Carne Adovada

Mary's recipe (August 2002 Playgroup)

This is a combination of several recipes and some experimenting (provided I'm giving you the right version). It's not a quick, toss-everything-in-and-run-out-the-door recipe, but it's my favorite think that I make in a crockpot. Serve with rice and beans and tortillas.

1/3 cup peanut or vegetable oil
2 1/2 pounds pork loin or butt, cut in 3/4-inch cubes (2 1/2 to 3)
4 cups hot water
2 onions diced
2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 teaspoons ground coriander seed
2 teaspoons dried oregano
3 Tbs chili powder
2 teaspoons crushed red pepper
3 dried ancho chiles
1 chipoltle peppers in adobo sauce or 2 tsp of dried ground chipotle pepper (1 to 2)
1 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon salt, to taste (1 to 2)
1 lime
1 orange


1. Place dried chiles in a bowl with the hot water. Set aside.

2. Cut pork loin into 1 inch cubes. Add 1/2 the oil to a frying pan on medium heat and add pork. Brown pork cubes on all sides. Remove pork to a crock pot.

3. Saute onions until translucent with rest of oil, in the same pan used to brown the pork. Add onions to the crock pot.

4. In a bowl combine garlic, coriander seed, chili powder, oregano, crushed red pepper, vinegar, salt and honey (and chipotle chile powder, if using). Mix until well combined. Add to the crock pot.

5. Now, prepare the chiles that have been soaking in the hot water. At this point they should be softer, and tear easily. Remove the stems and seeds. The stem should pull off easily. The seeds can then be rinsed out in the soaking water. Place the chiles in the crock pot. Add the soaking water to the crock pot through a strainer to catch all the seeds. (Add chipotle chiles in adobo sauce if using).

6. Cut the orange and lime in half and squeeze juice into crock pot. Put the rest of the orange and lime into the crock pot. Mix everything together well and cook on high for 6 to 8 hours. If possible remove the orange and lime about 1/2 way through the cooking to keep the carne adovada from getting too bitter.

7. Near the end of cooking (30min to 1 hour) before serving taste the sauce and make adjustments for flavor. Add salt and pepper if needed. If its too bitter, add more honey.



Notes:
1. Dried chiles can be bought and any local supermarket in the Southwest, but they may be harder to find other places. They will generally be sold in cellophane bags and can either be found in the aisle with Latino/Hispanic foods, or near the produce.

2. If you want to serve this after work you can cook it longer on medium, or even cook it overnight the night before, refrigerate and reheat.

3. Dried chipotle chile powder can be found with the spices. Chipotle chiles in adobo sauce can be found with Latino/Hispanic foods.