We just returned from a trip to the Southwest US, and had some good food while there. Adovada is one of my favorites, and I had it in two variations. One was chunks of braised pork in a thick, rich, spicy sauce, while the other was a version of pulled pork with the meat tossed in the sauce, and served as a tostada.
I’ve looked online for recipes, but the variations are wildly different and I know we have some dedicated Mex/Tex-Mex/Southwestern cuisine cooks here who can help me out.
My wife and I have gone out of our way to have carne adovada at Rancho de Chimayo, north of Santa Fe, and have used the restaurant’s cookbook many times. Their recipe for carne adovada (and from the cookbook) is online. If you’re at all interested in some great southwestern cooking, that cookbook is highly recommended (as it was recommended to us by some folks whose New Mexican families had moved to the Denver area and started restaurants several generations ago).
Nice going – now you got me all hungry for carne adovada.
Thanks. My problem is having access to New Mexican chilis. I’m hoping there is a good substitute.
Seeing how the recipe calls for toasted, dried and ground chiles, you could just get some pre-ground, from, e.g., amazon.
It also includes chile pequin, which you can also get from amazon. Or sub for another small hot chile more locally available, e.g., Thai birdseye.
There isn’t. You have to use good chilis. But no matter how backwards Oregon is, you should be able to find guajillo, ancho, and Anaheim chilis at just about any major supermarket. I know for a fact that Safeway and Albertson’s carry them in dried form. A little looking should find them fresh in the produce section.
I may have seen Anaheim, but not the others, although I don’t go into Safeway very often. I can easily get dried ancho powder at the spice store. There are a few Mexican tiendas around that may have guajillo. I bought a small packet of “adovado spices” when we were at the farmers’ market in Santa Fe, but it’s not enough to make much more than a pound of meat. Most all the stores around my 'hood have the usual serrano, jalapeno, habanero and poblanos.
I was going to suggest all the chilis mentioned by silenus, as well as California chiles (I don’t see those around here in Chicago, but I see them out west. ETA: Oh, yeah, the Anaheims. We have those here as fresh, but I’ve never seen dried Anaheims here. In Phoenix, I just see what I assume is the same as dried Anaheims sold as “California chiles.”)
Since you mention serrano, jalapeno, habanero, and poblano, I’m assuming you are talking about fresh chiles. You need to look in the dried peppers section, assuming your stores have one. They certainly will have one of those peppers, assuming they sell dried peppers of any sort. Do any of your groceries have an ethnic section? Or hit the Mexican market. You will be guaranteed to find ancho and guajillo there, as those are two of the most important peppers in Mexican cuisine. It looks like Portland is about 12% Hispanic, so I can’t imagine it’s that difficult to find. I was able to find them easily even in Iowa City, which is 3% Hispanic. Hell, when I was living in Budapest ten years ago I could even find them there (okay, in specific specialty stores, but still…)
There are many varieties of red chiles, but NM chile is a unique chile. You can use other types of chiles, but you’ll get a different flavor. You can order NM chile online or sometimes you can find them locally in specialty grocers, Mexican grocers, or Whole Foods will have some.
If you’re going to try to make it yourself, do it first with the authentic NM chile. That will give you a more accurate reference point for your recipe. If you use other chiles, you won’t know if the taste is different because the recipe or the chile.
Assuming I can find the correct peppers, any other recipes to recommend?
The recipe I normally use is:
Two tablespoons oil
Three tablespoons flour
Four tablespoons red chile powder (I like Bueno’s special reserve, which you can order by phone–looks like their website is currently being re-built)
Three garlic cloves, minced
1.5 teaspoons dried oregano
1/3 teaspoon cumin
1 tablespoon salt (I find that this is often too much salt, even using a coarse grain, and sometimes cut it down to a teaspoon of salt)
2.5 cups water
Heat oil, brown flour. Stir in chili powder. Add water, stir until most lumps are dissolved. Add rest of seasonings and simmer for about 15 minutes. Cool and add to about three pounds cubed pork. (It will work with less if you want more sauce and less meat). Marinate overnight. Bake about 4.5 hours at 325 F or use a slow cooker until cooked.
