The Legendary Orange Sauce
This sauce is life.
I am not even KIDDING you.
This is Tacolicious Legendary Orange Sauce and legendary pretty much describes it.
It’s not salsa. It’s just…sauce. A sauce made with spicy dried chiles (but you can control the heat by how many you add). A sauce with a tang of vinegar, and toasted garlic cloves and charred tomatoes and onions.
I make it to go over these amazing Al Pastor Tacos. But people inevitably start dipping tortilla chips in it.
And then whatever salsa I may be serving gets forgotten.
Because …this sauce is life.
The best life.
Start out by slicing two roma tomatoes in half and one yellow onion as well. Place the two roma tomatoes cut side down on a foil lined baking sheet. Slice one half only of the onion into 1 inch pieces and lay them on the baking sheet as well. Broil with your top rack of the oven moved up to the highest position for about 10 minutes until the all get a lot of black charring on them.
Remove them along with with any juices to a bowl.
While those are in the oven, take a small skillet and add a drizzle of canola oil. Add in 1/2 cup of Chile de Arbols. Seriously, these things are hot…I make a double recipe and I only add 6 or 7. But if you love crazy hot…add the 1/2 cup.
Toast them in a the hot oil…it happens very quickly. So after a few seconds flip them and then quick remove them to a bowl. Add in your garlic cloves and turn them until they get browned on each side as well. Remove to the bowl.
Add the tomatoes, onions, 1/3 cup of apple cider vinegar and a tablespoon of salt (use the full tablespoon, you need it). Turn your blender on and puree all of this to bits. Then turn it down to low, and drizzle the oil in as slowly as you can, using only a tiny thread of oil at a time. The consistency will be like a thin salad dressing but with a little thickness.
I hope you love this sauce as much as we do!
The sauce of life.
- 2 roma tomatoes
- ½ yellow onion
- ½ cup dried árbol chiles, stemmed ( I use 3)
- 3 garlic coves (peeled)
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- ⅓ cup apple cider vinegar
- ½ cup water ( i never add this)
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- Position a wire rack on the top level of the oven, about 6 inches from the broiler. Preheat broiler on high.
- On a cookie sheet, place onion slices and tomatoes cut side down. Roast until a bit charred on the edges, about 10 minutes.
- Over medium heat, sauté garlic in 2 tablespoon of vegetable,(this happens FAST, don't walk away!) turning several times with tongs, about 1 minute. Add chiles to garlic, sauté for 1-2 minutes, flipping occasionally until they just start to toast. Take care not to burn.
- Transfer chiles and garlic to a high-speed blender. Pour in the water (I omit) and vinegar, and let stand for 5 minutes to soften.
- Purée on high, 10 to 20 seconds. Turn to low speed and slowly add remaining vegetable oil (in the tiniest thread you can pour) in a slow and steady stream so the oil mixture will emulsify, creating desired creamy consistency.
- Add the tomatoes, onion and salt. Purée on high, until smooth.
- Serve now or store in the fridge for about 2 weeks. Enjoy!
