Here's how we make ours:
1-2 bags of dried, red chile pods
Remove stems from pods and shake out the seeds. Don't worry about getting all the seeds.
Start a large pot of water to a rolling boil.
If the pods look dusty, rinse them under the faucet.
When water is boiling, toss in the pods. In a minute or so they will magically rehydrate and plump up again.
Get your blender.
DON"T throw away the red chile water!
Fill blender half way with pods.
Fill blender 1/3 with chile water.
Pulse till pods break up. If it freezes up, add some chile water.
I make this stuff in batches in the blender. Once I get the blender half way full, I leave it one for about two minutes to turn it into a nice thick blend.
The longer you blend, the smaller the particles you have left in the chile.
At this point you can strain the mixture or leave it as is if you don't mind some texture to the sauce.
Once you are done with all the pods, put sauce in a big sauce pan.
In a separate skillet, saute 1-2 whole onions and 1-2 or 50 heads of garlic. Depends how much you like onions and garlic. When they are soft, toss them in the blender with some chile water and blend till smooth.
Here is where your taste dictates the amount.
You will now simmer the sauce to thicken it up. After simmering for about an hour, take some of that onion and garlic mix and add it to the sauce. As much or as little as you like. I use the white bread tasting method. Take a slice of white bread, tear off a piece. Dip into sauce. Youare looking for a red chile, onion, and garlic taste only.
If it's to your liking, let it cool and store in quart size bags in the freezer. If the heat is weak, you can float some cut habanero in the sauce for added heat.
For each quart bag of reduced sauce you can make 2-3 quarts of sauce when you need it by adding water to it. if you have space in the freezer, save some of the chile water. The chile water helps add flavor where fresh water dilutes the flavor.
Notice I added no salt or pepper. Add these to each batch of sauce you make, this way you can add as much or as little salt as possible.
It's actually very easy, all you need is the dry chile pods.
From here you can also season with oregano, cumin, or what ever else you like. It's very easy to personalize to your taste.
