Carne Adovada may not be well known, but I am hear to tell you this New Mexico dish is a MUST try. Tender, seasoned pork is browned, then braised, in a delicious purée that includes chili powder, coffee and raisins. This is just so darn good. 🙂
I love finding new dishes to share with you guys and this is a new house favorite!
Carne Adovada, also known as carne adobada, is amazing in flavor and texture. Layers of deep, rich flavors are what come to mind here. Not one stands out, it’s the sum of the ingredients that make this so delicious.
MY LATEST VIDEOSFirst beautifully marbled pork shoulder, or pork butt as it make be called at your market, is cut into chunks, seasoned with salt and pepper and browned to caramelize the outside to a crispy brown. This is key.
The sauce ingredients that these browned pork chunks are braised in are what initially caught my eye.
What’s in Adovada Sauce?
Onions and garlic get sautéed and a chili powder, flour and oregano mix gets “bloomed” in the hot oil . Then chicken stock and raisins that have been soaked in hot coffee are added to the mix. Cooked for a bit then in a blender it goes (or use a hand wand mixer if you prefer) to purée until smooth.
Pour it on top of the pork and in the oven it goes to braise until unbelievably tender and the aroma is off the hook. The taste is another story. Amazing served over rice, so good! You must try this one friends.
For other tasty pork dishes, try my Pineapple Chile Pulled Pork Sandwiches, Pork Mole Negro Enchiladas, Balsamic Apricot Pork Chops, or this Paprika Pork Schnitzel. Enjoy!
This recipe first appeared on Kevin Is Cooking August 2018.
Carne Adovada
Ingredients
- 1 cup strong coffee (See Note 1)
- 1/3 cup raisins
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1/3 cup chili powder (See Note 2)
- 1 tsp Mexican oregano (See Note 3)
- 5 lb boneless pork shoulder
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large onion chopped (2 cups total)
- 6 garlic cloves minced
- 1 chipotle chile in adobo sauce minced
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 6 limes
- pico de gallo (optional for topping)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F. Add raisins to cup of hot coffee and allow to plump, 5 minutes. Set aside. In a small bowl whisk together the chili powder, flour and oregano. Set aside.
- Cut pork into 1 1/2-inch chunks, dry with paper towel and season with salt and pepper.
- Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Brown half of the pork, about 10 minutes. Transfer to plate and repeat with remaining pork.
- Add onion to the Dutch oven and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and chipotle, stirring for 2 minutes, scraping up browned bits on bottom of pan.
- Add chili flour, chili mixture and cook for about 1 minute. Add broth and coffee raisin mixture, scraping up any browned bits, and bring to boil.
- Work in 2 batches, carefully transfer mixture to blender or food processor and puree until smooth. Return pork to pot and pour sauce on top. Stir and cover with lid. Bake for 2 hours.
- Season to taste and serve over rice with lime wedges and pico de gallo (optional) or chopped cilantro.
Notes
- I've used 1/2 cup of espresso, 1/2 cup coffee before too. Feel free to substitute.
- Feel free to use Chimayo ground red chile for the chili powder for a more authentic flavor.
- Feel free to use regular oregano if you like or can't find Mexican oregano. Mexican oregano is a relative of Lemon Verbena and is native to Mexico. Similar in that it’s pungent like Mediterranean oregano, Mexican oregano has notes of mild licorice and citrus. Mediterranean oregano is a member of the mint family and most often is used in Greek and Italian recipes. Mediterranean oregano is the one most found in spice racks and supermarkets.
Another fantastic dish! I couldn’t find any Chimayo so I picked up Chili Nuevo Mexico Molido instead. Great flavors from the chili powder. Not spicy but such tasty flavors. I would of never thought of cofffee and raisins but all the combinations of these ingredients work wonderful. Thanks Kevin
Thanks for taking the time to come and leave the comment David. So glad you enjoyed this one. Cheers! 🙂
Spicy and yet a little sweet from the raisins, this sounds terrific.
This is one of my favorites Karen. 🙂
The color of that curry and those robust flavors make this curry a ‘must cook must eat’ kind of meal.
Thanks Taruna, hope you give this a try! 🙂
If you say this is a ‘must try’ then I believe ya 😉 I’m confident I’d love this one, Kevin! Better than take out for sure!
h yes it is Dawn. So amazing! Let me know please. 🙂
This recipe looks good. I was wondering if i could substitute the coffee with something else?
Simply plump those raisins in the same amount of hot water if you like Lele.
This was welcomed and fantastic meal. Thank you!
Thanks for taking the time to come back and let me know Jeff. Glad you enjoyed this one!
Thank you! This is so good. I’ve never heard of this before you shared it and after tasting it wondered where it’s been all my life. 🙂
High praise, thanks Les! 🙂
This is my new favorite of yours! Third time eating this now and it’s just as amazing as the first time.
So tender and the flavors are off the hook, right?! Thanks!
I have never heard of this but it sounds amazing! Def something I need to get my hands on!
Danielle, you need to make this this weekend. No lie, one of my new favorites. A-mazing!
I used GF flour in this one. Not overly spicy and like you mentioned it has so much flavor. Can’t quite put my finger on it but it’s so good. Even the kids loved it! Love trying new recipes and you always have great ones. Thanks for sharing this one Kevin!
So glad you were enticed to try it Mary, love that you are trying so many new ones! 🙂
This was AMAZING! Made it last night and everyone loved it. Keeping this one to make again and again. Incredible flavors. Thanks!
Thanks Kenny, glad you guys enjoyed it. It’s my new favorite, fantastic flavors.
I have to agree with you on this one. Carne Adovada is one of my favorite dishes served here in New Mexico. Every New Mexican restaurant serves it; with eggs for breakfast, in stuffed sopapillas, just as it is with refritos and rice and stuffed in burritos.
Now with the sopapillas that intrigues me and sound incredible Don. This is definitely my new favorite Tex Mex dish. BTW, I have a chili powder coming out here on the site in 2 days, come back and check it out. Your tip on the chimayo chile was right, love the earthy, sweet touch it has.
Definitely a MUST try Kevin! I love the raisins plumped in the coffee. What a flavorful dish!
Like a said, it’s the complete flavor package and not one flavor can really stand out. It’s wonderful, thanks Mary Ann!