Chile Atlas

The jarred equivalent is about $6 for a cup of mostly tomato. Twenty minutes here makes twice as much and it is not close. Most of it braises Wednesday's pork, and 1/2 cup comes off the top first, thinned with lime for the table.

• 6 dried guajillo chiles (about 1 1/2 oz / 42 g), stemmed and seeded
• 3 dried ancho chiles (about 1 oz / 28 g), stemmed and seeded
• 1 1/2 cups (360 ml) hot water
• 1/2 white onion, chunked
• 4 garlic cloves
• 2 tbsp cider vinegar
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp Mexican oregano
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1 1-inch piece cinnamon stick, or 1/4 tsp ground

1. Heat dry cast iron over medium, no oil, and toast the chiles 30 to 45 seconds a side, pressing them flat with a spatula.
2. They are ready when they smell like raisins and pipe tobacco and turn slightly pliable. Pull them at the first wisp of smoke, because burnt chile is bitter.
3. Cover the chiles with the hot water and soak 20 minutes, weighing them down with a plate so they stay under.
4. Blend the chiles with the onion, garlic, vinegar, tomato paste, cumin, oregano, pepper, cinnamon and 1 cup of the soaking liquid.
5. Run it a full 2 minutes, longer than feels necessary, until no grit is left. Guajillo skin is tough.
6. Pull 1/2 cup off into its own container before anything else happens to it. That half cup is Wednesday's table sauce.
7. Jar the rest. It is the braise, and it goes near raw pork, which is why the table portion comes off first.

Both containers keep a week in the fridge, or three months frozen. The color darkens after a day or two, which is fine.

Made fresh it costs about $3, makes 50 percent more than a jar, and the thyme actually tastes green. Most of it marinates Friday's chicken, and 1/2 cup is reserved before it touches raw meat, then loosened for the table. That is the hot sauce bottle you do not have to buy.

• 6 scallions, roughly chopped
• 4 garlic cloves
• 2-inch piece ginger
• 2 habaneros or scotch bonnets, seeded, or 1 if you want it gentler
• 2 tbsp fresh thyme leaves, or 2 tsp dried
• 1 tbsp ground allspice
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 3 tbsp soy sauce
• 3 tbsp brown sugar
• juice of 2 limes
• 2 tbsp cider vinegar
• 2 tbsp neutral oil
• 1 1/2 tsp salt

1. Put everything into the blender at once. Scrape the sides down once, then run it about a minute, to a smooth paste rather than a relish.
2. Set 1/2 cup aside in its own jar for the table, before the rest goes anywhere near the chicken.
3. Jar the remaining paste as Friday's marinade.
4. Taste the table portion. It should be aggressive, since it goes on cooked meat in small amounts. If it tastes harsh rather than hot, add another squeeze of lime.
5. Wash your hands and the blender jar well. Habanero oil transfers to whatever you touch next for a surprisingly long time.

Both jars keep two weeks in the fridge. The marinade portion also freezes, so a double batch is not a bad idea.

Gochujang itself is a buy, since the tub is cheap and nobody ferments their own. Stirred together ahead it is one less thing standing between you and dinner Monday.

• 1/4 cup (70 g) gochujang
• 2 tbsp gochugaru
• 3 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp rice vinegar
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil

1. Put the soy sauce and rice vinegar into a jar first, then add the gochujang and work it into the liquid rather than the other way around. It is stiff and clumps if you start dry.
2. Add the gochugaru, brown sugar and sesame oil, and whisk until completely smooth with no lumps left on the bottom.
3. If you skipped the gochugaru, substitute 1 1/2 tbsp sweet paprika, 1 1/2 tsp cayenne and a pinch of sugar.

Keeps a month in the fridge. It is worth doubling, since it is good on anything roasted.