Chicken In Red Chile Sauce

This is another wonderful recipe that Chef Montserrat Castro demonstrated at Sazon in San Miguel. The sauce is not overly spicy and the chicken turned out perfectly. The chili sauce would also work great added to pozole.

Chicken in Red Chile Sauce

20 dried Guajillo and/or Ancho Chile pods
3-4 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs
6 cups chicken or vegetable broth
6 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons oregano
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste
3-4 Tbsp. olive oil

Roast the chiles lightly in a frying pan until they soften slightly, taking care not to burn them. Remove all stems, seeds, and veins. Break them up into pieces and simmer in the chicken broth along with garlic, oregano and cayenne, for 40-45 minutes.
Blend chiles and broth in blender a little at a time. Pour sauce through a sieve into a bowl. Mash chile pieces against sieve with spoon to extract liquid and discard pulp. Bring liquid to a boil in saucepan, lower heat and simmer until the sauce reduces by a third. Add salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle thighs with salt and pepper, saute in olive oil in oven safe baking dish or casserole for 7 to 8 minutes until browned.
Pour chile sauce over chicken. Cover and bake at 325 for 1 1/2 hours. remove from oven and serve.