. Stir and cook
over medium heat for 2 minutes until browned. Add the rest to the roux;
simmer over low heat for 15 minutes.


15 min may be a bit short of a time for the sauce to simmmer, but may work
with a small batch, just so long as it's not watery.

Jack Sauced




I would use a handful of whole dried New Mexico chiles, and 1 or 2 ancho.
Rehydrate them, and liquify (with the soaking water) in a blender.
Meanwhile, make a medium roux using lard and flour. Add the chile paste to
the roux, and a chicken bouillon cube or two (some Mexican chicken 'n'
tomato bouillon cubes might be nice.) Adjust seasoning with garlic powder,
black pepper, and oregano. Simmer for a while. Add more water or stock if
it's too thick.

I seldom use cumin in anything that has ancho chile. I think large amounts
of cumin in Mexican recipes is often a failed attempt to get that ancho
aroma and taste. I use a *little* bit of cumin sometimes if I make chili
using only NuMex chiles.

Bob

"zxcvbob" wrote in message
...

I seldom use cumin in anything that has ancho chile. I think large
amounts
of cumin in Mexican recipes is often a failed attempt to get that ancho
aroma and taste. I use a *little* bit of cumin sometimes if I make chili
using only NuMex chiles.


Yeah, I always thought that a little cumin goes a long way. Now I rarely
use it except for meat rubs. Not being able to find dried NM chiles I opt
for ground Chimayo, a nice sweet NM chile. Next batch I may skip the ancho
and use the Chimayo alone.

Jack Sauced(again)

"Richard's ~JA~" wrote in message
...
I do not at all care for the too strong flavoring of just a canned
enchilada sauce, so I have watered these down with beef or chicken broth
in the past. What I am hoping for is a milder flavor, darkness with
depth, and merely a hint of sweetness. Would this recipe suffice, or
how may it be improved?

ENCHILADA SAUCE
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
2 Tbsp. flour
1/4 cup red chile powder, mild
2 cups beef broth, fresh or canned
2 cups tomato puree, canned
1/2 tsp. oregano, dried
1/4 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. granulated garlic
1 tsp. salt (to taste)
Heat oil in large saucepan; add flour to make a roux. Stir and cook
over medium heat for 2 minutes until browned. Add the rest to the roux;
simmer over low heat for 15 minutes.


I'd skip the roux. I use guar gum as a thickener/ binder/ emulsfier. In this
case, probably two or three pinches. A little goes a long way. But first I
might weaken the taste of the tomato puree a bit more with additional broth
or water. I would also use more cumin. To get that hint of sweetness you
mention, I would add a couple slices of onion before simmering and then
remove them afterward.

Just my 2c. YMMV.

You men are wonderful, I can now see exactly where I will make
significant changes. I long ago made Mexican cooking sauces by
soaking/heating so as to end up with a puree of milder dried chile
peppers that were great, but I've forgotten what sorts of peppers to
use. I so appreciate your taking the time to instruct, and I have just
printed:

ENCHILADA SAUCE
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
2 Tbsp. flour
1/4 cup red chile powder, mild
~~Use ground Chimayo or Ancho, or both here. They're both mild and the
flavor improvement would be worth it. If you aren't in a hurry, grab
some dried ancho chiles, remove stems and seeds and rehydrate them, and
then puree them. Well worth the extra effort.
2 cups beef broth, fresh or canned
2 cups tomato puree, canned
~~Try skipping the tomato, unless you're really married to including it;
make up the volume in chicken stock works (divorce isn't yet final,
maybe)
1/2 tsp. oregano, dried
1/4+ tsp. cumin seeds, toasted, ground
1 fresh minced garlic clove
1 tsp. salt (to taste)
Heat oil in large saucepan; add flour to make a roux. Stir and cook over
medium heat for 2 minutes until browned. Add the rest to the roux;
simmer over low heat for near to an hour....Jack Sauced
~~I would use a handful of whole dried New Mexico chiles, and 1 or 2
ancho. Rehydrate them, and liquify (with the soaking water) in a
blender. Meanwhile, make a medium roux using lard and flour. Add the
chile paste to the roux, and a chicken bouillon cube or two (some
Mexican chicken 'n' tomato bouillon cubes might be nice.) Adjust
seasoning with garlic powder, black pepper, and oregano. Simmer for a
while. Add more water or stock if it's too thick. I seldom use cumin in
anything that has ancho chile. I think large amounts of cumin in Mexican
recipes is often a failed attempt to get that ancho aroma and taste. I
use a *little* bit of cumin sometimes if I make chili using only NuMex

~~Yeah, I always thought that a little cumin goes a long way. Now I
rarely use it except for meat rubs. Not being able to find dried NM
chiles I opt for ground Chimayo, a nice sweet NM chile. Next batch I may
skip the ancho and use the Chimayo alone....Jack Sauced(again)
~~To get that hint of sweetness you mention, I would add a couple slices
of onion before simmering and then remove them afterward.
Just my 2c. YMMV....Sam D.

Picky ~JA~

Thank you for the Chimayo shopping tip, Bob. I do not want this sauce
to end up too hot for my own taste, yet I may make hotter for others.
Example being, five chilis for me might be three mid-heat and two
paprika-ish. Excellent advice offering, and very appreciated.

Picky ~JA~

Richard's ~JA~ wrote:
Thank you for the Chimayo shopping tip, Bob [no relations]. I do not
want this sauce to end up too hot for my own taste, yet I may make
hotter for others. Example being, five chilis for me might be three
mid-heat and two paprika-ish. Excellent advice offering, and very
appreciated.

Picky ~JA~



When I can find chimayo chile, it's pretty hot. The big mahogany colored
dried peppers of no particular variety that you can find in supermarkets in
the ethnic Mexican aisle, or on a pegboard near the produce department are
more consistantly mild-to-medium heat. Guajillo chiles are another good
choice if you find them.

Anchos are not hot at all, and are rich and slightly sweet -- not unlike
good chewing tobacco.

Good luck, and best regards,
Bob

"BubbaBob" wrote in message
1...
Chimayo is not necessarily a mild chile. It comes in all grades. At
one end of the spectrum it has about as much kick as sweet paprika.
At the other end it can be as hot as Sandia A. It depends on the
source. I can find four different heat levels of Chimayo, labeled as
such, in local stores.

Good point!

Jack Caliente