Recado Rojo Oaxaqueño

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Cast iron comal or heavy skillet for toasting
• •Metate, mortar, or electric spice grinder
• •High-powered blender
• •Fine-mesh strainer
• •Wooden spoon or rubber spatula
• •Clean glass jar with a tight-fitting lid for storage

Instructions

1. 1

   Toast the chiles

   Heat a dry comal or heavy cast iron skillet over medium. Open each chile flat against the surface with a spatula and toast for about 20 to 30 seconds per side. The skin should puff and change from dark crimson to a lighter, oil-shined red. The kitchen will smell like the chile aisle at the Mercado de Abastos in Oaxaca. That smell is the oils releasing. If a chile blackens, throw it out and toast another. Burned chile turns the recado bitter and there is no fixing it later.

   The chile costeño is from the Oaxacan coast and it is more delicate than the guajillo. It needs less time on the comal. Watch it.
2. 2

   Soak the chiles

   Transfer the toasted chiles to a heatproof bowl and cover with hot tap water. Hot, not boiling. Boiling water cooks the skin and makes the paste bitter. Weight them down with a small plate so they stay submerged. Let them soften for 20 to 25 minutes, until the flesh gives easily under your fingernail. Reserve the soaking water. You will need it for the blender.

3. 3

   Roast the garlic and toast the spices

   While the chiles soak, return the comal to medium-low heat. Place the unpeeled garlic cloves on the dry surface and roast them, turning every couple of minutes, for about 10 minutes, until the skins are charred in spots and the cloves feel soft when pressed. Pull them off and let them cool. In the same comal, toast the peppercorns, cumin, cloves, allspice, cinnamon stick, and bay leaves together for about a minute, swirling the pan, until the spices release their oils and you can smell the cumin from across the kitchen. Pull them off the heat the moment they smell awake. Burned spices are worse than no spices.

4. 4

   Grind the spices

   If you have a metate, this is where it earns its place. If not, a spice grinder or mortar will do the work. Grind the toasted peppercorns, cumin, cloves, allspice, cinnamon stick, bay leaves, and oregano into a fine powder. Stop and scrape down the sides as you go. The powder should be uniform and deeply fragrant. Asi se hace y punto.

5. 5

   Blend the paste

   Drain the chiles and transfer them to a blender. Peel the roasted garlic and add it. Add the ground spices, the salt, the vinegar, and the melted lard. Pour in 1/2 cup of the warm chile-soaking water to start. Blend on high for two to three minutes, stopping to scrape down the sides, until the paste is completely smooth. Add a tablespoon more of the soaking water at a time only if the blender struggles. You want a thick, glossy paste, the consistency of soft peanut butter. Too thin and it will not cling to meat.

   La manteca es el sabor. The melted lard does two things here: it carries the fat-soluble flavor of the chiles and it preserves the paste in the refrigerator. Skip it and the recado tastes flat and goes off in a week.
6. 6

   Strain for a clean paste

   Pass the paste through a fine-mesh strainer set over a bowl, pressing down hard with the back of a wooden spoon. Discard the chile skins and seeds left behind. This step is non-negotiable. The recado should be silky enough to spread on meat with the back of a knife, not gritty. A senora at the Mercado 20 de Noviembre would send it back to the blender if it were not.

7. 7

   Rest and store

   Scrape the strained paste into a clean glass jar. Press a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the surface to keep the air off, then seal the jar. Refrigerate for at least 24 hours before using. The flavors need time to settle into each other. The chile, the spice, the vinegar, the lard, they have to negotiate. After a day, the paste tastes like one thing instead of seven. Recetas probadas y garantizadas.

Chef Tips

• •Source your chile costeño rojo from a Mexican market that turns over its inventory. The chile should still be pliable, not brittle, and the color should be a deep oxblood red, not faded to brown. A chile vendor at the Mercado de Abastos in Oaxaca will sell you a kilo for what you would pay for a small bag at a US specialty store. Plan accordingly when you can.
• •If you cannot find vinagre de piña casero, the next-best option is to make a quick approximation: simmer a cup of apple cider vinegar with the rinds and core of one ripe pineapple for 10 minutes, let it sit overnight, and strain. It is not the real thing, but it is closer than plain cider vinegar.
• •The recado keeps in a sealed glass jar in the refrigerator for up to a month. After that the chile starts to lose its brightness. For longer storage, freeze it in tablespoon-sized portions in an ice cube tray, then transfer the cubes to a freezer bag. Pull what you need.
• •To use as a marinade, thin two tablespoons of recado with a splash of orange juice, lime juice, or more vinegar and rub it into pork, chicken, or beef. Let it sit for at least four hours, overnight is better. To use as a base for mole rojo or enchilada sauce, fry the recado in a tablespoon of lard until it darkens and the fat separates, then thin with broth.

Advance Preparation

• •Recado rojo must rest at least 24 hours in the refrigerator before use. The flavors need time to settle.
• •Made and properly stored, the paste keeps for one month refrigerated. Press plastic wrap directly onto the surface under the lid to prevent oxidation.
• •For long-term storage, freeze in tablespoon portions. The paste does not suffer from freezing the way fresh salsas do.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 15g)