Make and Preserve Enchilada Sauce 

I really appreciate these types of videos that you and Jim do because I don't have a freeze dryer.

I never knew how to use those dried peppers. Easier than I thought! Thank you!

Glad to see canning coming into play again for your 60 days of food prevention. I think it is so important but understand having the freshness of frozen food.

This is so timely for me! I was just at the store yesterday to buy some enchilada sauce and decided that I did not want to buy it after I read the ingredients on the back of the can. I never thought of canning it myself. I have made it fresh before, but I'm so glad that you posted this video because it would save me a ton of time in the long run to can it! Thank you for sharing your wisdom with all of us!

I have made this multiple times. We think it is a little sweet so I did cut back on the sugar a little. If you re-read the instructions it doesn't say anything about peeling these dried peppers. "When cool enough to handle, remove and discard stems and seeds from chiles; tear into large pieces and place in a medium bowl. Cover with boiling water. Let stand 20 minutes or until softened. Drain, reserving 1 cup soaking liquid." It would be (nearly) impossible to peel a dehydrated pepper. It does say to clean, and toast on a hot cast iron and then tear into pieces and add to the water to soften and steep. I have also dehydrated this recipe and powdered so I then don't have to use a full pint for the two of us if not needed. I really like having the dehydrated/powered version on my shelf. I do enjoy your videos and so many of the wonderful ideas you share. I loved the roux on the 2nd go round.

Love this recipe. I do use homemade chicken broth instead of water. Give it another depth of flavor. Learned that from my fathers family who was born in Mexico.

Miss Rose!! I just canned for the first time ever..at 58!!! I was so scared to can before I started watching your vids. But, you are so thorough and helpful with all aspects of the process I decided to go for it! I did pint jars of hamburger that needed to be cooked but not eaten right away. Using an instapot max and following the manufactures and your directions it was smooth sailing! You provide so much info (especially on what happens when bad things occur during the canning process along with the WHY) the fear level is greatly lowered. I wish I had seen your stuff years sooner. Anyways, just thought I would let you know how much you and your hubbys hard work is helping us newbies. Take care and God bless y’all!!!

You read my mind. I have been wanting to do this recipe for 3 years and quit the store brought brand. The process for the peppers always held me back. I'm so excited to try this. Thanks for this video.

just finished up prepping and jarring 5.5 pints. Canning for 5 and putting the rest in the frig. I did the Chili peppers just like you did. the only thing I did different was using an immersion blender to blend all ingredients together. All hail the immersion blender ! 😊😊

Timing is everything! I was going to make the Ball recipe today, but time got away from me and I did not get to it. I will make it tomorrow, incorporating your changes. It will be so much easier. Thanks Pam and Jim!

This is a great idea! So much better than messing up the kitchen every time I want to make enchilada sauce.

I love your method for making the sauce with the dried peppers and can hardly wait to give it a try. Thank you for showing us new items we can add to our food storage that are a little out of the ordinary. Always enjoy your videos.

What would we do without you? We appreciate you so much! I have one request: Please do the green enchilada sauce. Please!!

I LOVE THAT YOU DID THIS - the home processed foods with control of ingredients! I just nixtamalized corn for the very first time yesterday. So we will have corn tortillas soon! Enchilada sauce is PERFECT for me right now! ❤❤❤

Being from NM we eat lots of Enchiladas! Perfect recipe! So happy to know i can can this! Thank you Pam & Jim❤

Thanks, Pam & Jim. I used to make meals ahead and am working to dutifully resume the practice in our empty nest with 2 sort-of retirees. This recipe is especially great, love Hispanic cuisine.

I knew when you just cut the tops off the peppers that it was going to be legit- that’s how I was taught too!!

Greatly appreciate this recipe! I'm adding it to my to-do's. Enchilada sauce is a great sub for mole sauce and is wonderful added to rice too.

