Carne Adovada
Slow cooked pork in red chili sauce

Of all of the states in the US, New Mexico can claim (arguably) the most distinctive cuisine. Not to be confused with Mexican or Tex-Mex, its flagship dishes are defined by their inclusion of the New Mexican chili pepper, which is taken to a delicious, and I might add addictive, extreme. Roasted green chilies often serve as the main ingredient. Case in point: chile rellenos, whole green chilies stuffed with cheese and fried in a thick egg batter. Green chilies, when they are chopped and stewed, constitute a sauce that typically smothers anything from enchiladas to steak, or can be served in a bowl to be sopped up with tortillas or sopapillas (fried pastries). It is served for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and as a midnight snack. (I’m not kidding when I say the stuff is addictive.)

When New Mexican green chilies are allowed to ripen, they take on a brilliant shade of red. Red chili sauce, though made from the same type of chili at a different state of maturity, is prepared very differently from the green. It is made from powdered dried red chili pod or from whole pods that are first dried and then reconstituted. Red chili sauce can be used essentially interchangeably with green in any New Mexican dish. The obligatory question whenever ordering at a New Mexican restaurant is, “Red or green?” If you can’t decide or want them both, the appropriate response is, “Christmas!”

Carne Adovada, the quintessential New Mexican dish, is marinated and slow-cooked in red chili sauce. Depending on how the sauce is prepared it can vary from moderately spicy to volcano-hot. Stuff carne adovada into a burrito or tacos, serve it in the morning with hash brown and eggs, or layer it in enchiladas and top with more red chili sauce, sour cream and guacamole. I’ll take mine served in a bowl with diced red onion on top and a couple warm flour tortillas on the side.

This recipe, inspired by my Aunt Lea’s technique, requires an overnight marinade.

Ingredients:

5 lbs pork sirloin roast (substitute a trimmed shoulder if you like it fatty, or a pork loin if you prefer it lean)

2 qt Red Chili sauce (see below)

1 head of garlic

2 T cumin

1 T dried or fresh oregano

2 t Salt

Optional: 1 red onion (fine dice)

Directions:

1. Trim the fat from the meat, and cut it into thick cubes at least 1 in. thick.

2. Mix remaining ingredients in a large bowl and add the pork. Mix until the pork is covered in the marinade.

3. Cover the bowl and place in the fridge overnight (or at least 6 hours).

4. 5 hours before serving, remove the pork from the sauce and put it in a large Dutch oven or an oven-safe pot. Add enough red chili sauce to just cover the meat, reserving the remaining red chili sauce for later. Cover pork and place in a 325° oven.

5. When the pork has cooked for 2 hours, remove it from the oven. Remove excess liquid from the pork (the liquid should just cover the meat) and add it to the reserved red chile sauce. Cover the pork and return it to the oven.

6. Heat the extra red chili sauce that you reserved previously in a separate, large saucepan on the stove top. With the saucepan uncovered, bring the red chili sauce to a simmer, stirring occasionally. If the sauce becomes thicker than gravy, cover and turn off the heat.

7. After another hour (hour 3), remove the pork from the oven. Remove excess liquid from the pork and stir it into the red chile sauce that you’re simmering on the stove top.

8. After another hour (hour 4), remove the pork from the oven. Test the pork. It should shred easily with a fork. You may shred it if you like, or keep it in cubes, which is how I prefer it. Pour the remaining red chili sauce from the saucepan into the Dutch oven. Gently mix it with the pork. Cover the Dutch oven and return it to the oven for a final 30 min.

9. Serve hot in burritos, tacos, or enchiladas, or as a stew eaten with warm tortillas.

Red Chili Sauce:

Each fall, Angela and I buy three large red “ristras” or braided strands of fresh red New Mexico chilies. They spend the next year hanging by our front door as a decoration. The following summer, however, we begin the elaborate process of transforming them into a red chili sauce, which we then put into separate containers and freeze to have on hand for the following year. It is very time consuming and I’m sure most of you do not want to hear the details. (If you do, please email me.) Instead, I will provide a recipe that uses dried NM red chili powder, which is available in grocery stores throughout the US.

Ingredients:

¼ c. vegetable or corn oil

¼ c. flour

1 ½ c. NM Red Chili Powder (mild, medium, or hot)

2 qt Pork broth (for a lighter sauce, substitute chicken or vegetable broth or water)

` Directions:

1. In a large saucepan heat oil over medium heat. Stir in flour to form a roux. When it becomes light brown and fragrant, remove from heat.

2. In a separate bowl mix the red chili into the broth or water until it is smooth. Add the chili mixture to the roux and whisk vigorously to prevent lumps. Return to heat.

3. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Reduce heat and simmer until it thickens slightly, about 5-10 minutes.

4. Cool.

This is a simple red chile sauce meant to accompany the carne adovada recipe above. To make a stand-alone red chile sauce, add the garlic, cumin, salt and oregano from the carne adovada recipe above.