Chuck’s Chipotle Sauce
Morita chiles are red, fully mature Chipotles. This gives them a unique, medium – hot smokey flavor which is popular in many Southwestern dishes. These can be added to sauces (including Mole) to add smokey flavor and maintain the red color of the sauces. These peppers are about 2-4 inches in length, 1 inch in width, and have a deep brick reddish brown color. The word Chipotle translated to smoked chile. Consider the Chipotle a 6.5 on a scale of 1-10 (10 being the hottest). Scoville heat units 7,000-25,000.
Suggested Use:
Use Morita in enchilada sauces, chili, stews, barbecue ribs, and corn bread. Their smoky quality combines well with poultry, meats and fall squash.
Ingredients:
12 dried chipotle chiles, stems removed
1 medium white onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic, sliced
3 cups water
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup tomato sauce
salt to taste
2 cups white distilled vinegar (more or less, depending on the thickness of the sauce you prefer)
Instructions:
Reconstitute the chiles by placing them in a bowl and covering with cider vinegar. Allow to sit for several days till plump. Alternately, soak dried chiles in hot water for 1 hour.
Combine all the ingredients except the 2 cups of distilled vinegar in a saucepan, cover, and simmer over low heat until the sauce is reduced to about 1 1/2 cups. Puree the mixture in a food processor or a blender until a paste-like, seeded mixture is achieved. Combine the paste and the vinegar in a bowl and stir well. Strain through a sieve to remove the seeds and discard the solids.
By Dave DeWitt and Chuck Evans, fiery-foods.com