Red 28 min
Ancho chile salsa
Sweet, dark and barely hot. The ancho is a dried poblano, and this is the mildest dried chile salsa there is — the one everyone at the table can eat.
Mild
Red salsas: fresh tomato and dried chiles
Red salsas come from two different worlds — roasted tomato with fresh chile, or rehydrated dried chiles — and this is the family where dried chiles do their real work.
- Red 30 min
Guajillo salsa
The mild red salsa that goes with everything. Deep red, barely hot, and it keeps ten days — the one to make if you are cooking for people who do not want heat.
Mild - Red 28 min
Morita salsa (smoky chipotle table salsa)
Dried morita chiles with roasted tomato and a little piloncillo. Real smoke from the chile itself, not from a can and not from liquid smoke.
Hot - Red 24 min
Salsa negra
Chiles fried nearly black in oil with garlic. Intensely hot, deeply savory, keeps a month, and a few drops go a long way.
Very hot - Red 30 min
Taqueria red salsa
The thick, dark red salsa in the squeeze bottle at a good taqueria. Three steps most home versions skip: fry the chiles, strain, then cook it in oil.
Very hot
Which one to make
Compared by what actually decides it.
| Salsa | Heat | Time | Main chile | Keeps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ancho chile salsa | 28 min | Ancho chile | 10 days refrigerated | |
| Guajillo salsa | 30 min | Guajillo chile | 10 days refrigerated | |
| Morita salsa (smoky chipotle table salsa) | 28 min | Morita chile | 10 days refrigerated | |
| Salsa negra | 24 min | Japones chile | 1 month refrigerated | |
| Taqueria red salsa | 30 min | Chile de arbol | 2 weeks refrigerated |
Publicidad
Two kinds of red salsa
Tomato-based red salsas start from fresh or roasted tomatoes with fresh chile, onion and garlic. They are quick, bright and short-lived — the table salsa you make the same day.
Dried-chile red salsas start from guajillo, ancho, morita, pasilla or chile de árbol that have been toasted and soaked. They are deeper, more concentrated and, once fried, keep a week or more. Most of the recipes in this family are this kind, because that is where the technique matters.
Two chiles, two jobs
Most dried-chile salsas combine a chile for body and color with a chile for heat.
Body and color, with little heat: guajillo, ancho, pasilla, cascabel, mulato.
Heat, with little else: chile de árbol, piquín, japonés.
Understanding which job a chile is doing is what makes substitution work. Replace a body chile with another body chile and the salsa survives; replace it with a heat chile and you get a thin, sharp liquid. The substitution chart is organized around exactly this.
The technique in brief
Toast briefly on a dry pan — seconds, not minutes, judged by smell. Soak in hot water until pliable. Blend with roasted aromatics and some of the soaking liquid if it tastes sweet. Strain. Fry in a little hot oil.
Each step is explained, with timings per chile, in the guide to working with dried chiles.
The one mistake with no fix
Burnt chiles. A scorched chile turns the whole salsa bitter, and sugar, salt or acid will not bring it back. If one chile out of eight burns, throw that one out. It is the single most useful thing to know before making any salsa in this family.
Common questions
Which dried chile should I start with for red salsa?
Guajillo. It gives color, body and a clean fruity flavor with very little heat, and it is forgiving if your technique is not perfect yet. Once that works, add a few chiles de árbol for heat or swap in morita for smoke.
Why is my red salsa gritty?
Dried chile skins, especially guajillo, puya and costeño, do not break down in a blender. Push the blended salsa through a medium sieve with the back of a spoon. It takes two minutes and gives a completely different texture.
Why do taqueria red salsas taste deeper than mine?
Most are fried after blending: the purée goes into hot oil for about five minutes. That drives off water, cooks out the raw taste, darkens the color and makes the salsa keep much longer. It is the step homemade versions most often skip.