This carne adovada is pork stewed in a sauce of ground dried chiles. In New Mexico you can find carne adovada on breakfast menus. From experience I tell you: It makes a delicious meal any time of day. Serve with corn tortillas.
Don't be alarmed by the full cup of ground red chile powder -- New Mexican red chiles are relatively mild. The stew is warming, but never gets too spicy.
Dried ground New Mexican red chile powder is available at Chimayo To Go.
Prep Time: 1 hour, 00 minute
Cook Time: 2 hours, 00 minute
Ingredients:
- 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
- 3 lbs. pork butt or shoulder, well-trimmed of fat and cut into 1-inch pieces
- 2 onions, chopped
- 6 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 Tbsp. flour or masa harisa
- 1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper
- 1 cup (8 oz.) ground dried New Mexican red chile powder
- 6 cups water or broth
Preparation:
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- In a large pot over medium heat, add oil. When hot, add pork pieces to brown (add only enough so the pieces are in a single layer and don't touch each other; you will need to do this in batches). Pork should sizzle the minute it touches the pot; if it doesn't, remove it and wait for the pot to heat up. Cook, undisturbed, until well-browned on one side, about 3 minutes. Turn and brown on all sides. Transfer pork to a large bowl or plate and repeat with remaining batches.
- When all pork is browned and set aside, add onions, garlic, and salt to pot. Cook, stirring, until soft, about 3 minutes. Sprinkle with flour and pepper and cook, stirring, until flour smells like pie crust, about 3 minutes.
- Add ground chile and stir to combine. Add 4 cups water and bring to a boil.
- In a blender, whirl chile mixture until smooth. Return to pot and add another 1 cup water and reserved pork. Bring to a boil, cover, and bake 1 hour. Stir, add additional 1 cup water if stew seems dry, and bake until pork falls apart with a fork and sauce is thick, about another hour. Serve hot.
Makes 6 servings Carne Adovada.
