Guajillo Chile

This smoky, chile-laden salsa works both as a marinade and glaze for grilled chicken thighs.

Pair ground turkey with white beans and a robust dried chile purée for a bowl of winter comfort with major body and richness.

In this fiery Indian classic, chunks of pork shoulder and succulent pork belly are cooked until tender in a tangy, spicy chile-vinegar sauce. 

If you can spread peanut butter on bread, you can make these homemade tamales filled with pork slathered in a bright red chile purée. 

Skip the turkey and slather Cornish game hens with a fiery, tangy chile marinade inspired by Goan recheado masala.

Eating your veggies has never tasted as good as when they’re beer-battered and fried until crispy. Sub the zucchini for any veg—from broccolini to mixed mushrooms.

Dried chiles add tons of complex flavor to this saucy, shreddable chicken with little extra work—our kind of cooking.

This salad uses ancient grains to create a dish that reflects Mexico and the American South. For chef Maricela Vega it meshes both of their histories while making the most of the foods she is surrounded by.

Juicy pork al pastor and oozy quesillo are a brilliant combo in these crunchy fried tacos.

Turn the rich pan juices into a super-flavorful, spicy dipping sauce for this goat (or lamb) birria. 

Brisket, bacon, and beans are the culinary trifecta you’ve been waiting for.

Pork shoulder gets the Goa spice treatment, with star anise, fennel seeds, coriander, cumin, cloves, and more, courtesy of chef Vivek Surti of Tailor in Nashville.

If boning the whole chicken legs isn’t your thing, just use eight skin-on, boneless chicken thighs instead.

Make a big pot of this rich, meaty chili, a side of cornbread, and then never leave the couch.

If you can’t find delicata squash in your neck of the woods, acorn or butternut will do the trick.

Some of us still have nightmares about bad puréed black bean soups that were once a “thing.” Creamy puréed pinto beans, chiles, and lots of mix-ins set this soup on the right path.

This isn’t the thick harissa that resembles a paste. Treat it like your favorite barbecue sauce and smother grilled steak and chicken with it.

This irresistibly smoky-spicy condiment lasts for a month and perks up everything from scrambled eggs to lamb chops.

Oaxaca is known for its moles, and there are countless types. This recipe features dried red chiles and is often served with poultry.

The shrimp is even better when it’s grilled.

We modified Contramar’s whole-fish method with individual fillets, which are easier to handle—but the flavor is the same!

The key to this adobo is truly burning the chiles and spices. Not browned, not toasted—burned. Try this at home; just open the windows and turn on the fan first.

Don’t braise your short ribs—grill them. They’re intensely beefy, with gorgeous marbling that encourages crispy bits.

This sandwich alone is worth the trip to this five-table restaurant in the western suburbs of Chicago.