Ground Pepper to Taste/ I use a teaspoon of ground peppercorns
Salt to Taste
1 ½CupsChicken broth or stock
12OuncesLager Beer/ Mexican Lager or another 'easy-drinker'
Instructions
The Roux
Heat the cast iron sauce pot or Dutch oven over medium to medium high heat.
Add the ¼ cup of oil to the pre-heating pot. Watch for very light wisps of smoke.
Add the flour and keep stirring until the roux begins to give off that beautiful nutty aroma. You are looking for a cream colored Roux. This only takes a minute or two.
Create the Sauce
Slowly add the chicken broth to the roux. Be careful. It’s a cooler liquid in hot oil (speaking simplistically). Stir the broth and roux in well (it may look like it’s “curdling up;” that’s normal).
Pour in your beer. Watch for a head or frothing to form.
Add the spices and keep stirring. You could use a whisk but these ingredients will blend A-OK with the continued stirring.
Reduce the heat a bit and then check for saltiness. Just a little sip from a spoon will tell you what you need to know. Add salt per your taste preferences.
Let the sauce thicken up. Be sure to scrape the edges every once in a while to remove the thicker stuff that will gather around the edges of the pot while the enchilada sauce simmers.
Use right away or store the sauce in the refrigerator until it's gone or it's time to throw away.
Notes
The sauce should thicken up well in about 10-15 minutes. We are not looking for a cake batter thickness. We need the thickness to be thicker than V-8 Juice or Tomato Juice but as thick or a little thinner than Pizza Sauce.Note: These “thickness” references are not ingredients for this recipe. I am using them as references. Enchilada sauce thickness preferences are subjective. Thicken to your favor.