Carne Adovada

New Mexico's deep-red comfort dish: cubes of pork slow-braised in a pure sauce of dried New Mexican red chillies, garlic, cumin, and Mexican oregano until the meat is tender and the chile sauce is rich, smoky, and earthy

Origin: New Mexico, United States

From the journey of Oregano.

Carne adovada is one of the defining dishes of New Mexican cooking, the cuisine of the old Hispanic borderlands of the American Southwest. Its name comes from the Spanish adobar, to marinate, and the dish is exactly that: pork marinated and then braised in a sauce made of nothing but pure dried red chile, garlic, and spices, with no tomato to dilute it. The chillies are the long, fruity, mild-to-medium New Mexican red ('Hatch' chile, the pride of the state), and the defining herb is Mexican oregano (Lippia graveolens), whose deep, citrus-resin pungency is built for this kind of long-cooked chile sauce. Carried north across the old Spanish frontier with the borderland kitchen, it is the taste of New Mexico: pure chile, pork, and oregano.

Ingredients

Pork

1.5 kg pork shoulder, cut into 4cm cubes

Red chile sauce

12 dried New Mexican (Hatch) red chillies, stemmed and deseeded
1 tbsp Mexican oregano
1 tsp ground cumin
6 cloves garlic
1 onion, chopped
1 tbsp cider vinegar
500 ml chicken or pork stock, plus more as needed
2 tsp salt

Braise

2 tbsp neutral oil or lard

Method

Toast the dried chillies in a dry pan for 30 to 60 seconds until fragrant, then soak in hot water for 20 minutes until soft.
Blend the drained chillies with the Mexican oregano, cumin, garlic, onion, vinegar, salt, and enough of the stock to make a smooth, pourable red sauce. Sieve it for a silkier texture if you like.
Toss the pork cubes in the red sauce, cover, and marinate for at least 2 hours, or overnight in the refrigerator.
Heat the oil in a heavy oven-proof pot. Tip in the pork and all its sauce, add the remaining stock to barely cover, and bring to a simmer.
Cover and braise gently, on the hob or in a 160°C (140°C fan / 320°F) oven, for about 2.5 hours, until the pork is very tender and the sauce is thick and rich. Add a splash of stock if it gets too dry.
Taste and adjust the salt. Serve with warm tortillas, beans, and rice, or rolled into burritos, scattered with a little more oregano.

Notes

Pure dried New Mexican red chile is the authentic base; Hatch chillies are the prize, but any mild-to-medium dried red chile (such as guajillo, with a little ancho) works. Mexican oregano (Lippia graveolens) is the defining herb and genuinely distinct from Mediterranean oregano. The absence of tomato is deliberate: carne adovada is about the chillies themselves. Serve with the New Mexican holy trinity of beans, rice, and tortillas.

The Gastrographer

Name: Carne Adovada
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 2 h 30 min
Total time: 3 h
Yield: 6
Cuisine: United States
Ingredients: 1.5 kg pork shoulder, cut into 4cm cubes; 12 dried New Mexican (Hatch) red chillies, stemmed and deseeded; 1 tbsp Mexican oregano; 1 tsp ground cumin; 6 cloves garlic; 1 onion, chopped; 1 tbsp cider vinegar; 500 ml chicken or pork stock, plus more as needed; 2 tsp salt; 2 tbsp neutral oil or lard

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Journey Point Map Key

Ingredient originTrade or transit route

Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control