Dish of Carne Adovada
(click to enlarge)

Carne Adovada


USA, New Mexico   -   Carne Adovada
Makes:
Effort:
Sched:
DoAhead:  		 3 #
***
2-3/4 hrs
Yes		 Pork stewed in a caribe sauce of mild red chilis - very popular in New Mexico and variously made. The recipe is easily doubled, reheats very well, and can be extended with potatoes.

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Pork (1)
-- Marinade
Chili New Mex (2)  
Garlic
Oregano, Mex (3)
Water
Salt
-- Serve with
See Step
Prep   -   (1-1/4 hr - 30 min work)
  1. Cut PORK into strips about 2 x 1 x 1/2 inch, or into cubes about 1-1/2 inch or however you prefer.
  2. Cap CHILIS and crumble fairly fine, seeds and all. If they are leathery, cut them into shreds with kitchen shears.
  3. Crush GARLIC and chop small. Add to Chilis, along with Oregano, Water and Salt.
  4. In a sauce pan bring Chili mix to a boil and simmer slowly about 45 minutes.
  5. If required or desired (this will depend a lot on the initial condition of the chilis), run Sauce in a mini-prep food processor or similar to the desired texture.
  6. Massage Sauce into the Pork. Marinate overnight in the refrigerator (see Marinating).
RUN   -   (1-1/2 hrs or more)
  1. If Using:   Preheat oven to 300°F/150°C. (or see Cooking).
  2. Arrange Pork in its cooking container and cook until Pork is almost falling apart - see Cooking).
  3. Serve with plenty of warm tortillas - or steamed rice, or potatoes, or neeps and tatties, chapatis, lavash, pita, naan, or whatever you have. In the multi-ethnic Southwest - there are no rules.
NOTES:

  1. Pork:

      Weight is for boneless and all excess fat removed. Butt, shoulder or leg are all fine.

  2. New Mexico Chili:

      (or California Chili). 1-1/2 cups was made from 12 chilis, weighing 2.8 ounces, and yielding 2.0 ounces. These were fresh and leathery. Hotness of the finished dish is entirely up to the batch of chilis you use, but is usually pretty mild. For details see our Chilis page.

  3. Mexican Oregano

      This is "official", but can be hard to find even here in Los Angeles (I suspect absolutely impossible in Detroit). If you can't get it use regular dried oregano (the two are not at all related, but the taste is similar).

  4. Marinating:

      Recipes all call for arranging it all in the baking dish and then refrigerating overnight. I think this is absurd and risky in a crowded fridge, especially when preparing for guests. I heat seal it in a 2-mil poly bag and put that in the fridge. The baking dish (see Cooking) can be filled just before going into the oven.

  5. Cooking:

      Recipes I've read all call for cooking in a covered baking dish in the oven, but here in Southern California we don't fire up an oven unless we really need to. I do it on the stovetop, in a tri-ply sauté pan on a well regulated back burner with a heat spreader - works perfectly and is done in 1-1/2 hours. Cooking in the oven takes about 2 hours. It could also be done in a slow cooker, except one recipe is too small unless you have a small 2 qt. cooker. For a double recipe I'd consider the slow cooker, but, being impatient, I'd bring it to a boil on the stovetop, then pour it in the slow cooker to finish. I suspect it'll still take more than 2 hours, but it won't be taking up room on the stove, important when preparing for parties.

  6. Comments:

      There is quite a bit of liquid in the finished dish, very good for serving with rice. Otherwise, Potatoes, cut to 1/2 inch dice are often added for the last half hour of cooking, or they can be cooked separately and added a little before serving.
  7. U.S. measure: t=teaspoon, T=Tablespoon, c=cup, qt=quart, oz=ounce, #=pound, cl=clove in=inch
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