it’s getting hot in here
I didn’t always like to make food from scratch, you know. I was perfectly happy living in So Cal and paying for truly excellent food over 15 years ago. It was authentic, delicious, and cheap. When I moved away from So Cal to go to graduate school, I moved away from great ethnic food. So I began learning to make it myself. By the time we returned to So Cal, I viewed food differently than before. I tasted everything we ate with a running mental analysis of the flavors, the ingredients, the preparation, and how I could make it at home. At some point, I had crossed the barrier that always led me to believe a dish was out of my reach. No longer!
Now that we’ve moved to a small mountain town, I’m stuck craving those fantastic ethnic foods again. But now, I am eager to try making them at home, and perfecting them.
When my in-laws lived in New Mexico, we used to visit and drop by El Modelo for amazing New Mexican fare. One of my favorites was their carne adovada. I mean, how can I not love pork - I’m Chinese and I grew up in the South, so there is a double whammy right there!
my second-favorite product of new mexico: red chiles
my favorite being jeremy
Over the years, I have collected a few Mexican cookbooks, and when I say Mexican, I really mean New Mexican. There is a difference. You should have seen the way Jeremy’s eyes lit up when I told him I was going to make carne adovada. [Oh, but his eyes light up like that when I make anything with chocolate or coffee too.] It is one of his favorites from his home state.
bake and deseed the pods
soak in boiling hot water
The directions said to bake the chile pods for a few minutes and warned against breathing in the fumes. No kidding! I ran the exhaust fan just to be safe. And just the voice of experience here… it helps to wear gloves when handling the chiles unless you want to wash your hands repeatedly and then scratch your nostril and then experience the sensation of Burning Nostril for the next hour.
garlic, oregano, salt, chiles, some chile water
this purée is sheer beauty
Carne adovada is a spicy dish. I guess the spiciness depends on how spicy your chiles are. Now, I love spicy, as in “mouth on fire” spicy (I’m Chinese, what can I say!). This spicy isn’t that hot as opposed to full of spice - it tastes like chiles. Does that make sense? I love how the flavor infiltrates every bite of tender pork.
cut the pork intro strips
I used pork loin because the recipe said to use a tender cut. My brain was on vacay, because if you bake any cut for 4 hours, it’s going to become tender whether it was to begin with or not. If you like white meat, go for the pork loin. Me - I prefer the juicy dark meat. I love a hunk of pork shoulder cooked for hours on end, rendered “fall apart” tender. It has so much more flavor, in my opinion. I’ll make a note to do that in the future. The recipe actually takes 2 days because the pork marinates in the chile purée for 24 hours. Don’t skimp on the time - it’s worth it to let it go for 24 hours.
ready to bake
When the pork came out of the oven, I shredded it with two forks. Can’t help it, it’s the Southerner in me. Jeremy would like to mention that you can also cut it into chunks. Shred. I like the shred.
that’s the ticket
I’m actually reserving most of the carne adovada for tamales, to be blogged at a later date. However, we couldn’t resist having some for lunch today with warm tortillas, cheddar, and avocado. Typically it should be smothered with red sauce, but I didn’t make any and the carne adovada was amazing without it anyway.
pure joy
Carne Adovada
modified from Santa Fe Recipe (The Shed)
16 dried, red chile pods
3 tsp salt
4 cloves garlic
2 tsp oregano
5 pounds pork (any tender cut) (*jen’s note, use pork shoulder)
Preheat oven to 325F. Remove stems from the chile pods. Place pods in a pan and bake for 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until chiles are lightly roasted. Leave oven door open (I didn’t do this). Don’t breathe the fumes! I shook the seeds out of the pods and discarded them. Place pods in a medium bowl and cover them with boiling water. Let them sit for 30 minutes. Drain the water from the chile pods, but reserve about 2 cups for the purée. Place pods in a food processor or blender. Add the salt, garlic, and oregano. Cover the mixture with the chile water. Blend well for 2 minutes or until the skins disappear. Cut the pork into 2×4 inch strips. Place the pork in a ziploc bag and add the sauce. Thoroughly coat the pork. Refrigerate for 24 hours. Preheat oven to 325F. Place pork and sauce in a baking dish. Cover and bake for 4 hours or until meat is tender. Shred or chop meat.
October 29th, 2007 at 1:21 am
That looks great, and I have some chiles in the cabinet right now. We didn’t make it to the Shed when in Santa Fe, but we did enjoy the enchiladas and sopaipillas at Tomasitas!
October 29th, 2007 at 1:43 pm
I’ve never heard of this before. It sounds like heaven. :)
October 29th, 2007 at 6:08 pm
Hi Looks great, would it work for chicken as well
October 29th, 2007 at 9:06 pm
I love New Mexican food - such an underrated cuisine, I feel. I’ve never had this dish but I hope to try this soon. By the way, what kind of chilies did you use?
