This delicious New Mexico Carne Adovada (aka "red chile pork") is made with chunks of tender pork in a homemade dried chile sauce that uses a combination of ancho, pasilla, chipotle, and guajillo peppers for a flavor-packed meal that will knock your socks off! Enjoy it all on it's own, over rice, or wrapped up in fresh tortillas with your favorite fixings.
Try my authentic Carne Asada, Baja Fish Tacos, Chorizo con Papas, and these Pork Carnitas for more amazing Mexican flavors!
Table of Contents
Carne Adovada is a New Mexican specialty that has been on my "must blog about" list for some time. It's representing New Mexico in my American Eats series where I'm sharing some of the most famous recipes and dishes from each state, one state at a time!
There is so much flavor packed into it that it's best to serve it with some more simple side dishes like White Rice or Brown Rice, and some veggies on the side, or wrapped in soft tortillas with some chopped onions, cilantro, and queso fresco with a squeeze of lime, but that's just my personal preference.
You can use it in salads, for nachos, in burritos, or any other number of ways you can think of, so feel free to get creative! Carne Adovada is perfect for special occasions or a dinner party, as it does take a bit of a long simmer to fully meld all those flavors. But it's also great made ahead and reheated the next day, if that's easier!
The good thing is that the prep is super easy. Just chop and sear your pork, simmer, and blend your chiles into a marinade, combine, and cook!
For more delicious pork dinner recipes, check out this Pork Tenderloin Sandwich, Kalua Pork, Creamy Apricot Pork Chops, Smoked Pulled Pork, or my Cuban Mojo Pork!
What You'll Need
Scroll down to the recipe card below this post for ingredient quantities and full instructions.
- Pork - I have used 3 pounds of boneless pork shoulder cut into 1-1½-inch cubes but there is enough sauce to do up to 4 pounds if you have a larger pork roast.
- Ancho Chiles - Dried ancho chiles are a milder variety of dried ripened poblano chilies and have a hint of sweetness to them.
- Pasilla - Pasilla peppers are New Mexican chiles that have a slightly sweet, berry, and cocoa flavor.
- Chipotle Peppers - Chipotle peppers are dried, smoked jalapeno peppers, so they have the same potential for heat as jalapeno peppers but with an added smoky flavor.
- Guajillo Chiles - Dried guajillo chiles are typically less hot than jalapeno peppers and are used in a variety of Mexican marinades and salsas.
- Broth - I recommend using low-sodium chicken broth to have better control over the saltiness while still adding a great flavor. If you don't have chicken broth, also use chicken stock or water.
- Garlic & Onion - Fresh garlic and freshly chopped onion will give a strong savory base to your dish.
- White Vinegar - To give the sauce a great zing!
- Seasoning - Use a mixture of dried Mexican oregano, dried thyme, ground cumin, kosher salt, and a dried bay leaf.
- Brown Sugar - Balances out the spice with a bit of sweetness and helps to caramelize the sauce a bit.
- Oil - To sauté the onion and some of the garlic. Any kind of neutral-flavored oil is great here, like vegetable oil, canola oil, or olive oil.
- To Serve - I'd recommend serving this spicy dish with some rice, fresh lime wedges, chopped cilantro, and warm corn tortillas or homemade flour tortillas.
How to Make Pork Carne Adovada
- Toast chiles and soak them. Remove and discard the stems and seeds from the dried chiles. Tear or roughly chop the chile peppers into medium-sized pieces, roughly ½-inch wide. Toast the torn chiles in a skillet over medium heat while stirring for 1-2 minutes until fragrant. Transfer to a medium pot and fill with enough chicken broth or water to cover the chiles (2-3 cups). Bring this to a boil, then cover and remove it from the heat. Let the chiles soak for 10 minutes. Do not discard the water.
- Blend chiles and seasoning. Transfer the soaked chiles to a blender using a slotted spoon. Add 1 cup of the chili-infused water along with 4 garlic cloves, chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, vinegar, oregano, thyme, brown sugar, ground cumin, and salt. Blend well until smooth. Add an additional cup of liquid and blend.
- Sear pork. Cut the pork into bite-size pieces. Season the pork chunks generously with kosher salt and pepper. Heat 2 Tablespoons of oil in a large Dutch oven or heavy-duty oven-safe pan over medium-high heat. Work in batches to sear the pork shoulder chunks on all sides until browned, adding additional oil as needed. Transfer the seared pork to a plate and set aside.
- Sauté onion and garlic. Heat the remaining tablespoon of oil in the same pan and sauté the onion for 5-7 minutes until softened and translucent. Add the remaining 4 cloves of minced garlic during the last 30 seconds until fragrant.
- Combine everything. Return the pork to the Dutch oven with the sauteed onion and add the blended chili sauce and bay leaf. Mix everything together until it is evenly distributed.
- Cook. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for 2 to 2½ hours until the pork is fork tender and done. This can also be done in a 325°F oven - either approach works!
- Serve with sides. Serve in a bowl with white rice, warm tortillas, and/or pinto beans. Garnish with chopped cilantro and a squeeze of lime from fresh lime wedges.
Recipe FAQ's
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 7 days. Reheat it in the microwave or on the stovetop. You may need to stir in some extra broth or water if it has thickened.
You can freeze this dish for up to 3 months when stored in a freezer-safe container or potioned in Ziploc bags. Defrost in the refrigerator before reheating.
Tips for Success
- Pat your pork shoulder pieces with paper towels to soak up any excess liquid so you're not waiting too long for it to evaporate before it sears. You don't want to create steam in your pan or the sear won't be as nice.