Very good, informative video. I'm not sure if I have ever made enchilada sauce from scratch (which means, it was a long time ago if I did) but, I have made red sauce for Chili Colorado many times and, I think it is worth browning the dried chilies and soaking them before blending them. I believe it gives the flavor of the sauce more depth. I have never PEELED the chilies - that's reserved for... almost nothing - lol! I have also never thought to can my Chili Colorado sauce so, your video inspires me to give it a try. Thank you so much!!!

Pam, Jim, ❤❤ always the best educators, ❤You are sanity in an insane world. Abundant blessings on you, and yours!

Your hair always looks very nice! Just wanted you to know that it looks exceptional in this video!

I’m definitely going to make this sauce. Looks delicious. Thank you!

Thank you for "taking the plunge" and showing us this recipe. I was going to make it once (not this recipe) until I read about blistering and peeling the peppers. "Ain't nobody got time for that!" 😁 Besides, I don't really use it that much ... a can from the store would do. Well ... I think that is about to change!😊❤

We prefer to eat chicken enchiladas and I use my tomitillo/green tomato salsa (recipie from local extension office, booklet on salsas) as the sauce. Delish! Have made with tomitillos and with end of garden green tomatoes. Either way works. Or a mix of both.

Thank you for this! I've had the peppers for a while but was intimidated by the process. Yours seems so much better

I just made this recipe. I have kidney disease so I have to watch my salt intake, potassium and phosphorus. I made this without salt and it came out great! Thanks for your helpful tips and details! I am a detail person and I love your videos!!

Hi Pam I’m from NM an love, love Chile. Thank u for sharing this video. I always soak my chiles first. That’s how I’ve learned. Ur sauce looks delicious.

It is so wonderful that you did this today. I bought several cans a couple of months ago because I wanted to be able to make enchiladas whenever I wanted to make them. I remember thinking that there was probably a recipe to make it. Then I started thinking about how much healthier and tastier it would be if I did make it myself. So, this is right on time and exactly what I needed to know. Evidently, I do not look through my preserving books enough or I would have seen it. Thank you for providing this information and showing us how to do it. Y'all are great! (I also forget what it was I wanted to look for when I sit down with my laptop. Lol)

Great video! I made the sauce using this recipe and the Nesco canner. I added more seasonings specifically cumin and mexican oregano, more chili powder, more salt, and cut the sugar in half. My bag of chilis contained 14 so I used them all. The last 2 I threw on my pellet smoker grill for a couple min. I think next time I will do all the chilis if it works time-wise. Since I could not can it the same day I made the sauce I refrigerated overnight. My goodness!! The flavors really melded and were wonderful. Great process and wonderful result! I ended up with approximately the same amount as you did, not 8 pts.

I just bought the Ball book that the recipe came from. It was fun to pick up my book and follow along as you made the recipe. One thing I really like about this book is that it gives you recipes to can (or other types of preserving) and then gives you meal recipes you can make with the item you canned. Pretty cool idea if you ask me!

I really like the idea of getting away from grocery store packaged things. Anyway you can look at mixes? Like bread mixes, cookie mixes, biscuit mix, etc along with storage ideas for levels and 3 storage?

Thank you so much for posting this video. I was just thinking about canning enchilada sauce and here you have posted a video about it just when I needed it. You have posted so many videos just in the nick of time for me, and I have learned so much from you. I really appreciate you sharinging your knowledge. It is a joy to watch and learn from you.

I have the stuff in my freezer to make enchilada sauce,thank you for showing an easier way to handle the peppers

What works well for me is adding a can of premade enchilada sauce to a basic homemade "gravy" (2T butter/flour & 2c chicken broth). One could do the same thing with a homemade enchilada sauce. 😋 Sacramento, California USA 🇺🇸

Thank you for showing us how to make this enchilada sauce! I just canned 7 quarts and 4 pints of homemade chicken bone broth using a rotisserie chicken and leg quarters along with cut up chicken backs that I found at a local Hispanic grocery store in the city I live in. I used my 6 quart Instant Pot and my Nesco canner to make a total of 9 quarts of bone broth. I canned all of my jars in my Nesco electric pressure canner. It's the best canning investment I've ever made. I think I'm all set with chicken bone broth for the winter. I have one taken apart rotisserie chicken in my freezer if I need to make more. The next time I need to make it, I think I'll bake the leg quarters and chicken backs first to get the skin browned, as some of my broth was on the pale side. Keep up the good work Pam & Jim! Because of your channel I've become a canner and am stocking my pantry 😊.

