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Carne Adovada

Course Any
Cuisine New Mexican
Keyword New Mexican, pork, red chile
Author adriennekatzkennedy

Ingredients

  • 2 lbs (1kg) boneless pork shoulder, cut into 2 inch (4-5cm) sized chunks
  • 2 heaped tsp cumin
  • 2 heaped tsp. Mexican oregano or Italian if you can’t find Mexican
  • 2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 large Spanish white onion thinly sliced
  • 5 cloves garlic, minced
  • vegetable oil for cooking

Red Chile Sauce

  • 10-12 dried New Mexico chiles
  • 2 tsp chile de pasilla powder
  • 3 cups (750ml) warm chicken stock or water
  • 1 tbsp local honey (optional)
  • 2 tbsp white vinegar (optional)
  • juice of ½ lime (optional)
  • salt to taste

To Serve

  • corn or flour tortillas
  • lime juice
  • grated cheese
  • roughly chopped cilantro (coriander)
  • sour cream
  • (more) hot sauce

Instructions

  • Begin by dicing your pork shoulder into large bite-sized chunks. Then, using your hands (which will help the flavours to blend), add the spices to the pork and mix to combine. Leave to marinate whilst you make your red chile sauce.
  • To make your red chile sauce, start by toasting the dried chilles in a dry frying pan over a high heat for 1-2 minutes on each side, or until fragrant. Once toasted, let them cool then remove seed and stems. Make sure not to touch your eyes or face when handling chiles! Whilst your chiles are toasting, gently heat your chicken stock or water.
  • In a blender add your chiles, along with hot stock or water and let sit for up to 30 minutes before adding honey, vinegar, additional chile powder and lime and blending. Taste and adjust for a blend of spice, acidity and sweetness.
  • In a heavy bottomed casserole dish or dutch oven over a medium high heat, add a teaspoon of vegetable oil then brown all sides of your pork shoulder- this will probably require cooking it in two batches so as not to overcrowd your pan. (resulting in grey unappealing meat)  Tip cooked pork onto a plate to reserve for further use.
  • Then in the same pot, add a further 1 teaspoon oil, followed by your sliced onion and gently heat until translucent, before adding in the minced garlic and continue to cook until softened and fragrant. Tip your browned pork shoulder in, pour in your freshly blended chile sauce and bring to a boil before lowering to a simmer. Keeping the lid off of the pot, gently simmer your pork in red chile sauce for up to two hours, stirring occasionally.
  • The result should be tender, well-coated meat, an earthy, slightly citrus-y mild dose of heat, and a sauce thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, but thin enough to pour.
  • Should you wish to intensify your flavours you can make the red chile sauce in advance, and marinate the pork shoulder in the sauce in the refrigerator overnight. To cook, bring the pork up to room temperature before adding to a heavy bottomed pot, bringing to the boil and simmering for the same length of time until tender.
  • Serve inside a tortilla with optional toppings, over rice, alongside scrambled eggs or however you wish! It's hard to get it wrong.

Notes

Note: Some will argue that honey, vinegar and lime are not required in traditional red chile sauce. And while that is absolutely true, I have included it here as it helps to balance out the heat of the chiles and makes it more appealing to introduce these new flavours to my kids. Please consider it a suggestion, and do what's best for whomever you are serving.