Ingredients
• 2 dried guajillo chiles
• 4 dried ancho chiles
• 2 cups boiled water
• 1 cup cold water
• ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
• ¼ cup lime juice
• ¼ cup tomato paste
• ¼ cup mezcal
• 2 tbsp molasses
• 3 tbsp (30 mL) brown sugar
• 1 small finely diced onion (about ½ cup/125 ml)
• 4 cloves minced garlic
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp dried Mexican oregano
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
Remove the stems and seeds from the chiles. The easiest was is to cut the top off and then make a slit down one side with a small, sharp knife then remove the seeds.
Heat a non-stick pan or comal on the stove. Lightly toast the chiles until they soften: no more than 30 seconds on each side. Be very careful not to char the chiles as it will make your sauce bitter. Immerse the softened chiles into a bowl with the boiled water and let them sit for 20 minutes until they’re rehydrated.
In the meantime, prepare all the other ingredients so you’re ready to roll. Once the chiles are rehdryated, roughly chop them. Keep the soaking water.
In a medium saucepan, add all the ingredients including the chopped chiles plus ¼ of water or the soaking liquid if it’s not bitter. Bring to a boil then reduce to low and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Your sauce will go from a bright red to a deep reddish/brown and thicken up slightly. You don’t want to reduce it too much though because the sauce has to be pourable.
Remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes. Then pour it all into a blender and waz it up until you have a smooth sauce. Taste and adjust the seasonings. If it’s too thick, add a bit more of the soaking water. This sauce won’t be very spicy so if you want to add a bit more zing you can put in a pinch of chile powder.
This sauce is great on just about anything including grilled chicken, beef ribs, veggie burgers or whatever you feel like grilling up!
