A dear friend shared this recipe with us back in 2002, and we’ve been making it ever since. It’s the perfect rub for chicken, steak, or anything that needs a little extra flavor. We love keeping a batch on hand — it makes any meal instantly better.
Ingredients:
- ¼ cup grapeseed oil
- 5 chipotle chiles, seeded and deveined
- 5 ancho chiles, seeded and deveined
- 25 garlic cloves
- ½ cup kosher salt
- ¼ cup Mexican oregano, toasted
Instructions:
Heat the grapeseed oil in a medium-sized pan over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking. Fry the chiles, 1 or 2 at a time, for about 10 seconds each, until they puff and turn a little brown. Be careful not to let them burn, or the rub will turn bitter. Drain the fried chiles on paper towels and let them cool and crisp up.
Grind the cooled chiles into a fine powder.
In a food processor, combine the ground chiles, garlic, salt, and toasted oregano. Pulse until the mixture forms a shaggy, salt-like spice rub.
If the mixture feels damp, spread it into a thin, even layer on a baking sheet and dry it in a slightly warm oven (around 200°F) for about 1 hour.
Store at room temperature in an airtight container. Regrind briefly before using if needed.