October 30th, 2007 at 5:10 am
[…] made yet. In fact I’ve never tasted it. But you can tell by reading and looking that this Carne Adovada is a knockout. It’s a New Mexican dish of pork loin marinated in a chilis, oregano and […]
October 30th, 2007 at 7:17 am
Alice - I’ve actually never been to The Shed, but my Santa Fe Recipe book is a collection of recipes from several restaurants in SFe. But honestly, I could spend a month eating my way through New Mexico ;)
Wendy - oh honey, it’s gooooood stuff! I hope you’ll give it a try.
Paula - Yup, I’ve seen it on menus in New Mexico where they have chicken adovada. I’m sure it’s fantastic too!
Holybasil - The chiles are New Mexican Red Chiles. I think they are Hatch chiles that are dried. Let me know if you can’t find any and I’ll send you some :)
October 31st, 2007 at 1:55 am
That looks extremely good…can you suggest me a chicken/beef alternative? Which cut of meat would work best if using those two? Thanks a lot for the recipe….it looks absolutely amazing!
October 31st, 2007 at 2:21 pm
Nabeela - Oh yes, I think you can definitely substitute beef or chicken. I prefer dark meat (despite using pork loin here) so I would probably use chicken thighs or chicken drums, but you could certainly use chicken breast if you prefer white or leaner meat. For the beef… I’ve done shredded beef tacos before and I used beef chuck or brisket with good results. Good luck and I hope you like it!!
November 1st, 2007 at 5:27 pm
This does look wonderful. I’ll mark it as tagged!
November 4th, 2007 at 11:37 pm
[…] ate well: bright pink prickly pear margaritas, warm sopaipillas with honey, posole, carne adovado, and assorted sauces featuring local chilies. […]
November 5th, 2007 at 9:06 am
I made the pork and it is fantastic!!
Thanks for the step by step photos:)
Amy
November 5th, 2007 at 3:16 pm
how pretty and how tempting! i have a whole bag of dried chiles in my drawer, about time i used them! that’s just the thing… thanks for the inspiration!
November 6th, 2007 at 12:29 pm
Megan - great, give it a try (but I think dark meat will yield a more tender carne adovada)
Amy - you are so welcome!!
Johanna - perfect! You are all set to make some carne adovada. I hope you’ll post about it!
November 8th, 2007 at 7:21 am
Always great to find someone who truly appreciates the foods found here in New Mexico. I am bound to this land by my stomach !!!!
I’m happy to lend info to anyone here regarding New Mexican food preparation.
November 8th, 2007 at 11:59 pm
Yay, a New Mexican! That food is a big draw :)
December 6th, 2007 at 3:29 am
Great recipe and fantastic pictures. However I just want to point out that “adobada” is spelled with “b”. Same goes for adobo, adobado et al.
Cheers
December 8th, 2007 at 9:12 pm
Francisco - you’ll have to take that up with the authors of the book and the owners of the restaurant! :)
December 30th, 2007 at 6:30 pm
Francisco - as a New Mexican, I can certainly tell you that around here, it’s usually “adovada”. Just like chile is spelled “chile” as opposed to “chilie”, “chili”, “chilli”, etc. :)
And carne adovada is one of the best dishes!
January 11th, 2008 at 1:38 am
Great carne red chili best dishes!
April 15th, 2008 at 12:15 pm
I love making carnitas and this looks like another great choice. I so can’t wait to try this! (Oh, and by the way, the storm is starting to blow in here in Utah, so it is probably headed your way next).
April 16th, 2008 at 12:10 am
Holly - yup! We’re due for some snow tomorrow :)
April 16th, 2008 at 4:03 pm
My sister-in-law is from Albuquerque (my bro and her met at UNM), and when her parents come out to visit here in Florida, they bring more chile bags than she knows what to do with, so (lucky me!) I usually inherit one.
This looks seriously tasty. Gets me in the mood for red chiles.
April 23rd, 2008 at 9:36 am
Seriously, my favorite recipe of all time. It’s now my go-to for company, super easy, super tasty. Thanks for sharing!
April 23rd, 2008 at 1:49 pm
Peter - sweet! That’s a good connection to have. Looks like you have what you need to make a batch :)
Rachel - I’m so with you on that. It’s delicious!
May 15th, 2008 at 7:51 pm
Great presentation on the web. I need some vegetables to go with this over above beans ans rice. My pork is marinating right now. The ingredient I wasn’t aware on before today was oregano. i’m going to try it in a crockpot tomorrow to keep from heating the house. wish me luck.
May 17th, 2008 at 5:47 pm
Gary - good luck with it! I hope it works out. I love my crock pot and have never tried it that way. Lemme know how it goes :)