Achiote Sauce Recipes

Steps:

• With a spice grinder, grind the annatto seeds, cumin seeds, peppercorns, allspice berries, and cloves to a fine powder.
• In a blender or food processor, mix the ground spices, habanero peppers, orange juice, vinegar, garlic, and salt. Blend until smooth. Mix in the lemon juice and tequila.

Steps:

• Pulse garlic in a food processor until finely chopped. Add chiles, salt, and sugar and pulse until chile pieces are no bigger than 1/2". Transfer mixture to jar and press down so chiles are slightly submerged in their own liquid. Cover with cheesecloth and fasten with kitchen twine or a rubber band. Let sit in a cool place away from direct sunlight at least 2 days and up to 5 days. The liquid will develop a slightly sour smell and there should be small bubbles scattered throughout. The longer you let it ferment, the more active it will become, but don't go longer than 5 days.
• Heat oil, achiote seeds, and paprika in a small saucepan over medium-high. As soon as small bubbles appear around the edges of the pan (2-3 minutes), let cook another 30 seconds; let cool. Strain oil through a fine-mesh sieve into a heatproof bowl; discard solids.
• Blend achiote oil, vinegar, and two-thirds of chile mixture in a blender until smooth. Transfer to an airtight container and stir in remaining chile mixture.
• Do Ahead:
• Hot sauce can be made 2 weeks ahead; cover and chill.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Combine 3/4 cup water, achiote paste, onion, juice of 2 limes, juice of 1 orange, vinegar, garlic, 1 teaspoon oregano, salt, and pepper in a blender; blend until smooth.
• Season both sides of the fish fillets with salt and pepper, then brush the top with melted butter. Arrange fish fillets in a baking dish. Add shrimp on top and cover with achiote sauce. Cover baking dish with aluminum foil.
• Bake in the preheated oven until fish flakes easily with a fork, about 30 minutes.
• Place red onion and habanero peppers in a glass bowl. Add 1 cup water, juice of 1/2 orange, and juice of 1 lime; stir well and season with salt, peppercorns, and Mexican oregano.
• Serve fish and shrimp with achiote sauce and top with habanero sauce.

Steps:

• Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over moderate heat. saute the onions with the salt until caramelized, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and achieve paste and cook 5 minutes, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon to avoid scorching. Add the tomato paste and pour in the fish stock or clam juice and boil 5 minutes longer. Stir in the pepper and vinegar and remove from the heat.
• Transfer the sauce to a blender and puree. Pass through a strainer. The sauce keeps up to 4 days.
• To finish, pour the sauce into a large skillet. Bring to a boil over high heat. Stir in the scallops or shrimp, reduce the heat to medium and cook 3 to 5 minutes. Serve over a bed of white rice and garnish with the capers or pickled onions.

Steps:

• Mix achiote paste together all ingredients down to the salt/pepper.
• Place fish in a shallow baking dish and pour achiote marinade over top.
• Cover dish and place in fridge for 2 hours.
• Remove fish from marinade (discard marinade) and place fish on cookie sheet; let stand at room temp for 15 minutes.
• Turn oven broiler to high and let heat up for 3-5 minutes.
• Place fish under the broiler until cooked (it will flake easily and be opaque in color), approx 5-7 minutes depending upon the heat of oven and the thickness of the fish.
• Serve fillets atop saffron rice or serve in corn torillas for excellent fish tacos.

Steps:

• Blend first 7 ingredients in processor to form paste. Place chicken in 8-inch square baking dish. Spread marinade over, turning to coat. Cover; refrigerate 2 to 4 hours.
• Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle chicken with salt. Add chicken to skillet; cook until brown, about 2 minutes per side. Add 1/2 cup tangerine juice to skillet. Cover; reduce heat to medium and simmer until chicken is cooked through, turning once, about 5 minutes. Transfer chicken to plates. Add remaining 1/2 cup juice to skillet; boil until thickened, about 2 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Spoon sauce over chicken. Sprinkle with cilantro.
• *Achiote paste is available at Latin markets.

Steps:

• Whisk lime juice, garlic, achiote, oregano, cumin, brown sugar, adobo sauce, wine vinegar and oil until well blended.
• Add marinade to a ziplock bag with chicken, pork or beef; seal bag and turn to coat. Marinade for at least 3 hours or overnight for more flavor.
• Season meat with salt and pepper before cooking.