Hi Pam and Jim I love you videos and I would love some cream of soup ideas for storing …thank you for all you do

I would also FREEZE DRY some of the delicious sauce. Yummmmmmmmmmy! *FREEZE DRY YOUR PANTRY!* This is my new motto!

Will definitely try this. So simple, yet delicious. Thank you!

This looks wonderful. I’ve never made it before. Tell me why it’s low acid food? Peppers onions and tomatoes are pretty much. The base for salsa which is not low acid food. Is it because of the amount of peppers and onions compared to tomatoes? I wonder what it would have tested on the litmus paper. I also wonder if you could’ve added some lemon or vinegar just to bring the pH down a little. Anyway, just wondering always want to figure things out so that if I have to make some critical decisions I can.

You are such a master preserver! I trust you and love your scientific explanations 😊 so helpful!

I love your adaptation and can't wait to try it! Maybe in a future Q&A you could address this concern of mine: when we need to keep a viscous mixture boiling ( per instructions), does that mean 212 F or just bubbling? I always feel like I am fighting Mt Vesuvius when foods like applesauce bubble (splatters and air borne bombs). Any tips?

That’s a great video and We will be making this soon!! I lived in McGregor TX a week as in Temple and Belton for many, many years with relatives in Waco! Thanks for sharing the link!!👍😎👍

I watched my mother make enchilada sauce as a girl living in NM. She added the peppers to the blender just as you do. Only thing is that there was no tomato sauce in it. She would freeze it in containers.

Wow! This is the second time you have showed me that I've been working way to hard when canning tomato sauce or paste, etc. This is wonderful! Amazing! I will revisit this video; you better believe it!

Your amazing my grandmother or mother never thought me. I can water bath but I can't pressure can.

Great demonstration!

What a wonderful idea. I gre up having Old El Paso Red Enchilada Sauce. The taste has definitely changed. It's also quite a bit thinner than it used to be. I'll definitely try this one. We get the big, dark red peppers from NM. I believe they are Bueno brand. Have you tried freeze drying this sauce yet?

I am so trying this. I love enchiladas!

This is a wonderful recipe, I’ve used it many times. My household loves spicy food so we add a few chili arbol or pequin. Love your method, I’ll be trying it soon.

Would it work to blend the tomatoes in the blender before adding them to the peppers and onions? This sauce looks delicious! As a former long time resident of AZ I miss good Mexican food! Can't get it here in the PNW, so I have to make it myself😎🇺🇸

Perfect timing!! I was getting ready to look up this exact thing. 😊

I was so excited today when l found the Cento and Contadina Tomato puree at Wal Mart, they Didnt have much but l will also look in other stores,and theres always Amazon.!

Christopher Ranch is local to me Gilroy CA good stuff Gilroy is famous for Garlic

Thanks for the video! Since this was your first purchase of those dried peppers what did you think of them? I've been afraid to buy them since I don't want a too spicy pepper. I would like to try this recipe with your version. Our favorite way to use enchilada sauce beside enchiladas of course is to season refried beans with it (a few tablespoons of the sauce is perfect seasoning without making the beans 'soupy'). So canning in the half pints would make sense for us.

You made it look so easy, Thank You and for sharing. ✝️💟

Thank you for your wonderful videos. You are such an excellent teacher.

Thank you Pam and camera man Jim.

I really like this idea and I am excited to try it. I know you gave a few ideas on how to use this sauce but I would love another video showing some recipes that use this sauce.

