Pasilla de Oaxaca (smoked dried chile, Sierra Mixe, Oaxaca, Mexico)

Aromatic profile

Culinary use

• When to add : cooking
• Dosage : one or two chiles per pot of sauce, stemmed, seeded, toasted 30 seconds a side, then soaked 20 minutes and blended
• Ideal pairings : Oaxacan black mole, salsas and adobos, braised short ribs and pork, black bean soups, chili and barbecue rubs, stuffed (chile relleno style) in Oaxaca
• Avoid with : delicate fish where the smoke flattens everything, raw applications without toasting first, dishes that already carry chipotle (you double the smoke and lose definition)

The grain in detail

The pasilla de Oaxaca is not the pasilla you find in a Los Angeles supermarket. That one is a dried chilaca grown across central Mexico. This one is a different chile entirely, grown almost exclusively in the Sierra Mixe mountains of Oaxaca at around 1,500 meters, then ripened red and smoke-dried over wood for several days in family-run ovens. That smoking is the whole point and the reason it costs what it does. You taste wood smoke first, then dried cherry and raisin, then a warm tobacco-and-earth base, with a medium heat that builds slowly and sits in the back of the throat instead of scorching the front. It is the backbone smoke of Oaxacan black mole, and it carries salsas, adobos, braised pork and short ribs, and black bean soups with a depth no chipotle quite matches. Toast it before you use it: stem and seed the chile, press it skin-side down in a dry pan for about 30 seconds a side until it puffs and smells nutty, then soak it in hot water for 20 minutes and blend. One or two chiles season a whole pot. Production is tiny and fully manual, which is why mislabeling is rampant. If a bag is cheap and just says pasilla, it is the central-Mexico chilaca, not this. Look for Sierra Mixe or Oaxaca named on the label, and expect to pay accordingly.

History & origin

The true pasilla de Oaxaca, called pasilla mixe locally, has been grown and wood-smoked by farming families of the Sierra Mixe for generations, sold mostly through Oaxaca's markets such as the Mercado de Abastos. Output is a few tonnes a year from a single mountainous pocket, with no protected appellation. In 2017 the importer Masienda bought a whole town's production to bring it to US kitchens, which is largely how the chile reached American restaurants and spread its reputation beyond Oaxaca.

Indicative price

Reference format : 2 oz bag, whole dried — from $11.99 to $16.00 (median : $14.00).

Storage

Whole, in an airtight container away from light and humidity. Keeps its smoke and pliability for about a year; freeze for longer.

Where to buy?

Alternatives if unavailable

• Ancho Chile

Tags

• Mexico
• Oaxaca
• Sierra Mixe
• smoked chile
• mole
• rare

Frequently asked questions

How do you store Pasilla de Oaxaca?

Whole, in an airtight container away from light and humidity. Keeps its smoke and pliability for about a year; freeze for longer.

What dosage for Pasilla de Oaxaca?

one or two chiles per pot of sauce, stemmed, seeded, toasted 30 seconds a side, then soaked 20 minutes and blended

When should you add Pasilla de Oaxaca in cooking?

It's best used cooking.

What should you avoid pairing Pasilla de Oaxaca with?

Avoid with: delicate fish where the smoke flattens everything, raw applications without toasting first, dishes that already carry chipotle (you double the smoke and lose definition).