Melanie's Redneck Red Chili Sauce Recipe

Directions:

1. First, the dried chili pods I choose depends on my mood. I do usually like to mix it up for depth of flavor and love Guajillo and Ancho/Pasilla varieties. I've even been known to slip in a few of the skinny asian hot peppers for extra heat and depth.
2. Place Chili pods on a baking sheet and into the oven at 375 degrees. Bake for about 5 minutes. Place the Hot Chili Pods in a large bowl and cover with water. Soak for about 30-40 minutes.
3. Cook bacon in a large skillet until crispy. Remove bacon and reserve about 3 TBS of the bacon grease.
4. Pull the tops off the chili pods and place into a blender with the onion, garlic, spices, a slice of bacon, and some of the chili soaking water (barely cover the blender ingredients with the water). Depending on the size of your blender you may need to do this in batches. Puree until smooth.
5. Heat bacon grease in a large skillet or pot over medium-high heat. Add chili sauce. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer for about 20-30 minutes until it starts to thicken a bit. This will intensify that beautiful earthy red chili flavor.
6. Sometimes, the sauce will have a bitter taste - all depends on the quality and variety of the dried chilis. If this happens to me, I like to add just a touch of honey to smooth out the flavor.
7. I like to use this sauce for tamales. You can also use it for enchiladas, chili colorado, or other recipes.
8. It also freezes well for future use.