Melanies Redneck Red Chili Sauce Food

RED CHILE PORK TAMALES

Steps:

• For the braised pork: Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the onion, 1/4 teaspoon salt and a few grinds black pepper and cook until just tender, about 5 minutes. Add the chicken broth and guajillo, ancho and pasilla chiles and bring to a boil. Cover, turn off the heat and let sit until the chiles have softened, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a blender with the cumin, oregano, garlic, 2 teaspoons salt and a few grinds black pepper and puree until very smooth.
• Pour the sauce back into the Dutch oven, then add the pork and bay leaves. Cover and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium low to maintain a steady simmer and cook until the pork is very tender and the sauce is brick red, 1 hour 45 minutes to 2 hours.
• Meanwhile, soak the corn husks in a bowl of hot water, using a plate to keep them submerged, until pliable, about 1 hour.
• Discard the bay leaves from the pork, then shred the pork with 2 forks. Stir in the apple cider vinegar; taste and adjust the seasoning with more salt and pepper. Set aside to cool slightly.
• For the masa dough: Beat the lard, baking powder, chile powder and 1 teaspoon salt in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until smooth and light in texture, about 2 minutes. (Alternatively, use a stand mixer with the paddle attachment.) Reduce the speed to low and add the masa harina. Once just incorporated, slowly add 2 1/2 cups of the chicken broth and mix until combined, 2 to 4 minutes. Test the dough by placing a 1/2-teaspoon dollop in a cup of cold water--it should float. If not, add the remaining 1/2 cup broth and mix until combined, about 2 minutes more. This will ensure that the masa dough is light and fluffy.
• Drain the husks and pat dry. Starting 1/2 inch from the wide end of a husk, spread about 3 tablespoons of the masa dough down the length of the husk, leaving a 1-inch border on the sides. Spoon 2 heaping tablespoons of the pork filling down the center of the dough, then fold in the sides of the husk, wrapping the dough around the filling. Fold up the narrow end of the husk. Repeat with the remaining husks, dough and filling.
• Set a steamer basket in a large pot filled with 1 to 2 inches of water. Arrange the tamales standing open-end up in the steamer. Bring the water to a boil over medium-high heat, then cover and steam until the dough is firm, 45 to 50 minutes. Remove from the steamer and cool slightly before unwrapping. Serve with lime wedges if desired.

MELANIE'S CHILI

Steps:

• In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, cook beef and onion until meat is no longer pink. Stir in tomatoes, tomato sauce, beans, chili powder, cumin, cayenne and garlic. Cover, reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes.

THE ULTIMATE CHILI

Steps:

• In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook ground beef until evenly browned. Drain off grease, and season to taste with salt and pepper.
• In a slow cooker, combine the cooked beef, kidney beans, tomatoes, celery, red bell pepper, and red wine vinegar. Season with chili powder, cumin, parsley, basil and Worcestershire sauce. Stir to distribute ingredients evenly.
• Cook on High for 6 hours, or on Low for 8 hours. Pour in the wine during the last 2 hours.

MEXICAN RED CHILE SAUCE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
• Place chiles on a baking sheet. Toast lightly in oven, 3 or 4 minutes, until they give off a mild aroma. Do not burn, otherwise, chiles will be very bitter.
• Remove chiles from oven and set aside until cool enough to handle.
• Remove and discard stems, seeds, and any pink pithy materials.
• Rinse chiles in cool water, drain briefly, then cover with hot water and soak for an hour.
• Process chiles in blender with enough of the soaking water to obtain a nice, blended consistency.
• Add remaining water, tomato sauce, garlic, oil, salt, oregano, and cumin. Simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Sauce can be refrigerated for up to 1 week or frozen for later use.

RED CHILE SAUCE

Steps:

• Remove stems and seeds from dried chile pods. Rinse and place in 4-quart pot. Cover with water and bring to a boil. Remove from heat, cover, and let pods steep for 30 minutes.
• Drain pods in a colander and reserve juice. Place softened pods into a blender or food processor, adding just enough reserved juice to barely cover. Blend to a fine consistency. Pour the resulting pulp into a fine sieve or colander and allow the extra juice to drain out, stirring occasionally.
• Return this pulp to the 4-quart pot and add the salt, oregano, and garlic. Bring to a boil, then simmer uncovered for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Taste to adjust seasonings. If the sauce tastes bitter, add the tomato sauce. Simmer for 5 more minutes.
• Use red chile sauce over enchiladas, chile rellenos, or as a side or sauce for any other Mexican entree.

TOMASITA'S RED CHILE

Steps:

• Rinse the chile pods 5 times, then let soak in water in a bucket or large bowl for 5 hours or so.
• After the chiles have soaked for 5 hours, discard the water. Put the chile pods in a blender. Tamp the pods down into the blender, then add water to the top. Blend well into a paste.
• Put the paste in a large saucepan over medium heat.
• Make a roux. Put the oil in a saucepan, over medium heat, heat up slightly, add the flour and stir constantly. The flour should get toasted and brown, but do not burn it, about 5 minutes.
• Drizzle the roux into the red chili and mix to combine. This will make it thicker and change the color slightly, but it should not get white in color. The chili and liquid should just look darker and less bright than the red chili without any roux. Add enough roux and water to get the chili to the right consistency, which should be like gravy. You may not use all the roux.
• Add the garlic and salt. Leave the chili in the pot to simmer for 20 minutes, stirring regularly. Do NOT bring it to a boil, as that may burn the flour in the roux. Add more salt and garlic if needed and serve.

MELANIE'S REDNECK RED CHILI SAUCE

Steps:

• First, the dried chili pods I choose depends on my mood. I do usually like to mix it up for depth of flavor and love Guajillo and Ancho/Pasilla varieties. I've even been known to slip in a few of the skinny asian hot peppers for extra heat and depth.
• Place Chili pods on a baking sheet and into the oven at 375 degrees. Bake for about 5 minutes. Place the Hot Chili Pods in a large bowl and cover with water. Soak for about 30-40 minutes.
• Cook bacon in a large skillet until crispy. Remove bacon and reserve about 3 TBS of the bacon grease.
• Pull the tops off the chili pods and place into a blender with the onion, garlic, spices, a slice of bacon, and some of the chili soaking water (barely cover the blender ingredients with the water). Depending on the size of your blender you may need to do this in batches. Puree until smooth.
• Heat bacon grease in a large skillet or pot over medium-high heat. Add chili sauce. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer for about 20-30 minutes until it starts to thicken a bit. This will intensify that beautiful earthy red chili flavor.
• Sometimes, the sauce will have a bitter taste -- all depends on the quality and variety of the dried chilis. If this happens to me, I like to add just a touch of honey to smooth out the flavor.
• I like to use this sauce for tamales. You can also use it for enchiladas, chili colorado, or other recipes.
• It also freezes well for future use.