Red Chile Sauce/Salsa
Folks, Red or Green?
Yes, that is the question you get asked by any restaurant server when ordering food in New Mexico when ordering your food.
The reason is most of the people of New Mexico like red salsa/sauce or green salsa/sauce with their food. So when the server asks red or green, they. know he or she is asking which salsa or sauce one prefers. My question for the server is….. which is hotter today? Because on any given day the green may be hotter or the red may be hotter. Yes, I know the common assumption is the red is always hotter and that is simply not true. It depends on when the chile’s were picked as to how “hot” they will be. Some are grown to be “hot” in the fields of Hatch, New Mexico which is where I order my fresh green and red chiles; but that can be a bit misleading also. So it is best to always ask which is hotter today. I prefer Big Jim green chiles when making my green salsa/sauce and you can find my recipe here for that salsa.
Now, lets talk about making this red chile with pork recipe.
If you use the dried red chiles, put them in a blender with a little water to chop and blend into a liquid. If you use the jar or can of red peppers, you may add them directly to your pot. I’ve always got a ristra hanging in my kitchen and I just grab a few of them off the string, wash them and plop them in the blender. The ristras below are almost a year old and they are still good…the larger one is the one I usually use and the little Chile Pekin/Pequin (pronounced Pee keen) is more for ornamental purposes as it is about 5 times hotter than a jalapeno. When we lived in New Mexico, I always had ristras hanging outside on the front porch.
This is my version of the Red Chile Sauce which accompanies almost any meal in New Mexico…breakfast included. There are many ways to make this salsa. Some people like to leave the pork in small dice or big chunks while some like to put it in the food processor and make it more of a liquid. I land somewhere in the middle.
For this recipe, you can adjust the heat by adding or leaving out the jalapeno peppers! Remember the seeds and membranes of the jalapeno pepper can burn the skin. So wash your hands well or wear plastic gloves. And whatever you do…do not touch your eyes or mouth.
Chile Peppers come in different heats no matter what kind of chile pepper as I have stated above. The Scoville Scale will give you an idea of how hot the peppers might be that you purchase in the supermarket. As I said I buy mine direct from Hatch, New Mexico.
Red and green chile sauce adds hot and spicy to any dish. I like to add the sauce to breakfast meals such as bacon and eggs and hash browns. Add a couple teaspoons (or tablespoons) to the eggs or potatoes. Put the sauce on burritos, tacos, hamburgers or…well, you get the idea.
I’m not sure where the idea of using pork in the red chile came from, but my Mother-in-law and sister-in-law taught me to make this when we lived in New Mexico. They thought the pork gave the salsa or sauce more flavor and that is the way they were taught to make it. I like to make it that way because it can go with so many recipes. If making tamales or posole or if you are just adding a tablespoon or so to your fried potatoes, pinto beans or refried beans….it just makes them taste better. Another way to eat the salsa is to dip a buttered tortilla in it…yummy for sure. If you prefer a smoother salsa, make sure you use a blender or processor to pulverize the pork. If you want to see the pork dice, make them bigger OR you can leave the pork out completely and have a smoother sauce.
Now, please don’t confuse this red salsa/sauce with pica de Gallo, picadillo or a jar of salsa. Pica de gallo is made with chunky, fresh, raw tomatoes, onion, jalapenos, cilantro, lime juice and a little salt….and looks like this.
Picadillo is usually cooked with ground beef, diced potatoes, onions, carrots, jalapenos, cumin, oregano and a tomato based sauce that could include chopped fresh tomatoes. It can be served cold as a dip or hot as an entree.
And a jar of salsa is made with fresh whole tomatoes, diced tomatoes, diced green chilies, chopped onion, chopped jalapeño, garlic, sugar, salt, cumin, lime juice, and chopped cilantro which is usually put in the bowl of a food processor. Then it is pulsed until you get the salsa to the consistency you like—I do about 10 to 15 pulses if nothing is pre-chopped….less if the veggies are diced.
