Nana's Tamale & Enchilada Red Sauce


Happy Cinco de Mayo!  It's Samuel again and I am writing one more guest blog post for my mom.  A couple days ago, I posted my Nana's recipe for Sopa, or Spanish rice.  Today I will be sharing with you my Nana's recipe for red sauce.  This is the recipe that she uses for Tamales and Enchiladas.

We are having tamales tonight for Cinco de Mayo, so the timing couldn't have been better.


Nana's recipe begins with a rue consisting of 1/4 cup of Canola Oil and 1/4 cup of flour.  A rue is a flour and a fat which is combined in a pan and used as a thickener for a sauce.  Whisk the ingredients together and cook over medium heat for a few minutes until it turns a light brown color.


Next, add an entire 1 1/4 ounce package of Chile Ancho powder.  When my Nana was growing up, they made the sauce with dried Chile Ancho Peppers, but now that they carry the powder in our local Hispanic market, it's much easier.

Add 1 quart chicken or beef stock, 1/2 cumin and 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt.  The heat comes from the chile ancho powder, so you can adjust the spice accordingly.


If you use the sauce for enchiladas, you can serve it as is.  When my Nana makes Tamales, she likes to add some bits of pork or beef roast to the sauce.  Below, we cooked a pork roast and shredded about 1/2 to 1 pound of it to add to the sauce.



Also, make sure you add the roast drippings to the sauce for added flavor.


Spicy and flavorful tamales.

Feliz Cinco de Mayo!
Nana's Red Sauce for Tamales and Enchiladas

1/4 cup Canola Oil
1/4 cup flour
1 1/4 ounce package of Chile Ancho Molido
1 quart chicken or beef stock
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 - 1 pound shredded pork or beef roast with pan drippings

Over medium heat, whisk together canola oil and flour.  Continue to whisk until it turns a light brown color.  Add a 1 1/4 ounce package of Chile Ancho powder.  Continue to whisk.  Whisk in 1/2 teaspoon cumin and 1/2 teaspoon salt.  Whisk in 1 quart of chicken or beef stock.

When sauce is finished, add in 1/2 - 1 pound of shredded beef or pork and reserved pan drippings.

Use with Tamales or Enchiladas.


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