Chipotles!
Smoke Your Own for Perfect Adobo
by Holly Madrigal
The smoky deep flavor of chipotles in adobo sauce is as unique as a New Mexico sunset—complex, intense, rich, and subtly spicy. Some may not know that chipotle is actually ripe jalapeño peppers. Most commercial jalapeños are sold while still immature and green, but when left to grow in the garden, they ripen into a fire engine red. It’s these ripe red jalapeño peppers that are used to create the smoky chipotle. The ripeness adds a layered sweetness to the spice, but the pepper needs to be smoked and dried to achieve this signature chipotle flavor. Once you create your own, its uses in your culinary dishes—and even mezcal cocktails—are endless.
Wash and dry the peppers while keeping on a bit of the stem to use as a little handle. Wearing gloves is a good idea to avoid the accidental searing eye-touch. Arrange on the tray of your smoker and set to 200 degree smoke. Pecan wood chips are traditionally used in Mexico, but most smoking chips like apple or cherry will be fine. You will need enough wood material to smoke for three hours. The peppers should be leathery but not mushy, still firm to the touch.
Once smoked, chipotle peppers can be used as-is, dehydrated for long term storage, or added to an adobo sauce like the one here. When you see canned chipotles at the grocery, they are preserved “en adobo,” or in the sauce, which is made from a blend of puréed peppers, tomatoes, onion, garlic, vinegar, and spices. If you have an adobo recipe you like, the chipotles should be simmered after smoking in the sauce for at least 20 minutes to combine the flavors. This summer, elevate your Mexican-inspired dishes with this knockout Chipotles en Adobo made from jalapeño peppers you can easily grow right in your own garden.
Chipotles en Adobo
by Adrán Medrano
Adrán Medrano is a chef, food writer, filmmaker, and author of Truly Texas Mexican: A Native Culinary Heritage In Recipes, which includes this recipe.
INGREDIENTS
4 ounces chipotle chiles (about 20-22 chiles)
2 chiles anchos
2 chiles pasilla
1 cup white onion, small diced
1 clove garlic
2 ripe tomatoes, boiled
1 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
2 bay leaves
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1⁄2 cup white vinegar
1⁄4 cup piloncillo (Mexican unrefined cane sugar)
6 black peppercorns
6 cloves
1⁄4 teaspoon salt
1 cup water
INSTRUCTIONS
De-seed and de-vein the chiles anchos and chiles pasilla. Place the chiles in a saucepan and cover them with water. Bring to boil, turn off the heat and let the chiles soak for 20 minutes. Set aside.
Place all the chipotle chiles in a large saucepan and cover them with water. Bring the water to a boil. Then turn off the heat and let the chipotles soak for 30 minutes to an hour to rehydrate. Make sure the chipotles remain intact. They can also soak in cold water overnight.
Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a skillet over medium heat and then add the diced onion, cooking it for about 3 minutes, until it becomes translucent. Set aside.
In a blender, place the rehydrated guajillo and ancho chiles, tomatoes, garlic, black peppercorns, cloves, salt, and 1 cup of water. Blend on high for one minute or longer, until the mixture is a completely smooth purée. You can add 1⁄4 cup more water if needed. If the purée is still grainy, strain it through a fine-mesh sieve. It should be smooth and velvety.
In a dutch oven, heat 3⁄4 cup olive oil on medium heat, then add the chile purée and cook it for 8 minutes. You will see the color deepen.
Add the vinegar, onions, piloncillo, laurel leaves, oregano, and rosemary and stir to combine well. Cook for five minutes on simmer, stirring gently to make sure that the piloncillo is completely dissolved.
Add the rehydrated chipotle chiles, stirring gently so as to keep them intact. Cook on a gentle simmer for 45 minutes so that the flavors blend. The chipotles will add flavor to the adobo, and the adobo will penetrate the flesh of the chipotles.
Let the chiles cool, then store them in a glass container. They’ll be even more delicious the next day. They will keep in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 weeks. You can also freeze them in tightly sealed plastic bags for up to 3 months.
Find out more about Adrán Medrano at adanmedrano.com.
Photos by Hari Krishnan and Rafael Albaledejo courtesy of Unsplash