Most Mexican parties or family celebrations feature a selection of dishes that can be picked at over the course of the evening while everyone is enjoying conversation or a friendly(ish) game of lotería, whether it is simply tortilla chips and a variety of delicious salsas or something more elaborate. One common such dish is salchichas enchipotladas or hot dogs with chipotle. Always a favorite with kids and adults alike, this tasty treat consists of sliced hot dogs served in a creamy chipotle sauce. They are often eaten with toothpicks or with the ever present tortilla chips. It really wouldn’t be Christmas without them. 

This month’s recipe is brought to us by the family of Na’atik cofounder and Spanish teacher Pedro's sister-in-law, whose Noche Buena and Christmas posadas always feature the most delicious local food.

Ingredients

2kg/4.5lb of hotdog sausages

1 pack of bacon

750g/1.5lb tomato puree

200g/0.5 lb Mexican crema (crème fraîche thinned out with a little lime juice is a great substitute)

1 regular tub of Philadelphia cream cheese or similar

1 small can of chipotle chiles in adobo (available from any good Mexican food store)

1 clove of garlic

¼ white onion

Oil as needed

Method

1- Begin by frying the bacon until it becomes golden, then set aside reserving the cooking grease.

2 - Finely chop the onion and garlic and then fry in the bacon grease.

3 - Once the onions turn translucent, chop the hog dog sausages into slices and add them to the pan with the onions and garlic. 

4 - Once the hot dogs begin to brown, add the bacon back in and mix.

5 - While the mixture is cooking, make the sauce by adding the remaining ingredients (crema, cream cheese and chipotle chillies) to a blender and blend until you have a smooth liquid. You can add more or less chilies depending on your and your family’s/guest’s preferences.

6 - Add the creamy sauce to the cooking hot dog and bacon mix and allow the sauce to cook until the mixture becomes orangey in color, at which point remove from the heat.

7- Set aside to cool (normally salchichas enchipotladas are served cold, however they are equally delicious while still hot from the pan!)

8- Serve either on a plate with handy chopsticks or tortilla chips to avoid too much mess! (we strongly recommend having serviettes nearby!)

If you want to try out some other Mexican, Yucatec or Maya recipes from the Na’atik family, visit our blog where new recipes are uploaded every month, along with articles about culture, history and language.

If you want to sample the unique flavors of the Mexican Caribbean, the best place is in the kitchens of local families. Na’atik MaS (Maya and Spanish) immersion students stay with one of our local families during their time with us, sharing three meals a day with their host family. To find out more about how you can improve your language skills and experience the real Mexico, visit our immersion page or send our team an email at mas@naatikmexico.org today.