MEXICAN RED GUAJILLO BASE

This one is an adaptation of a pretty standard approach to dealing with dried chills. I can’t lie, I am an avid off-ripper of Rick Bayless, and everyone on the planet should get a copy of any of his books. One of my frost cookbooks was Rick Bayless’s Mexican Kitchen, which was completely dope as hell, and pretty accessible for anyone who’s Spanish is a little on the rough side. He delves into some real nitty gritty type ingredient specifics, as well as historical information regarding their preparation.

I’m not pursuing to delve into regional specifics or the intricacies of various chills, but if you’re into that, then I highly encourage you pursue that thoroughly. You will find it nothing but rewarding to gain a better understanding of different methods and ingredients, full stop.

Here’ I’m cheating a little with the addition of tomatoes to the mix, whereas classically this sort of preparation might consist primarily of just the chilies themselves. And, I’m using primarily the Guajillo dried chilies, which have a long red appearance. These offer a sort of fruity flavor which has broad application. But, you know what? You can feel free to use other chills such as Anchos or Pasillas if you like, take your pick the method will be identical. The previous two might yield a product with a slightly darker flavor, with a little more bitterness, but that might be your preferred flavor profile.

One important concept to remember with dried chilies is that the drying process will yield some bitterness inherently, so once you seed them, it will help to flash cook them, and then hydrate in warm water. One method of flash cooking is by rapidly frying in a pan and then draining, or by “fileting” open the chili and pressing it onto a hot skillet. I’ve also had pretty good luck with just spraying with canola and baking in a 350F oven for about 8 minutes. The goal is to cook off some of the compounds in the chili, so you really want it to be fairly rapid.

Once you top them over with hot water, you may wish to weigh them down with a plate, or just something that can fit inside your container and keep them submerged, They will have a tendency to bob up to the top. Then just let em go for an hour or two. If needed you can let them co overnight, but you will find that most things puree quite a bit better if they are warm. But, above all things DISCARD THE SOAKING WATER, unless you are big into the “Bitter Sauce Face”.

Be sure and take the time to strain the resulting puree as well, dried chili skins are not very enjoyable. Given this, it is generally better to strain a slightly looser puree since you will reduce the liquid down later. So, there is no extra credit for straining out the thickest solution through a strainer, unless the invent a competition for that or something. (Which inevitably someone will do some sort of internet challenge on……resist the temptation to participate, please).

Once again, if you like a spicy meatball, feel free and hit this mix with some fresh chilis of your choosing, or even a homemade or store bought hot sauce. Keep in mind though, that it is a one way street, and once you’ve added it, you can’t take it back out. That being said, I went ahead and held off on the heat a bit for this version, just to keep it open for multiple applications