The Border Table · Source Edition
Red Chile Enchilada Sauce
A quick pantry sauce thickened with prepared roux, built from chile and paprika.
The owner’s 2021 sauce card is intentionally spare: five ingredients and a brief simmer.
Cook it
The owner’s 2021 sauce card is intentionally spare: five ingredients and a brief simmer.
- Start the sauce. Combine the cold water, chili powder, paprika and salt in a saucepan. Whisk until the powders disperse, then bring the mixture to a boil.
- Thicken. Stir in 3 tablespoons of prepared roux. Simmer for about 1 minute, stirring so the roux disperses evenly, then remove from the heat.
- Use. Spoon the sauce over filled enchiladas or use it in the archived enchilada assembly method. Keep extra sauce refrigerated after it cools.
Serve it
Use while warm to coat corn tortillas before filling and rolling. If the sauce thickens on standing, whisk in a little water only as needed for your chosen assembly.
Understand it
What makes this version work
A roux is flour cooked in fat and used to thicken liquid. The 2021 ingredient line specifies three tablespoons of prepared roux but does not record its flour-to-fat ratio or how it was made; those details are not invented here. Chili powder and paprika are both measured at a half cup, which produces a strongly colored base. Add the roux only after the seasoned water reaches a boil, then whisk so it does not form lumps.
Know it
The recorded recipe and its place at the table
This sauce is documented by the owner’s 2021 recipe card, not by a named restaurant. It is a pantry-style red chile sauce and should not be confused with the site’s separate Texas cheese enchiladas with chile gravy. Texas enchilada presentations vary: the Texas State Historical Association records flat enchiladas in West Texas and New Mexico, while this archive also contains a rolled assembly method. The sauce itself can accompany either presentation; the source does not claim an exclusive regional origin.
Sources and method
About this version
The ingredient proportions and core method come from the owner’s 2021 Authentic Tex-Mex Recipes card. The Border Table has clarified the instructions for readers without claiming an undocumented inventor or origin for the exact formula. The external source gives broader culinary context; it does not authenticate the owner’s private recipe.
- Texas State Historical Association, Tex-Mex Foods.
- FoodSafety.gov, Four Steps to Food Safety — refrigeration and safe handling guidance where relevant.
See our corrections policy to suggest an update.
