Aug 8, 2011
6
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Carne Adobada (Red Chile and Pork Stew)

This hearty pork stew is a staple dish in New Mexico. Our recipe is based on one served at La Posta de Mesilla in Mesilla. It calls for New Mexico Chile Powder, an earthy, sweet chile powder available at many specialty stores and online at Amazon.com. This recipe first appeared in SAVEUR Issue #140 along with Jane and Michael Stern's story "Hot Stuff."
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Carne Adobada Enlarge Image Credit: Penny De Los Santos
SERVES 8–10

INGREDIENTS

5 oz. dried New Mexico chiles, stemmed
2 tbsp. New Mexico chile powder
2 tbsp. honey
1 tbsp. white wine vinegar
2 tsp. ground cumin
1 1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
Juice of 1/2 lime
5 tbsp. olive oil
3 lb. boneless pork shoulder, cut into 1 1/2″ chunks
Kosher salt and freshly ground blackpepper, to taste
Warm corn tortillas, for serving

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Heat chiles in a 6-qt. Dutch oven over medium-high heat, and cook, turning once, until toasted, about 5 minutes; transfer to a large bowl, cover with 8 cups boiling water, and let sit for 20 minutes. Drain chiles, reserving 1 1/2 cups soaking liquid, and transfer chiles to a blender along with reserved soaking liquid, chile powder, honey, vinegar, cumin, cloves, cayenne, and lime juice. Puree until smooth and set sauce aside.

2. Return pot to medium-high heat and add oil; season pork with salt and pepper, and working in batches, add pork to pot and cook until browned on all sides, about 12 minutes. Add sauce and bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid is thickened and pork is tender, about 1 1/2 hours. Serve with warm corn tortillas.
Carne Adobada

This article was first published in Saveur in Issue #140

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Ratings & Reviews (6)

noAvatar
First, to eliminate some confusion; I mistakenly reviewed this dish under the heading of Asado de Bodas, Pork in Red Chile Stew, from Issue 137, and what I said there is correct about this dish. This recipe for Carne Adobada is now one of my favorites. I've made it many times, doing minor tinkering here and there,especially with regard to adding a little grilled/sauteed fresh pineapple, but if you follow the recipe to the letter as written, it's still very good.I made this for friends during an east coast trip recently, and noted that both new mexico chiles and chile powder were non existent where I was. I substituted guajillos and anchos, and some widely available Southwest seasoning for the pure chile powder, and the dish was perfectly fine, but didn't have the beautiful vibrant red color in the sauce. And this was the first time I'd used cloves in a Mexican style meat braise. They add good depth to the flavorings. Don't look askance at them. Buen provecho!
noAvatar
Incredible and I love red chile.

If you love Green Chile, try the black bean soup from Lesley B. Fay's cookbook, "Straight from the Heart". It is a great alternative for a vegetarian style, hearty soup. Best black bean soup I have had to date.

But this Carne Adobada was delicious.
noAvatar
I think the cloves could have been 1 tsp max. A little to clovey for me.

Otherwise, an easy recipe with a great color and very good. I served with pickled onions and rice and the pork stole the show. Oh, and tortillas too. I'd make this one again.
This recipe does not taste like New Mexico Red Chile Con Carne (Carne Adobada)at all. Pretty disappointed.

Cloves are not a normal addition. The chiles ned to be soaked a lot longer to reconstitute them. The color is off, it is a very deep maroon color. And the flavor is HEAVY.

I wish you all could try the real deal, it is wonderful! La Posta in Mesilla, NM has some of the best!

Obviously I am not a chef and this is just my opinion, but I was not imoressed by this recipe at all.
noAvatar
Tasty but disappointing. To my palate the recipe uses too much ground cloves. I use ground cloves as a component in a rub when making pulled pork and it adds a nice depth of flavor so I was intrigued by its use in this dish. However, the quantity specified in this recipe results in a dish in which clove is the predominant forward flavor, overshadowing the more subtle flavor notes.

I'll definitely give this one another try but reduce the ground cloves to 1/2 tsp.
noAvatar
Delicious and easy. Added a finely chopped onion after browning meat. Sweated onion prior to adding chili sauce to meat. Will make again.
Carne Adobada (Red Chile and Pork Stew) 4 5 3 6

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