Thank you so much. I have been looking for a really good enchilada sauce. We love making things with it. And I am always concerned about using things store bought. Plus I am working on having my pantry full of meals that are ready or nearly ready. We do not know what is coming next and it pays to be prepared.

Thank you for doing this! I bought this book awhile ago. I am a VERY new canner and thought maybe they just didn't want to do it in quarts. I appreciate you so much explaining why if it only says pints to do it in pints!!!

Looks like a great recepie!

Hi Pam, your videos are great! I know you ended up with closer to 6 pints and the recipe says it yields 8 pints but I think 6 pints is much closer to being correct. 2-28 oz. cans of diced tomatoes is 7 cups + 2 cups of water + 5 cups of onion (I'd guess 3 cup of water) + dry ingredients = 12 cups of liquid so 6 pints should be about right. What do you think?

Great timing and I am going to go in now and count peppers and cans of tomatoes!!

Would you rate the flavor as mild or medium or hot?

Love your processing step 1 . Kiss method is my go to!

With the overhead camera angle, the image of Jim dangling from the ceiling like he was in a Mission Impossible movie popped into my head! 😄

Thanks for the video! I've never canned enchilada sauce, but I'm going to try this using some of my excess jars of home canned tomatoes. I was in a rush this year and canned too many jars of just plain, chopped tomatoes becsuse that was easier.

Thank You!! We cook with enchilada sauce often.

Could you use an immersion blender instead?

I love your videos & I follow along all the time so thank you for that. I was excited to try this recipe but sadly, I didn't follow my instincts on the amount of sugar... I was going to reduce it because frankly, who wants sweet enchilada sauce & sure enough, it's way too sweet. I was so hoping for a more authentic savory sauce. Normally I skim through the reviews but, I didn't this time & it seems others feel the same. I added a TBSP of lemon juice which didn't really help & as its heating up its just getting sweeter & actually reminds me of chili sauce so it looks like I will rebrand it as appose to tossing it out. I'm thinking it would be good poured over chicken & baked. We shall see!

Looking forward to canning some! Thank you for sharing your skills.

Thank you for showing us how to make and preserve this sauce, Pam. Please help me understand canning ingredients that are already canned, specifically, the tomatoes. I understand that one may not have fresh tomatoes on hand, but it still seems odd to me to open a can of something only to re-can it, so to speak. Will there be any nutrients left once it's been canned twice? Not trying to be contrary, but every time I see someone do this - you are certainly not the first and won't be the last - it puzzles me. Thanks again to you and Jim for all the time, effort, and thought you put into your videos. I always learn something new. ~ Lisa

I wonder if one of those hand blenders would help to just do it all in the pot rather than transferring it to the blender, then back to the pot . I may try that. it looks like an awesome recipe ! Thankyou for this

Thank you Pam! I think our taste buds are twins 😊

Thank you so much for doing this.

Looks so easy this way. Thank you.

Thank you Pam❤

It looks like it would freeze dry well, and might be a use of the powdered tomaotes from the oversupply for less of other people's processing. Thank ypu for the recipe and hints. Nos to fond those peppers in Canada....

thankyou.. ive been wanting this recipe.. I use enchilada sauce alot, this is perfect!! Silly me, i thought i was done canning yesterday..

Thank you! I love your video’s.

Red - you need an immersion blender!

Oh this would’ve been awesome to freeze dry

I really enjoy your channel. I have learned so much from you. What is the brand of the counter, cook burner that you are using in your video's. I would like to buy one. Thank you.

Dr. Cantrell: I love ❤️ you!! You are changing my life with every video I watch. (My husband now knows you and watches with me, too!) Last week, I watched a video with my 87 year old Mother, and she loves you, too! You are extremely clear on what you teach, you are honest, and you are my new friend! THANK YOU! I have a very big concern: I am 66 and I grew up very aware of the need for iodine in our diets. With all of the various new salts, no one has mentioned the need for iodine. Do these salts have iodine? Do we get enough iodine in our diet through other foods? Could you please address this? Thank you so very much. Stacey B St. George UT.

