Hot Sauce as a marinade?


 
J

JimT

TVWBB Pro
I'm thinking about trying some some store bought Mexican hot sauce as a marinade for pork (either chops or country style ribs.) A concern I have is the label lists vinegar as one of the ingredients, and I've heard that could cause the meat to become "mushy" if left too long.

Without knowing how much vinegar there actually is, would anyone care to venture a guess for an appropriate length of time? I was originally thinking of overnight, or about 24 hours.

Thanks,

JimT
 
Jim, I see no problems with going 24 hrs. as I have left chicken in my Roadside marinade for 24 hrs. and that has a ton of vinegar in it.
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Bryan,

Thanks. This is all experimental, so I think I'll try 24 hours first on a small batch and increase/decrease from there. See what I'm up to below.

Kevin,

To answer your question, nothing at this point. I almost hate to admit this to you and the entire universe, but here goes. This all came about from my fascination with Carne Adovada.

Around here, dried chiles are really "iffy" as to what you get. I'm too cheap to pay the price for an online order, so I tried the best I could find here. Long story short, after an hour or so of removing seeds, boiling for a few minutes, then pureeing in a blender, the result was terrible. Almost completely tasteless, and no "heat" at all. In a moment of frustration I remarked to the wife that if someone could mass produce this "red chile puree" they would make a fortune.

Maybe there is a product out there, but like the chiles themselves it can't be found around here, so I'm simply looking for alternatives. Could I make a dish similar to the Carne Adovada using readily available store bought stuff like a hot sauce for the marinade, and enchilada sauce for the cook?

Always the cheap lazy cook,

JimT
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That would be an entirely different sort of thing. Might be fine. Different though.

You should have no problems getting decent chilies. I get chilies all over the country, depending where I am cooking. Skip the white bread supermarkets. There is a large population of Latinos in Michigan: hit the grocery stores that cater to them. You won't find NM chilies, most likely, but you will find anchos, guajillos and cascabels, and it is with those I would make the purée (you'll get better flavor depth and more heat). Use 2 anchos, 7 guajillos and 2 or 3 cascabels per purée 'recipe'. Just split the chilies (leave the tops alone) and shake the seeds out as best you can. Leave the 'veins' alone. Boil as directed. Remove the stems when the tops soften - they'll pull right off. Add a clove or two of garlic to the pot and lightly salt the water. Purée the garlic when you purée the chilies and force the mix through a sieve.

Use fresh garlic for the colorado (1 or 2 small cloves). Press it through a press and sweat it over very low heat, in the butter, till softened but not at all browned. Then add the flour and continue. Add a pinch of sugar to the mix.
 
Thanks Kevin.

Yes, I can find those chilies around here. In fact it was the guajillos that I used for my initial attempt. I was truly amazed at how flavorless they were. I'll give it another go in a week or so using your recommended combination of the three chilies.

I like your "technique" suggestion also. I did spend quite a bit of time trying to remove every seed before boiling!

JimT
 
Go with a chile blend.

The flavor of the chilies will develop during cooking, especially when combined with fat. In Mexico, chile-based sauces (think enchilada, which means 'in chile') are virtually always cooked in fat, usually lard or oil, rarely butter, and are thickened through reduction, most often, though a flour roux is sometimes seen.

Though, imo, it is usually better to buy dried chilies on line (sometimes chilies are mislabeled: I've seen mild pasillas packaged as guajillos and often see mislabeled anchos), you should be able to make a good marinade and sauce with storebought chilies. Refer to online sources for images before you hit the stores. If you have a good idea of what the chilies should look like you'll probably do better at the store.
 
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