Hot Pepper Oil Tucsons El Charro Food

INFUSED HOT PEPPER VINEGAR, TUCSON'S EL CHARRO

Steps:

• Wearing gloves, rinse and dry the green chile peppers (it doesn't matter if the chiles are a color other than green - they can be yellow or red forms of a variety) . Stem and chop the peppers into medium coarse pieces. Place the peppers in a clean, heatproof quart jar with a tight fitting lid.
• Heat the vinegar to simmering and pour over the peppers. Allow this to cool, then put the lid on and tighten fully. Allow this to stand for two weeks in a dark, cool place, shaking the jar occasionally.
• After two weeks, strain the mixture through a fine sieve. Bottle up in a clean, dry bottle and cap tightly. Add a whole red pepper to the bottle for extra flavor and for appearance, if desired.

HOT PEPPER OIL - TUCSON'S EL CHARRO

Steps:

• Put the oil and peppers in a saucepan. Heat until the fizzing stops, taking care not to let the mixture smoke. Cool this.
• Strain through a sieve.
• Funnel the oil into a dry bottle to which you have added a dry whole pepper, for appearance and to denote its spicy flavor.

ENCHILADAS DE POLLO ( CHICKEN ) TUCSON'S EL CHARRO

Steps:

• Bring the water to a boil in a large pot. Add the chicken breasts, and boil again. Reduce the heat and simmer 20 minutes or until the chicken is tender.
• Drain and cool. Discard the skin and bones. Shred the meat and set aside. Cover.
• Preheat the oven to 350°F.
• Heat the oil in a large skillet. Dip each tortilla in the oil and place on waxed paper.
• Place 2 tbls chicken in the center of each tortilla and roll each loosely.
• Place seam side down and side by side, in a shallow baking dish. Cover with Red Enchilada Sauce and the shredded cheese.
• Bake in the oven until the cheese is piping hot and melting, about 10 minutes.
• Garnish with the avocado and sour cream. Serve with shredded lettuce.

CILANTRO AND GREEN CABBAGE SLAW - TUCSON'S EL CHARRO

Steps:

• To make the dressing, combine the oil, lime juice, vinegar, salt, and lemon pepper in a jar with a tight lid. Shake well to mix.
• For the salad, in a large bowl, mix the cabbage and cilantro and toss with the dressing. Add in the rest of the ingredients (finely mince the 2 garlic cloves, and add those if you aren't using garlic paste) and toss lightly, or place these other vegetables around the salad platter as a garnish.
• If you want, add some crumbled cojita or other Mexican white cheese for added flavor.

RED ENCHILADA SAUCE - TUCSON'S EL CHARRO

Steps:

• Rinse the chiles in cold water and remove the stems. Cook in the boiling water until tender, about 15 minutes.
• Remove the chiles, reserving the liquid.
• Place a few of the chiles in a blender or food processor with 1/2 cup of the reserved liquid, and blend to a paste.
• Remove to a bowl. Repeat with the rest of the chiles.
• Heat the oil in a skillet. Add the garlic puree and flour, stirring until the flour browns. Add the chile paste, stirring continuously until it all boils and thickens. Season with the salt. Thin with the cooking liquid.

CHILE COLORADO/CON CARNE - TUCSON'S EL CHARRO

Steps:

• Cut the meat into 3/4" pieces. Put a handful at a time into a bag containing the flour, salt and pepper. Shake well. Repeat with the remaining meat.
• Heat the oil in a large skillet. Add a batch of meat at a time into the hot oil, not overcrowding. Brown slowly.
• Add the Enchilada Sauce, garlic puree and oregano.
• Cook over low heat at least one hour, or until the meat is very tender, stirring frequently to prevent scorching. AAdd water if necessary.
• I put a lid on my pan, and cook the dish for several hours over the lowest possible heat. The meat must be tender!

SALSA PARA TACOS - TUCSON'S EL CHARRO

Steps:

• Mix all ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to the boil and turn off the heat.
• Cool. Taste and adjust seasoning.
• Can be served cold or hot.
• Refrigerate up to 1 week.

CHILES RELLENOS - TUCSON'S EL CHARRO

Steps:

• Stuff each chile with cheese, and set aside.
• Separate eggs and beat the whites until stiff. Beat yolks and fold into whites, along with flour, salt and pepper.
• Meanwhile, heat oil in a large skillet. Dip stuffed chiles, one at a time, into egg batter, then remove with a large spoon. Carefully lower coated chiles into hot oil, 3 or 4 at a time. Fry until golden brown on both sides. The chiles may be made ahead to this point.
• To serve immediately, arrange on platter or individual plates and pour warm Taco Sauce over each chile. Garnish with more cheese and run under broiler to melt cheese, if desired.
• May be made in advance up to the point of topping with cheese, and reheated in a 400-degree oven about 10 minutes.