Adobo Sauce

A few weeks ago, I made shredded beef tacos that called for chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. I didn't have a can of that sauce on hand, but I had two or three bags of guajillo, ancho, and pasilla peppers leftover from a mole sauce I made a long time ago.

As I always do when I don't have a store-bought version of something, I started searching for recipes for the real thing to see if I could make it at home. I decided to use a recipe from Emeril Lagasse (did you know that he has a cooking blog?), and it worked out perfectly. I didn't taste it b/c of all the chiles, but the smell and look of the sauce looked perfect.
I re-used this sauce in the tamal/tamale pie I made the other day. Since my good friend requested that I post the recipe, I figured I would do it ASAP. (Love you, TSB!!) This sauce doesn't take long to make, and I'm sure it tastes better than the store-bought variety. Enjoy!

Adobo Sauce
adapted from Emerial Lagasse on Food Network

4 dried ancho chiles
6 dried guajillo chiles
2 Tbsp minced onion, divided
3/4 tsp minced garlic, divided
1 1/2 tsp salt (I used Kosher)
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano (I used Mexican oregano)
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
Pinch ground cloves
1/4 cup cider vinegar

Heat a large skillet over medium heat and toast the chiles, turning frequently, until very pliable and soft; do not allow to char. Remove from the skillet, and transfer to a plate. Remove the stems and seeds and place in a saucepan.
Add enough hot water to just cover, and bring to a boil. Cover the pan, remove from the heat, and allow chiles to soak until very soft and plumped for about 20 minutes. Strain in a fine mesh sieve over a bowl, and reserve soaking liquid separately.

In a blender, combine the chiles, onion, garlic, salt, teaspoon sugar, oregano, thyme, cinnamon, cumin, allspice, cloves, and vinegar and puree until smooth, adding a little of the chile soaking liquid (only as much as is needed) to enable the mixture to blend. The consistency should be thick but smooth. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.