Add the flour and stir constantly for one minute. Enchilada sauces in Mexican restaurants are much thinner; you can usually see the tortillas through the sauce… Your best bet, though, is just to improve your sauce-making technique. Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. The sauce tastes great, has lots of flavor, and is fine our spice index, but is too hot for company. i bought some enchilada sauce for a quick dinner, and though the enchiladas my husband made using it taste good they are definitely bitter. Image via A Cozy Kitchen. Start with a 1:1 ratio, and go from there. I "riffed" the recipe a bit on his suggestion and added a chipotle chili. You can use a number of different ways to fix a bitter tomato sauce, depending on the cause of the bitterness. The Secret Step, Frying the Sauce How to Avoid a Bitter Enchilada Sauce. for a 28 ounce can, saute about a half an onion, in about 3 TBLS of butter, for about 5 minutes, add a couple cloves of garlic (chopped, or tsp of garlic paste) saute another minute, add 1 TBLS of flour stir about a minute until smooth. But, don’t worry. For example, if you're making a mustard-based, cream sauce, add some herbs, such as rosemary, oregano, basil or thyme. Stir flour and chili powder into the oil; cook and stir until smooth. You will almost always be able to fix it. Add herbs to your food. All I do is make my sauce spicier, but not tastier. Adding sweet, salty or savory flavors can fix most sauces once they're made or diluting the bad batch with sauce. Usually this does the job. Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until sauce has thickened. Here's what I think is wrong with the sauce: It's too thick, almost like the consistency of spaghetti sauce. Stir in the canned enchilada sauce, chicken broth and salt and pepper. Problems. This sauce goes perfect over enchiladas, into posole, or on top of Huevos Rancheros. Meanwhile, Dr. Gourmet (aka Dr. Timothy S. Harlan), a physician and TV commenter, says to use 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda to every cup of tomato If your chili is on the mouth-puckering side, baking soda can repair that. Taste the sauce and add tiny amounts of baking soda to see if it mellows the acidity. Add the canned enchilada sauce, and 1 tsp of a high quality chili powder, and 1/4 tsp of cumin. Keep warm over low heat until ready to assemble enchiladas. If you want to tone down the bitterness and add a more robust flavor, try cutting some of the red sauce with chicken or vegetable broth. Heat 1 cup of sauce with 1/4 teaspoon baking soda (baking soda neutralizes acidity). (Approximately 10-15 minutes.) If there is still an edge, swirl in a teaspoon of butter, letting it melt until creamy. I made the red enchilada sauce from Rick Bayless' Mexican Everyday w/ 3 Guajillo chilies. Gradually stir tomato i have heard this can happen if you leave the skin of the chilis on when making the sauce at home, so maybe the manufacturers don't skin their chilis. Or if you're making chicken lemon soup, add some salt to counteract the bitter flavor of the lemon juice in the soup. If neither helps, toss the sauce. A quick note: many people find the sauce too bitter. Sugar (just a touch): For some sauces this will work; however, when I’m making a pizza Dried chiles are a seasonal natural product and the level of heat and bitterness can vary greatly which means at times your sauce isn’t going to turn out the way you had planned. Step, Frying the sauce and add tiny amounts of baking soda repair. Or savory flavors can fix most sauces once they 're made or diluting the batch... 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