Red Chile Salsa with Pork
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp oil
- 1/2 pound pork diced
- 1/2 large onion diced
- 1 Tsp garlic minced
- 1/2 Tsp Cumin
- ! Tsp salt
- 1/4 Tsp black pepper
- 1/2 Tsp Mexican Oregano
- 2 Tbsp flour
- 2 Cups Chicken Broth
- 6 Large Roasted Red Chile Peppers (or dried from Ristra or canned)
- 1 Large Jalapeno chopped
- 1 Roma Tomato chopped or 1 Tbsp tomato sauce
Instructions
- In a heavy pot over medium heat, heat 2 tablespoons of oil.Add diced pork which has been dusted in flour and brown for about 2 minutes.Add onion, garlic, cumin, salt, pepper and oregano.Cook until the onion is softened but not brown, about 5 minutes.Stir in chicken brothAdd the peppers and tomato.Bring to a boil, then partially cover pot, lower heat to a simmer and cook 1 - 1/2 hours or until pork is tender and sauce is the right strength and thickness.Add water or broth when reducing the sauce to the desired thickness.Add salt and fresh ground pepper.
- Hatch, poblano or anaheim green chiles will work. If you use the dried red chiles, put them in a blender with a little water to chop into a liquid.This is my version of the Red Chile Sauce which accompanies almost any meal in New Mexico...breakfast included.If ordered in a restaurant, the server will ask "red or green" meaning this particular red chile sauce.... to be served on the side and added by small spoon fulls to almost anything.(You can see the Green Chile Sauce in my recipes)You can adjust the heat by adding or leaving out the jalapeno peppers!Remember the seeds and membranes of the jalapeno pepper can burn the skin. wash your hands well or wear plastic gloves. And whatever you do...do not touch your eyes or mouth.Peppers come in different heats no matter what kind of chile pepper. Many times when I would be asked "red or green" ...I would ask "which is your hottest today?" It could be the red OR the green chile.
Happy Eating!
Blessings Always
James 1:17
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.
- 2 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil
- ½ pound diced Pork
- ½ Onion, chopped in a small dice
- 1 teaspoon Minced Garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- ¼ teaspoon fresh ground pepper
- ½ teaspoon oregano
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 6 red chile peppers (roasted from a jar or better yet, the dried red chile)
- 1 seeded jalapeno pepper, chopped
- 1 chopped Roma tomatoes or 1 teaspoon tomato sauce
- In a heavy pot over medium heat, heat 2 tablespoons of oil.
- Add diced pork which has been dusted in flour and brown for about 2 minutes.
- Add onion, garlic, cumin, salt, pepper and oregano.
- Cook until the onion is softened but not brown, about 5 minutes.
- Stir in chicken broth
- Add the peppers and tomato.
- Bring to a boil, then partially cover pot, lower heat to a simmer and cook 1 - 1/2 hours or until pork is tender and sauce is the right strength and thickness.
- Add water or broth when reducing the sauce to the desired thickness.
- Add salt and fresh ground pepper.
- Hatch, poblano or anaheim green chiles will work. If you use the dried red chiles, put them in a blender with a little water to chop into a liquid.
- This is my version of the Red Chile Sauce which accompanies almost any meal in New Mexico...breakfast included.
- If ordered in a restaurant, the server will ask "red or green" meaning this particular red chile sauce.... to be served on the side and added by small spoon fulls to almost anything.
- (You can see the Green Chile Sauce in my recipes)
- You can adjust the heat by adding or leaving out the jalapeno peppers!
- Remember the seeds and membranes of the jalapeno pepper can burn the skin. wash your hands well or wear plastic gloves. And whatever you do...do not touch your eyes or mouth.
- Peppers come in different heats no matter what kind of chile pepper. Many times when I would be asked "red or green" ...I would ask "which is your hottest today?" It could be the red OR the green chile.