- Feel free to add some fish sauce, Worcestershire sauce, or soy sauce for an added umami flavor.
How Spicy is Carne Adovada?
If you're unfamiliar with multiple types of chilis, you'll want to know what kind of heat you're dealing with before making this dish. It really is a delicious pork dish, and the good news is that you can enjoy a similar flavor with less spice if you prefer—or easily add MORE spiciness to it if that's your thing! The Schoville scale ranges from 0-2.4 million Schovilles, with most peppers we use in cooking around the 2000-8000 Schovilles mark.
Here's a mini-Schoville scale for you to use in deciding which peppers to choose for this dish if you need to make substitutions. The flavors of chiles can vary, so be sure to check their compatibility before making changes.
- Ancho Chiles - 1,000-1,500
- Poblano Peppers - 1,000-2,000
- Pasilla Chiles - 500-2,500
- Anheim Peppers - 500-2,500
- Hatch Chiles - 1,000-8,000
- Guajillo Chiles - 2,500-5000
- Jalapeno Peppers - 2,500-8000
- Chipotle Peppers - 2,500-8000
Substitutions and Variations
- Spice it up. Make this dish even spicier by leaving some of the seeds in the peppers, by using hotter peppers, by adding some of your favorite hot sauce, or by adding red pepper flakes to the mix.
- Make it sweeter. Add some dried fruit like raisins to the chilis as they simmer for an added sweetness.
- Tortillas. Use flour tortillas or corn tortillas, depending on your preference. Corn tortillas are more traditionally used in Mexican cuisine, but I know some people prefer flour ones.
- Change the meat. Change up the kind of meat used with this marinade. Chunks of beef chuck roast would work just as well as the pork and hold up to the bold flavor of the sauce and chicken would work too, although it probably won't need to cook as long.
More Chili, Soup, and Stew Recipes
- Authentic San Francisco Cioppino Seafood Stew (Italian Seafood Stew)
- New England Clam Chowder
- Classic Beef Stew
- Georgian Chicken Stew with Tomatoes and Herbs
- Japanese Chicken Curry
Did you make this recipe?
Let me know what you thought with a comment and rating below. You can also take a picture and tag me on Instagram @houseofnasheats or share it on the Pinterest pin so I can see.
Carne Adovada Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 Tablespoons oil, divided
- 3 pounds pork shoulder, cut into 1 to 1½-inch chunks
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 dried bay leaf
Sauce
- 4 dried ancho chiles, stems and seeds removed, (about 1½ ounces)
- 4 pasilla or New Mexico chiles, stems and seeds removed, (or a combination)
- 12 dried guajillo chiles, stems and seeds removed, (about 2.5 ounces)
- 2-3 cups chicken broth or water
- 8 cloves garlic, divided
- 2 canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
- ¼ cup white vinegar
- 2 teaspoons dried Mexican oregano
- ¾ teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 Tablespoon brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1½ Tablespoons kosher salt
For Serving
- Cooked rice
- Pinto beans
- Lime wedges
- Chopped cilantro
- Warm corn tortillas
- Diced white onion
Instructions
- Cut the pork into bite-size pieces. Season the pork chunks generously with salt and pepper and set aside.
- Remove and discard the stems and seeds from the dried chiles. Tear or roughly chop the chile peppers into medium-size pieces, roughly ½-inch wide.
- Toast the torn chiles in a skillet over medium heat while stirring for 1-2 minutes until fragrant. Transfer to a medium pot and fill with enough of the 2-3 cups chicken broth or water to cover the chiles.
- Bring it to a boil, then cover and remove it from the heat. Let the chiles soak for 10 minutes. Do not discard the cooking liquid - you will need 2 cups of this liquid for the sauce.
- Transfer the soaked chiles to a blender using a slotted spoon. Add 1 cup of the chile-infused water along with 4 garlic cloves, the chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, vinegar, oregano, thyme, brown sugar, ground cumin, and salt. Blend well until smooth. Add an additional 1 cup of the chile liquid and blend.
- Heat 2 Tablespoons of oil in a large Dutch oven or heavy-duty oven-safe pan over medium-high heat. Work in batches to sear the pork shoulder chunks on all sides until browned, adding additional oil as needed. Transfer the seared pork to a plate and set aside.
- Heat the remaining tablespoon of oil in the same pan and sauté the onion for 5-7 minutes until softened and translucent. Add the remaining 4 cloves of minced garlic during the last 30 seconds until fragrant.
- Return the pork to the Dutch oven with the sauteed onion and add the blended chili sauce and bay leaf. Mix everything together until it is evenly distributed.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for 2 to 2½ hours until the pork is fork tender and done. This can also be done in a 325°F oven.
- Serve in a bowl with white rice, warm tortillas, and/or pinto beans. Garnish with chopped cilantro and lime wedges.
Notes
- Store: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 7 days. Reheat it in the microwave or on the stovetop. If it has thickened, you may need to stir in some extra broth or water.
- Freeze: You can freeze this dish for up to 3 months when stored in a freezer-safe container or potioned in Ziploc bags. Defrost in the refrigerator before reheating.
I'm going to retract my previous statement. This recipe is very good. The problem I have with it is that there is mention of ingredients in the list with no instructions on what to do with them. There are also ingredients listed in the instructions that aren't listed on the ingredients list. So, if you follow these directions strictly based on what listed in the instructions and not on the ingredients list you will come up with a very delicious dish.