New Mexico Red Chile Recipe

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The Authentic New Mexican Red Chile

Welcome to Molé’s famous New Mexico red chile recipe!  I am glad you have landed here and you will be glad too after you try this incredible beef chili.  

This New Mexican chili recipe is not your classic American chili with ground beef, beans and a spiced tomato sauce.  It’s all about the chiles. This traditional chili is rich and robust – a deep burgundy color that visually expresses how rich and flavorful this meal is.  It is made from a base of pureed chiles.  Ancho and guajillo peppers are the smooth base while it also has chunky roasted poblanos, jalapeños and hatch green chiles. 

This is a spicy Mexican chili recipe as the peppers used have a level of spice to them.  Peppers are often inconsistent in their delivery of heat and while most poblano peppers are mild you may get one random one that is super spicy.  The majority of the heat is in the seeds – the more seeds that end up in the sauce the spicier it will be.  If you want to tone the spice down, omit the roasted jalapeños completely.  You can also choose from mild or spicy canned hatch green chiles, choose appropriately for your desired level of spice.

Out of all the New Mexico chili recipes I have had, this one is my favorite. It adds more variety of peppers than a typical green chili or red colorado recipe.  It has a deep red burgundy base that a chili Colorado or red chili con carne has but also has the hatch green chilies and poblanos.  If you have never had Mexican beef chili this is the one to make! 

Traditional Mexican beef stew is one of the warmest, comforting and satisfying meals you can make.  Although the sauce is quite rich and intense it is balanced out perfectly with the raw white onion, cilantro and squeeze of lime on top.  These fresh, bright and hydrating elements completely balance this dish.  You can serve this meal with tortilla chips, warm tortillas for dipping and scooping or plain white rice.  I have also seen this spooned straight onto a piece of bread and heard rave reviews of this method.

I added cut up beef chuck roast to this to make a hearty Mexican beef stew but you may use this recipe to make an authentic Mexican chili sauce recipe for any meat or vegetarian option you would like. 

This New Mexican red chili sauce recipe is versatile and can be used for any filling whether it is pork, venison, goat, chicken or a range of vegetables such as pumpkin, kale, corn, sweet potato, chayote, hominy, mushrooms or chick peas.

If you want to learn how to make Mexican red chili, follow this recipe below and let me know how it goes in the comments below!

How to Make Mexican Red Chili

Ingredients:

• 2.5 lbs beef chuck roast
• 3 dried ancho chiles
• 3 dried guajillo chiles
• 4 fresh poblano peppers
• 3 cans of hatch chiles
• 2 fresh jalapeños
• 2-3 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 large onion
• 4 cloves garlic
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• 2 tsp Mexican oregano 
• 1/2 cup cassava flour
• 2 Tbsp tomato paste
• 1 cup of light beer
• 2 cups water
• 2 tsp of vegetable bouillon (Better Than Bouillon brand)
• Cilantro (chopped for top)
• Lime
• Optional- tortillas, tortilla chips or rice

Preparation: 

Toast the dried ancho and guajillo peppers on a cast iron skillet until they have some darkened colored spots.  Then soak the dried peppers in water overnight to rehydrate them.  If you don’t have time to do this preparation over night you can add to an instant pot pressure cooker with water and steam them for 10 minutes.  When the peppers are rehydrated and ready to turn into a sauce, put on glove and proceed to deseed them by slicing vertically down the center to deseed and remove the stem.

Instructions:

1. Roast the poblano and jalapeño peppers at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 25-30 minutes.  Remove the peppers and cover them with a lid or tin foil – this steaming will help to remove the outer skin easily.  After 10-20 minutes, using gloves, deseed the peppers and remove the stem and outer skin, discard the waste.  Cut the peppers into 1/2 inch squares.
2. Chop the onion and mince the garlic and sauté in olive oil until onions are translucent.  Put half aside for the blender and half aside to be added back to the dutch oven pot later.
3. Cut the beef into 1 inch cubes than toss in cassava flour until fully coated.  Add the beef in batches to the hot pan with 1-2 Tbsp of oil and sear until dark brown on each side.  Don’t overcrowd the meat in the pot or it won’t sear easily. Place the meat aside on a plate until all of the beef is seared.
4. To the blender add 1/2 the amount of sautéed onions and garlic, the rehydrated ancho chiles and guajillo peppers, cumin, coriander, oregano, bouillon, water, tomato paste.  Blend until smooth then add to the pot with the beef and rest of sautéed onions and garlic. 
5. Add the beer, canned hatch chilies, roasted poblanos and jalapeños. 
6. Place in the oven at 250 degrees Fahrenheit for 3 hours without a lid. 
7. When the red chili is done, wash and chop the cilantro and remainder of raw white onion for the top.  Slice the lime into wedges for squeezing over the top and serve alone or with one of the following: warm tortillas, tortilla chips or rice. 

Homemade Mexican Chili

Notes:

1. Toasting the ancho and guajillo peppers is a small step that allows to bring forward the true flavors and depth in the peppers which is crucial for making a traditional chili. 
2. Searing the beef is the most time consuming part of the process of this recipe but don’t skip out as it is an important part of nailing the texture and experience of the beef. 
3. The more seeds you remove from the peppers will lessen the natural bitterness that the peppers bring forward in the flavor of an authentic Mexican chili and will also lessen the level of spice. 
4. To lower the spice level omit the jalapeños all together. 

Thanks for checking out one of my favorite recipes – Mexican beef chili. If you liked this one, you may love some of my other favorite recipes such as birria ramen noodle bowl, beef barbacoa or caldo de pollo(Mexican chicken soup with rice)

Please rate or comment below and if you made any additions or alterations and want to let me in on your New Mexico chili recipes– I would love to hear about it!  If you would like to share or pin on Pinterest, I am always thankful.  Check out my food journey on Pinterest at Molé in the Wall.

Now you know how to make the best authentic Mexican chili beef recipe.  I hope you do try this recipe and thoroughly enjoy it as much as we have.  I’m pretty sure this New Mexico red chile recipe will become a family favorite and become a household staples.