I also use the sauce recipe with boneless skinless chicken breast. After all day in the slow cooker, it shreds beautifully.
Maybe in the US it’s spelled with a v, since y’all are ok with that and the OP isn’t the only one who’s done it, but using adobada may bring even more hits with even more variations. For extra fun, try carne en adobo.
Adobada just means marinated, adobo being the marinate itself, so small wonder you’re finding a ton of different variants.
The New Mexican variant is usually (if not always) spelled as “adovada.” Seriouseats has a good recipe for it (unsurprisingly, and they’re pretty much my go-to recipe source these days) and mention a bit about the nomenclature. If I see it spelled with a “v,” I assume it’s referencing the New Mexican dish (I know that “v” and “b” are pronounced the same in standard Spanish.)
(And, not a nitpick, but I think you like learning about language and spellings-- it’s “marinade” with a “d” for the noun. You marinate in a marinade.)
Used to live in northern New Mexico. I ratify all of what Gordon Urquhart says.
Thank you, I couldn’t find the word.
Wow, that has some unexpected ingredients to it!
Nava: major :smack: for me for not recognizing the adobo/adobada Spanish construction. I’ve always associated adobo with Filipino cuisine, as I first heard the word from a Filipina neighbor of ours.
So it’s just chili gravy like you’d put on enchiladas, only you cook pork in it?
Anyway, from what I’ve read, you can sub guajillo or poblano chiles in there if you can’t find the dried New Mexican ones.
Google “spices portland oregon” to get a few locations.
For the dried chiles, Penzey’s does walkin & mail order. If its anything like the one in my area, should have 4 or 5 types of dried chiles, and hopefully Mexican Oregano. Decent spice blends, but check the ingredients - some are very salty, some are no-salt. Also, a regular chain grocery store sometimes has little baggies with one or two peppers inside, forget the brand.
For fresh chilies, start with a regular grocery (produce section), or try to find a small one or farmer’s market. Jalapenos are pretty much always there, the hotter ones occasionally. I once saw the chile section set up to have the habaneros at the perfect height & distance for kid-in-cart grabbing. 
Highly recommend wearing disposable gloves while prepping any variety, fresh or dried.
Be aware that some peppers have aliases, I think it’s a where they were grown thing. The book in front of me suggests New Mexico and Anaheim are almost identical.
How does carne adovada compare to carnitas, carnitas adobo, and carne asada? Looks like they might be the same dish, but different names? Also, Philippines were controlled by the Spanish for a while, so it is the same word. The Filipino version I know is mostly vinegar and soy
Yeah. It is a little different, but it sure is good. Won’t find that recipe in a completely traditional New Mexican cookbook, though, that’s for sure.
Well, it works for me. It might not be the most traditional recipe, but it’s a good, multipurpose sauce. Heck, these days I’m more likely to use it with chicken than pork.
I have to confess that I cheat when I make posole as well. Really good New Mexican food takes more prep and time than I can usually manage.
A bit of a zombie, but here is a slow cooker version of the dish:
1 4-5 lb. boneless pork butt roast, pulled apart at the seams, defatted, and cut into 1.5 inch pieces
3 tblsp soy sauce
2 onions, chopped
1/2 cup chili powder
6 cloves garlic, minced
3 tblsp vegetable oil
1 tblsp minced canned chipotle in adobo sauce
2 tsp dried Mexican oregano
3/4 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup brewed coffee
1/3 cup AP flour
1/3 cup raisins
1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro
1 tsp grated lime zest plus 1 tblsp lime juice.
Season pork with salt and pepper. Combine pork and soy sauce in slow cooker. Combine onions, chili powder, garlic, oil, chipotle, oregano and 1 tsp salt in bowl. Microwave, covered, until onions are softened 7 minutes). Puree broth, coffee, flour, raisins, and onion mixture in blender until smooth. Stir sauce into slow cooker. Cover and cook 5 to 6 hours, until pork is tender. Defat pork. Stir in cilantro, lime zest and juice. Let set 15 minutes to thicken. Serve.