Pam, do you make green enchilada sauce? I would love to learn how...

Great video! Thanks 🥰

Do you have a recipe for green enchilada sauce that you can demonstrate? I would love it if you were able to do this sauce?

You use to mentioned and shared in the freeze dryer groups a lot. Have you thought about doing more freeze dryer content? There isn’t a lot of creators in that category.

Are you still in favor of using the Instapot Max for pressure canning? I'm a rookie canner and bought one last year. I've been afraid to try it, but your videos on it give me a little confidence. I wanted to make sure you hadn't decided that they're not a good idea. Thank you.

You could simply ask permission from Ball for the use of the recipe image or something to help promote sales of the canning books. promote the books this way people will also trust that the books recipes come out good. So Ask Ball. I still share recipes that were given to the public via newspapers, and via the cook books i get them from, and I cite the sources. Common use for recipes, for home cooking and canning. We are not publishing a book saying these are our invention. But I do understand that copyright means the formatted forms should not be image shared, because of the copyright laws.

I’m guessing that leaving the sugar out shouldn’t do anything to affect the safety of this. If anyone has a guess let me know. I might put a smaller amount artificial sugar in or leave it out completely. I’ve been meaning to learn pressure canning and have been reluctant but I think this might be a good first time. I have Guajillo chile, which is similar to New Mexican chile.

I did an estimate of cost savings over canned sauce from the grocery. Not scientifically but a good ballpark figure and I belive you'll be saving at least half. Add in the great homemade taste and it's a homerun for sure. There are so many things one can make that puts store products to shame. #'s 1 & 2 in my house is salad dressing and chicken broth. I just made 8 qts of broth yesterday - mostly scraps of the veg and bones of baked chicken. Eventhough I added 6 drumsticks that just aren't to my taste, but I got them for $2 on sale. If you were to buy boxed or canned broth the cost would be at least $16 even if you bought Swanson's which is about the only one I would buy as it's not bad. Add the cost of new canning lids and you're still way ahead, freezing won't have that cost at all. Edit: i made chicken salad with the meat and it was pretty good! Nice pet treat if you ate so inclined❤😊

What type of pepper 🌶 did you use from New Mexico? Did you taste the final product to make any seasoning adjustments before canning? Im asking this question because I realize you stop filming to skip ahead and seasoning to create a product that makes you happy or simulates your favorite restaurant sauce let's us know if you thought it lacked a spice or step from the Ball canning recipe. Thsnk you for making wonderful learning videos!

I make red sauce for tamales. I realize it’s different from enchilada sauce. Enchilada sauce has tomatoes in it. Red Tamales sauce has no tomato sauce or tomatoes in it. It’s just made of dried chilies. Guajillo or New Mexico dried pepper pods, and a couple more different peppers , onion and broth and garlic. I’m going to make enchilada sauce this time toncan.

What peppers do you use if you dont have the dried out ones. Can you uses a canned green chilis.

which brand of zip lock bag holders are those (don't see in your shopping list- unless I missed it) have been looking at them (for ziplocks and mylar) Do you like the ones you are using- there are so many to choose from and you are the first of the people I follow to use them - thanks

Great video... Pam, I was always taught to wash the chilies very well as they are dried out in the open where rodents crawl over the chilies and do, you know what... Do some come packaged already washed? I hardly buy them.. Thanks again....

Yeah! They didn’t boil out. I see you’ve used the Nesco over the Presto canner the last two times. Do you like the Presto? I’ve enjoyed ours. Did you ever figure out why the broth exploded? I think the electric canners get pretty hot and wonder if shorter time would be better sometimes, but we follow directions to be safe. Pints is perfect size for the two of us.

Another great lesson. Thank you! Do you know if we can process half pints in our electric canners?

if buying these peppers how many ounces should I purchase, 8 ounces or 16 ounces? Not sure what I would use the extra peppers for other than this recipe so I don't want to over purchase.